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The best smartphones, tablets and smartwatches to give as gifts
A smartphone makes for one really nice but expensive holiday gift. If you're shopping for someone who deserves it (or just really needs to upgrade from a phone from way-back-whenever), we've got recommendations across iOS and Android, as well as other devices and tech that people might need on the go. Don't worry: Not everything is a new phone. This year's picks include Apple's iPhone 11, its cheapest flagship in years, and Google's Pixel 3a, whose sub-$400 price belies its amazing camera. We've also included our favorite portable battery pack from Anker and Amazon's latest Kindle Paperwhite, and the Brydge Pro remains one of the best keyboards for transforming your iPad Pro into something resembling a laptop replacement.
Face Darth Vader himself in the final episode of his Oculus VR saga
If you're still reeling from the second episode of Vader Immortal, ILMxLAB's Star Wars VR series for the Oculus Quest and Rift, you won't have to wait long for the final entry. The studio announced today that the third episode of Vader Immortal will arrive on November 21st for $10, just in time for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Not only that, ILMxLAB revealed what many of us expected (and something I've long dreamed of): the series will culminate in a lightsaber dual with Darth Vader himself.
'Doctor Who: The Edge of Time' VR game arrives November 12th
While it might be an iconic TV franchise, Doctor Who hasn't exactly set the video game world alight over the years. BBC Studios, publisher PlayStack and developer Maze Theory are trying to remedy that with the promising Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, a VR game they'll release November 12th. It was previously scheduled for a September debut.
What do you like about the Oculus Rift S?
When senior editor Devindra Hardawar tested the Oculus Rift S, he kept asking himself: Who really needs this VR headset? With built-in tracking, sharp resolution and a comfortable headstrap, the $399 Rift S makes a convincing argument for an entry-level VR purchase. However, it still needs to be tethered to a computer, its design and build quality aren't better than the original Rift and the identically priced Oculus Quest has higher resolution displays. That all adds up to a tough recommendation. In the end, the newest Oculus system earned a fair score of 80.
How ILMxLAB's 'Vader Immortal' is bringing 'Star Wars' into VR
The first episode of ILMxLAB's Vader Immortal for the Oculus Quest and Rift got everything right: the scale of volcanic Mustafar, the imposing presence of Darth Vader himself, and the joy of swinging a light saber. Where could they go next? How about more force powers and even deeper Star Wars lore cuts. Vader Immortal episode 2 had its surprise launch on Wednesday, the first day of the Oculus Connect 6 conference. Unfortunately, I didn't have my Quest on hand to sit through the entire episode, but based on its training dojo alone, I'm sure it'll please Star Wars fans.
Oculus CTO John Carmack on the VR challenges of the Quest and Rift S
Give Doom co-creator and Oculus CTO John Carmack 90 minutes to talk, and you can expect be inundated with tons of geeky technical details. That basically describes his keynote for the second day of the Oculus Connect 6 conference, where the legendary developer spoke frankly about the challenges the company faced as it launched the Quest ($399) and Rift S ($399) headsets this year. But of course, he also couldn't help but give us a taste of where things are headed.
Oculus Link hands-on: It really makes the Quest feel like Rift VR
There's one common question I've heard from Oculus Quest ($399) owners over the past few months: Why can't I plug it into to my PC? Perhaps that's why Facebook developed Oculus Link, a new feature that'll let its standalone VR headset connect to gaming PCs for more complex games and experiences. On paper, Oculus Link seems like a killer feature, one that practically makes the Rift S irrelevant. And now that I've had some time with a Link-equipped Quest, I'm even more convinced that's true.
Who needs the Rift S when the Oculus Quest can do everything?
With a slew of updates on the horizon, the Oculus Quest ($399) is now a must-have purchase for anyone getting into VR. Today's Oculus Connect 6 keynote was jam-packed with major new features for the Quest: Oculus Link will let it connect to PCs and play any Rift title; hand-tracking is coming next year; and it's even getting Go apps and better passthrough support. All of this begs the question, what purpose does the Rift S ($399) serve now? Not much, I'd say.
Facebook lays out its vision of our communal VR future
After all the new products were announced and surprise features revealed at Oculus Connect 6 on Wednesday, Facebook Reality Lab (FRL) lead Michael Abrash took to the stage to discuss the future of VR, AR, and the company's leading role in their continuing development.
Fandango launches its video service on Oculus Go and Quest headsets
You now have a particularly easy way to watch newer movies and TV shows on Oculus' self-contained VR headsets. Fandango has made its FandangoNOW video store available on the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest, providing quick access to about 90,000 titles overall and "hundreds" of 3D movies. You can rent a recent flick like Yesterday without disturbing anyone else in your home, or catch up on shows in between Beat Saber rounds.
Darth Vader’s ‘Immortal’ saga continues on Oculus headsets
Darth Vader is back. In a surprise announcement on Wednesday at Facebook's annual Oculus Connect conference, LucasFilm's ILMxLAB shared new details on Vader Immortal: Episode II. The new game picks up exactly where Episode I left off, with you, a Force-sensitive smuggler, learning how to use the Force from Vader himself. From a gameplay perspective, this means you'll have new abilities to use in combat. Like any good Sith apprentice, you'll be able to pick up and toss both objects and individuals, as well as throw your lightsabre at enemies. The Force will also come into play when you need to solve puzzles.
Firefox Reality VR web browser arrives on Oculus Quest headsets
Mozilla just expanded the reach of its Firefox Reality VR browser to one of its bigger platforms yet: the Oculus Quest. Owners of Facebook's stand-alone headset can surf sites, watch videos and dive into VR experiences through a browser that both emphasizes privacy (Enhanced Tracking Protection is turned on by default) and puts VR web activities front and center in a portal. The features will seem familiar if you've used Firefox Reality on another platform, including voice search, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if you aren't happy with the usual Quest browsing.
Amazon Prime Video comes to Oculus VR headsets
You now have yet another major video service to watch on your Oculus VR headset. Amazon has released a Prime Video VR app that allows Oculus Quest, Go, and Gear VR owners to stream the internet behemoth's shows in a virtual space. There will even be 360-degree videos to watch, although there are just 10 "handpicked" titles that include the climate change documentary Greenland Melting and the animated short Invasion.
Oculus Venues events are coming to the Quest
Oculus Venues, the platform's feature that crams stadium-sized experiences into a VR headset, is arriving on the Quest today. Venues gives you a way to hang out with friends inside virtual social experiences and even to meet new people at big events like concerts, basketball games and soccer matches. Oculus is rolling out the feature's summer lineup on July 24th, as well, which includes the Liverpool Football Club vs Sporting Clube de Portugal game at Yankee Stadium and Tenacious D's performance in the animated and rock opera Post-Apocalypto.
The best consoles, games and accessories for students
The life of a student isn't all taking notes, writing essays and broadening horizons. Sometimes, you just want to blow off some steam. And for some of us, that means loading up a new game (or an old familiar one) and transporting yourself elsewhere. Welcome to the console gaming section of our back-to-school guide, where we've homed in on several upgrades, running the gamut from accessories, games (duh) and even whole consoles (lucky you). While we're pretty taken with Nintendo's Switch, we've also included recommendations for Xbox, PlayStation and even a VR headset, with game suggestions throughout to help make some new friends or get the party started. And if you need even more game-buying advice, click here to find our top picks for every platform and also be sure to check out the PC gaming section of our back-to-school guide.
Facebook snags exclusive VR games for Oculus headsets
Facebook wants to give Oculus a boost by acquiring game studios and signing exclusive deals for VR versions of well-known games. According to The Information, Facebook plans to bring Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell to Oculus Quest and Rift S. Facebook will reportedly invest less than $1 billion in this approach, but The Information claims Mark Zuckerberg is personally involved.
Oculus blocks SteamVR streaming on Quest
The developer of an Oculus Quest app called Virtual Desktop introduced an experimental feature that allowed users to stream SteamVR games to their Oculus headset. He's now being forced by Oculus to remove the feature. Guy Godin took to Reddit yesterday to inform the Oculus Quest community that he will be dropping the ability to stream SteamVR games at Oculus' behest.
'Vader Immortal' is the Star Wars VR game I've been waiting for
Star Wars and virtual reality always seemed like the perfect mix. Long before the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive were released a few years ago, I was eager to slip on a VR headset, hop in a rusty smuggler ship and wield a light saber of my own. While we've seen a few stabs at Star Wars VR experiences, they've either been too simplistic or hard to access. But just as I was about to give up hope, along comes a guy cloaked in black, carrying a red light saber. It turns out, Darth Vader was my Star Wars VR savior.
YouTube VR will be available for Oculus Quest at launch
You won't be lacking in video when the Oculus Quest arrives. YouTube has announced that its VR app will be available for the Quest when the headset debuts on May 21st. There's no mention of technical advantages over the YouTube VR app on the Oculus Go, but that's not really the point -- you don't need six degrees of freedom to watch a National Geographic series. This is more about ensuring that you're a YouTube viewer from day one.
Oculus Quest will have Bigscreen's VR theater on launch
You can use the Oculus Quest standalone and the Rift S tethered headsets to watch movies and play games on a massive virtual screen as soon as they become available. Bigscreen, the popular VR movie theater, has confirmed that it's one of the the devices' official launch titles -- simply put, you can enjoy it on the Facebook-owned company's new headsets as soon as they come out on May 21st.
