Scott Stein

Killing zombies in VR is the new laser tag, but at your movie theater

I’m loaded up with a rifle, headset and backpack. In a crumbling mansion, zombies are everywhere, jumping on me from behind, dropping from the ceiling. Infected rats scramble over the floor. I last as long as I can, until I go gray. My partner next to me revives me with his hand on my shoulder.  …

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I can’t take Macs and iPads being split anymore

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s complete coverage from and about Apple’s annual developers conference. Apple gave us the message clearly, in case you were curious. iOS and Macs are not fusing. OK. Tim Cook said this before, and Apple’s Craig Federighi clearly declared this on stage at this year’s Apple WWDC conference, taking a specific moment to even …

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What we just learned about the Magic Leap One’s hardware

The Magic Leap One remains a mysterious product. The mixed-reality AR headset is slated to arrive later this year, but few people have even gotten a chance to try one. It’s a little less mysterious now, but we still haven’t worn it. A talk to developers livestreamed on Twitch on Wednesday gave a lot more details, and a guided tour of the …

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We tried out Apple Memoji on iOS 12. They’re already pretty great

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s complete coverage from and about Apple’s annual developers conference. Everyone’s making avatars now: Nintendo started it with its Mii in 2006, on the wildly popular Wii console. Microsoft quickly “borrowed” that idea for Xbox Avatars. Bitmoji — first an independent company, later purchased by Snap — popularized the personalized emojis on mobile …

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Dave & Buster’s gets multiplayer VR arcades using HTC Vive

If you’re curious to try out VR with a buddy, Dave & Buster’s is waiting. The longstanding sports bar-arcade-restaurant chain is installing multiplayer VR experiences using HTC Vive hardware, HTC announced Wednesday. VR is coming to 114 Dave & Buster’s bars across the US and Canada, using 500 Vive VR headsets. The VR experiences will be available to play on June …

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It’s time for the Apple Watch to get a watch face store

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s complete coverage from and about Apple’s annual developers conference. Apple’s WWDC developer conference arrived with lots of news on the Apple Watch, and plenty of upgrades in WatchOS 5. But there’s one thing still missing. A big thing. The thing I want most of all: a watch face store. It needs to …

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Apple ARKit 2 multiplayer, hands

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s complete coverage from and about Apple’s annual developers conference. I’m leaning over a table with nothing on it, playing with someone across from me. We’re holding iPads. On our screens, a field of blocks are laid out. We’re launching slingshots, knocking each other’s slingshots out to try to win first. This is …

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Apple Watch is about to get a lot better, but WatchOS 5 is still missing 2 big features

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s complete coverage from and about Apple’s annual developers conference. Apple’s 2018 WWDC keynote was about software, not hardware. And yes, there was a lot of news on iOS 12. But there was also a rundown on WatchOS 5, Apple’s newest software update for Apple Watches. And like iOS 12, it was about small …

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12 things we want to see on Apple’s iOS 12 at WWDC

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s complete coverage from and about Apple’s annual developers conference. Apple’s WWDC conference is almost here, and while we expect a focus on software and services over hardware, we can be sure of one thing: a preview of the next version of iOS. The last version of Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating system, iOS …

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This tiny voice

Is it better to have a self-contained pair of smart glasses, or something that simply uses your phone to do the heavy lifting and battery power? Kopin, a manufacturer of microdisplays and smart glasses components, is betting on the latter. The Kopin Golden-i Infinity isn’t really an AR device, so much as it is a smart screen that plugs into …

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