Samsung keeps lowering the price of virtual reality. Its original Gear VR accessory, which turned its Galaxy phones into VR headsets, cost $150. Then the 2015 Gear VR dropped to just $99. And now, for a limited time, you can that same Gear VR unit for free if you preorder one of Samsung’s new phones, …

I strapped a familiar-looking Oculus Rift headset over my eyes. This one’s been doctored: Around the lenses, a ring of sensors has been implanted. In front of me, what appears to be a foot away, there’s a screen. I see my own eyes, looking back at me. And they’re dilating. Eyefluence is a startup that claims it’s cracked the code …

Shattered phone screens aren’t fun. Don’t feel like paying the $99-$150 that Apple charges for an iPhone screen repair? You could always just add a screen protector. It won’t necessarily keep your phone screen from breaking, but it might help. I’ve never been a screen protector person, but Apple Stores are going to make it easier for people on the …

A regular watch can’t get messages, nor can it make phone calls from your wrist. But there are companies out there trying to make dumb watches smarter…mainly via straps. Hot Band is one of them. Hot Band hits Kickstarter today, and it’s basically a strap you pop a little “smart fob” into that has notifications and fitness tracking. It charges …

Pebble has slowly been getting better at being a basic fitness tracker. Now it’s getting better watch faces to help. A software update for Pebble Time watches hitting February 3 finally brings a chance for nice new watch faces to emerge that will show your health stats without you needing to dig deep into your watch settings. According to Pebble, …

The Microsoft Band 2 does a lot of things, but battery life hasn’t been its strong suit. A new software update that hit today might help for those who use the Band 2 with GPS on for outdoor workouts. According to Microsoft’s blog, a new GPS Power Saver mode will extend battery life while GPS tracking is on, for up …

The Pebble Time is a resilient little smartwatch. It’s got good battery life, water resistance, and can track steps and sleep automatically with Pebble Health. But it’s not so good at deeper fitness tracking. Tylt, the manufacturer of wireless charging stands and other mobile accessories, has just launched an ambitious Kickstarter campaign to change that. Called Tylt Vü Pulse, it’s …

Putting ridiculous things on my face has become a fun tech-show pastime of mine. But there’s no way I’d ever have these things in my everyday life. Weird, overly large sunglasses with an eyepiece floating off the side. Tremendous mirror shades. Every set of VR goggles. Most of the tech I put on my face looks absurd. I can’t go …

This story is part of CES 2016. Our editors bring you complete CES 2016 coverage and scour the showroom floor for the hottest new tech gadgets around. You couldn’t walk more than a hundred feet without running into a VR headset somewhere, anywhere, at CES. Foldable cardboard. Plastic headsets. Phone cases. Giant PC rigs with controllers and sensors. This is …

“Oh my god, it’s so cool!” This was my 5-year-old niece. I realized I had somehow let her try on the plastic set of goggles I had already slipped onto the faces of my 7-year-old son and my 8-year-old nephew. They grabbed for the virtual-reality headset. “My turn!” Each of them wanted to spend just a few seconds in a …