Wireless isn’t new. The Microsoft HoloLens is wireless. The Intel Project Alloy is wireless. Qualcomm has a wireless VR headset too. None of them create a virtual world as stunning as what the Oculus Rift’s annoying tether can produce. But just tried a wireless Oculus Rift. And by “tried,” I mean I tried to break …

If you want the absolute best VR experience, an expensive PC comes to mind. That’s why the PlayStation VR, which requires only a PlayStation 4 game console, is so impressive. Today, though, Oculus says it’s lowering the minimum requirements for PC-based VR so more people can get in on the action. Now an Oculus-ready PC will start at $499. Or …

Google’s next big event is on October 4 — more than 24 hours away — but you may not have to wait to get the scoop on the company’s new flagship phones. Carphone Warehouse, the UK electronics retailer, appears to have leaked all the major features of both new devices. Enlarge Image The best alleged look yet at Google’s Pixel …

Kano has a different philosophy about computers. “Most of them are sealed up by these polished panes of glass, and people want to know how they work inside,” says founder Alex Klein. So in 2013, the startup turned the inexpensive Raspberry Pi into an award-winning kid-friendly computer by adding a simple picture-book instruction manual and Lego-like blocks of code so …

Nobody needs a smartwatch the way they need a phone. It’s a harder sell. But what if your health insurance company helped foot the bill? This fall, Aetna plans to help participating employers offer the Apple Watch at deep discounts for their employees. It would be the first major health company to do so. Aetna said Tuesday it will create …

With all the drama around exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, it’s easy to forget that many Europeans never had the chance to buy one. That should change October 28, when Samsung plans to formally release the phone in Europe. There’s a chance that date could change. It’s “subject to a full completion of the exchange programme,” according to Samsung’s …

Half of Samsung’s defective, potentially explosive Samsung Galaxy Note 7 batteries are now safely out of US consumers’ hands. Just two days after Samsung shipped 500,000 replacement Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to US retailers — to begin replacing the 1 million sold — the company says that one-half of existing Note 7 owners in the US have returned their original …

Now playing: Watch this: Did the iPhone 7 survive our water test? 4:36 Plop. That’s the sound of your phone impacting a pot of tomato sauce. Or a swimming pool. Or — God forbid — a toilet bowl. Normally, you’re screwed. Unless you’re very, very lucky (and have some silica gel packets handy), your phone’s delicate circuits are toast. But …

Aerial photography. Real estate tours. Drone burrito delivery. Imagine the money you could make (and fun you could have!) if you flew for profit. Sadly, drone businesses aren’t legal in the United States unless the government makes an exception for you — or unless you get your own drone license under the FAA’s brand-new rules. Starting Monday, August 29, you …

Now playing: Watch this: The Galaxy Note 7 is the “hoverboard” of 2016 4:21 Are you, or someone you know, still hanging on to a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone — despite the explosion risk? Here’s the latest reason to switch: It’s now illegal to use a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 aboard an aircraft under FAA jurisdiction. The Federal Aviation …