Virtual reality has been, to this point, a largely ad-free experience, but that may soon change. Facebook is beginning to push ads into apps and games now, starting with a few test experiments. How far the rollout will go after that is unknown. Facebook had broadcast its intentions to use VR and AR data to …

Chinese phone companies OnePlus and Oppo are moving closer together. In a post on the OnePlus forum on Wednesday, CEO Pete Lau said the company will “further integrate our organization with OPPO.” The OnePlus brand isn’t going away though, and Lau said OnePlus will continue to launch products, hold events and engage with customers.  Oppo and OnePlus, as well as …

I like cheap fixes for life’s little problems. Tired of hunching over your laptop? Raise the screen with a laptop stand. Sick of that laptop’s imprecise touchpad? Switch to a wireless mouse. Today I bring you five such problem-solvers, all of them priced $9 or less. (OK, $9.17 or less; hope you don’t mind me rounding down.) As always, these …

Disney Plus subscribers may have a new night to watch new episodes of original shows. The popular streaming service is changing the release date of its original series from Fridays to Wednesdays, The Hollywood Reporter first reported. The change comes after last week’s Wednesday premiere of original Marvel series Loki, originally scheduled for Friday, became the platform’s most-watched original series …

Sony is aiming to release its PlayStation 5 VR headset for the 2022 holiday-shopping season, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The price remains unclear. In March, the Japanese company gave us the first look at the next-gen VR controller, which resembles a DualSense split in two. The PS4 VR headset came out in 2016 and cost $399 at launch. PlayStation didn’t immediately respond to …

Facebook is releasing new tools for people who manage groups on the social network, including features that are designed to make it easier to moderate content.  Facebook group administrators will be able to slow down the amount of comments on a post with this new tool. Queenie Wong/CNET The move shows that Facebook is continuing to invest in groups, online …

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to make sure that the trial period you enjoy for a subscription doesn’t turn into a surprise bill later. Senators on Wednesday proposed new legislation that aims to give consumers a more user-friendly trial period and ensure they’re notified before payments kick in. If passed, the Unsubscribe Act would require companies to make trial …

Spotify’s audio chat app Greenroom has arrived. Greenroom was originally an app called Locker Room, which Spotify acquired in March. It’s live Wednesday, the company said in a statement. The service will offer live audio conversations in virtual rooms that people can host or participate in.  “The Greenroom offering will continue to evolve as we learn more about what creators and …

At an all-virtual E3 video game show with only a handful of standout surprises, the biggest news to me was just how central Xbox Game Pass has become to the Xbox ecosystem. Microsoft’s subscription service was already a must-have to many gamers, but it’s now becoming the first stop for many of the biggest upcoming Xbox games.  Originally, Xbox Game …

Amazon placed the blame for the spread of fake reviews on its site on social media companies, saying they allow bad actors to buy and sell fake product reviews, making it more difficult for the internet retail giant to tackle the issue. “Some use social media services on their own; in other cases, they hire a third-party service provider to …