Latest news with #ScottStein
CNET
a day ago
- CNET
I Tried the Future of Smart Glasses at WWDC. They Weren't Made by Apple
On a bright sunny day in Cupertino, California, I crammed into my seat, unlocked my laptop, connected to Wi-Fi and checked in on Slack. Apple's WWDC keynote was about to begin. This time, however, I added a new step to my live event coverage routine. I plugged the Xreal One Pro glasses into my MacBook and activated the dimmer. They became my smart display-enabled sunglasses. For the next 2 hours, I covered Apple's announcements wearing Xreal's display glasses, and they worked better than I expected. The One Pros projected my laptop monitor clearly, removed glare that would have overwhelmed my laptop screen and allowed me to watch the stage presentation at the same time. And it got better: By activating Xreal's auto transparency mode, the glasses dimmed the world when I looked at my virtual screen, then became transparent again when I looked at the stage to follow the action. The future of truly useful everyday AR glasses isn't here yet, but wow, with things like the Xreal One Pro, it's getting close. The Xreal One Pros tether with USB-C, but can project a larger display than before. (Shown here with the separate Eye camera plugged in below the bridge.) Scott Stein/CNET A floating display on demand Xreal's glasses, like all glasses in this product category, use a USB-C cable to tether into whatever you're plugging into. Essentially, they're a tiny wearable monitor with speakers in glasses form. Whatever device supports USB-C video out will work with these glasses, either to mirror your screen or act as a second monitor. While I've used Xreal's glasses to watch movies on planes (really fun and portable) and do work on my laptop and iPad (helpful on planes too, since space can be cramped, and my laptop lid doesn't always open fully in economy), the idea of covering a whole live event where I needed to be fast, effective, multitasking and not screw up was a whole different story. I'm happy to say the experiment worked, largely because of the auto transparency mode I never realized existed before -- thank you, Norm Chan of Tested, who told me about it as we sat down at the keynote. Xreal's glasses have three dimmable lens settings that turn the outer glass either transparent semi-dark or close to opaque. It makes them instant sunglasses and also helps the display show up better in bright sunlight. However, these glasses won't block outside light completely -- light bleeds a bit through the dimmed lenses unless you're sitting in a completely dark place -- but the image is still extremely viewable, and looks good. The transparency mode really made looking at the stage and my own laptop keyboard (and my phone) easier. Xreal's glasses aren't like normal glasses: They have layers of lenses, including the prescription inserts I stacked on top. But they can be used to look around, check messages, even (as I did) shoot some on-the-fly social videos and share them with CNET's social team. Beyond transparency mode, other adjustments include screen size, projection distance, location of the screen and whether it's anchored or floating in my field of view. The Xreal One (left) next to the One Pro with Eye camera attached (right). They work and look nearly the same. Scott Stein/CNET One Pro vs. One: subtle differences I reviewed the non-Pro Xreal Ones earlier this year. Compared with previous Xreal display glasses, they have better built-in audio, and the ability to pin the really sharp 1080p microOLED display in space to anchor it, making them work a lot better as plug-in monitors for tablets, phones or laptops (or handheld game systems like Steam Deck). Xreal's Pro version of the One glasses cost $100 more ($599, going up to $649 after June 30) but have a few advantages. The microOLED projection system still projects down from the top of the glasses into thick angled lenses (called birdbath displays), but the One Pro's lenses are flatter, smaller, and reflect less light from my surroundings. The display area's a bit wider -- 57 degrees field of view, versus 50 for the Ones — but that really just makes the 1080p display feel a bit bigger, and more clearly visible at the edges of the large virtual screen. Prescription lens inserts like I use rest flat against the lenses: it's chunky but better than before. I don't think you need the Pros, but their slightly better performance could be worth the difference to avoid fatigue. The small Xreal Eye camera plugs under the bridge of the glasses. Scott Stein/CNET Optional camera isn't necessary I tried a tiny plug-in camera, too, called the Eye (sold separately for $99), that slots into the bridge of the One series glasses. They're designed for future use with AI apps, potentially, but right now they can capture photos and video clips on the glasses' small 2GB of storage. Images can be offloaded on the iPhone by going to a "transfer" mode in the glasses settings that turns the glasses into a USB camera, and the Photos app was able to just find the glasses and import the images. It's clunky, but it works, although you need to tether the glasses via USB-C like you do in regular display mode. These Xreal glasses don't work wirelessly on their own. Test photo out of the NJT train. Scott Stein/CNET The camera takes passable photos and videos, but not as good as Meta Ray-Bans. I think the camera's here to flex another feature: a full six degrees of freedom mode that can pin a display in space and then be there as you walk around the room. It's not necessary for most things I do, but it shows how these glasses could, in future versions, evolve into something more like 3D augmented reality. Xreal's work with Spacetop, a software suite that can float arrays of apps from laptops, shows where things could go. Xreal's future Android XR developer hardware, called Project Aura, may take things further next year. I'd skip the camera for now and just get the glasses, but I'm really curious where Xreal flexes these functions next. These glasses are coming with me on work trips. Scott Stein/CNET When they're good, they're great Like I said in my Xreal One review, these glasses and their microOLED displays are excellent for movie watching. They're surprisingly effective for doing work, too, since they can pin a display (or a semi-curved wide-angle monitor, thanks to an included setting) in place. I do notice the 1080p resolution limit a bit more now that these glasses can give an even larger display size, and it's something I expect future glasses to address in the next year or two with higher-resolution microOLED chips. At a show where Apple announced new Vision Pro software updates but no word on any glasses of its own, I couldn't help but think about the Xreals on my face. The future is arriving in bits and pieces, but lots of smart glasses are already here and changing fast. And, yes, they're actually useful. The year 2026 may be massive for new smart glasses and AR, and my WWDC 2025 experience with Xreal One Pros proves that the evolution is well underway. Now it's your turn, Apple.
CNET
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
Looking for Everyday Glasses? The Meta Ray-Bans AI-Powered Glasses Are Now Up to $76 Off
You've surely heard of smart watches and rings but what about smart glasses? Meta's line of AI powered Ray Bans are some of the leaders in this category. They have pretty cool features including taking photos and videos as well as making calls. With a higher end build and features, the price isn't terribly affordable. But thanks to Best Buy, you can save up to $76 on a pair right now. This drops the starting price down to just $239. Don't miss out. These Meta AI-powered Ray Bans are made with UVA and UVB protection, perfect for this summer. They have unique smart features like photo and video capabilities, phone calls and even streaming directly on apps like Instagram or Facebook. The microphone is pretty great too allowing your audio to be heard clearly in a call, stream or anything in between. The AI features can help out a lot in your day-to-day life, too. In his expert review, Scott Stein claims "...can take snapshots of the world and then analyze those images with generative AI, answering back in audio." These glasses don't come on sale often so when they do, it's a pretty big deal. Meta is slashing up to $76 off various colors and styles such as Wayfarer and Skyler styles and more. We don't know when this sale will end so grab what you want know before it's too late. Many styles are already starting to sell out, too. These glasses are on sale at Amazon, too. Why this deal matters These Meta Ray Ban glasses rarely ever go on sale. The last time we saw them on sale was during Black Friday of 2024. During the Black Friday sale, they were discounted by 20%. Right now, the glasses are up to $76 off with a starting price of $239, depending on which style you go for. Keep in mind, this sale won't last long so grab what you're interested in now.
CNET
11-06-2025
- CNET
Apple's VisionOS 26 Hands-On: Virtual Me and 3D Memories Are Stunning
My virtual Scott Stein persona is hauntingly real, spatial scenes feel like living 3D memories and even the experience of sticking widgets to virtual walls – and virtual windows – is better than I ever thought. Hey. That's me. My first experience in Apple's new Vision OS 26, announced Monday at WWDC, was making my new 3D-scanned Persona, a feature that Apple says is finally out of beta. I used to find its uncanny style funny, but not anymore. I find it unsettlingly real. Like, I feel like I'm watching myself. New Personas are one of several upgrades to Apple's $3,500 Vision Pro headset announced at this year's WWDC, but there's more that surprised me. There's 3D-converting Spatial Scenes mode that also works in iOS and looks absolutely wild in-headset. The new widgets in VisionOS can be stuck to walls – even into walls – and looked so convincingly real in my demo at Apple Park. I felt like I could stick my head through a virtual window into a panorama photo of Tokyo that wasn't there. None of these improvements are game-changers, but they all far exceeded my expectations when I actually tried them. Apple's on-stage demos during its keynote really didn't do them justice. As usual I had to experience them in the actual headset to appreciate the impact. Unfortunately Apple still hasn't made any headway in camera-enabled AI for Vision Pro, something Google is already planning for Android XR, and an extra I can't wait to see in action. But Apple's skill at adding other features to Vision its AR/VR platform, once it actually does them, is impressive. If updates continue to be this eye-popping, I'm really curious where things go next, as Apple heads towards what should be a lower-priced, lighter version of Vision in the next year or two. Maybe by then it will finally work in camera-supported AI too. Yeah, Personas look this good. Apple/Screenshot by CNET Virtual me is almost me now (except for my hands) Apple says its Personas in Vision are now officially out of beta with VisionOS 26, and it shows. The previous versions of Personas, the 3D-scanned avatars Apple uses in VisionOS, have improved over time but their uncanny vibe remained off-putting. The new scanning now includes more of the sides of people's heads, and Apple's not windowing off Personas in FaceTimes anymore in the headset. They're popping into your room. I scanned myself using the Vision Pro like always, but this time I was greeted with a more realistic version of me, for better and for worse. I saw the bags under my eyes. I saw my beard's salt-and-pepper details. I looked like me. Personas can't be scanned while wearing glasses, so my specs still can't come aboard, but the virtual glasses options are far better now. I could pick from a variety of frames, colors and materials and size them up, too. That feature alone felt like a preview of potential Vision glasses-shopping apps to come. My expressions feel right, too. I couldn't make every expression, but I tried a bunch and I didn't see many fail. Sadly, my hands were still just ghostly things that vanished as I put them closer to my face. I also recorded a test clip of myself using a third-party app, and the result was good enough that I think it captures me now. Will people think it's me? I started wondering about how Personas could be used as virtual stand-ins for myself – not just in Vision, but in 2D apps. Will Apple bring Personas everywhere across iOS and Macs someday? I think it will. There's no way to show in 2D how Spatial Scenes feel. Apple/Screenshot by CNET Virtual memories via Spatial Scenes feel like 3D dioramas Apple is finally living up to the initial Vision Pro ads, where people watched photo memories in 3D like they were moments from Minority Report. A previous auto-converting tool turned 2D photos into 3D, but the Spatial Scenes upgrade lets you actually move back and forth and even deeper into a photo. The frame's larger field of view feels like a window into a museum diorama. A few demo examples made my jaw drop. They're not the same as full volumetric 3D scans, but the tool magically fills in some fuzzy details at the fringes as I shift my point of view, making it feel like the whole thing is really a window into somewhere else. That scene in Ready Player One where Wade visits a museum full of 3D memories of James Halliday's life? It's sort of like that. But this is only for still photos. Spatial Scenes also work in iOS, but I'm telling you, the effect isn't nearly as compelling. Apple/Screenshot by CNET Widgets to fill my rooms Another demo showed me how Apple's widgets can be pinned to walls and other surfaces. I walked into a virtual room and found widgets suddenly popping up everywhere: a music poster on the wall, a window on another, calendars and clocks somewhere else. The OS update can also recognize and remember room layouts and turn off the virtual overlays until you enter, preventing bleed where you might see other rooms' screens through the walls. I've seen pinned displays and windows before in other headsets, glasses and apps, but these still surprised me with their fidelity. An Apple Music poster looked convincingly real and added extra details as I approached, then played music if I tapped it. Clocks look like actual wall clocks. And widgets can be virtually inset into walls, which is wild. The panorama window, which adds photos from your library, had reflective detail around the white curved pane that made it feel really there and inset. The 3D effect was convincing enough that I felt like I could walk up to it and feel really transported – it was even better at closer range. Would I actually use these widgets? I don't know, but I feel the mixed reality blend more than ever. There's more. A 3D "spatial browser" turns Safari into a larger reading mode that auto-converts the images inside to 3D. There's also a new interactive environment in the headset that shows Jupiter viewed from one of its moons, with an interactive panel that can change time of day. The interactive features aren't coming to Apple's other Vision 3D environment backgrounds yet, but I hope they will. Collaboration in the Vision Pro is going to be more of a thing. Apple/Screenshot by CNET More to come this year Apple has other updates that are useful, too. Collaboration in apps can work with other people in-room now, or mix in others coming in as Personas. And I didn't get to try any spatial controller support, which will work with PlayStation VR 2 controllers and third-party styluses. That's coming later this year, I was told, likely because the apps aren't there to work with it yet. Apple still has a long way to go to make its Vision really feel like a face-mounted computer for everyone, but the updates in VisionOS 26 are more impressive than I expected. Apple is pushing boundaries that competitors like Meta and Google, with their focus on AI, are not even tapping into yet.
CNET
06-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
Rare Meta Ray-Ban Deal Knocks 20% Off the Popular AI-Powered Glasses
Wearables have become an integral part of our lives, whether you're regularly rocking a smartwatch, smart ring or something else. When it comes to smart glasses, Meta's line of AI-powered Ray-Bans are in a class of their own, but they don't come cheap with pricies usually starting at around $300. Sales on these glasses going are pretty rare, too, but right now Meta is slashing 20% off various colors and styles such as Wayfarer, Skyler, Headliner and more. That brings the starting cost down to just $239, a price also matched at Amazon. If you're interested, don't wait too long. This sale ends on June 16. Whichever Meta Ray-Ban glasses you choose, they all have UVA and UVB ray protection, the ability to conduct video and regular phone calls and work with Meta AI to take photos and videos. You can even stream directly on apps like Instagram. They have a pretty solid built-in microphone, giving you clear quality when taking calls as well as great speakers for listening to music, podcasts and more. The battery lasts about one day before they'll need to be recharged. In his expert review, Scott Stein claims "Meta's glasses have shown me something somewhat astonishing at times: by being a companion to my everyday glasses, they achieve something -- even if limited -- that the most advanced VR mixed reality headsets can't." He also loves how AI isn't the main focus of these glasses. Even though that is a prominent and pretty useful feature, they are glasses first, followed by a camera and headphones and lastly an AI tool. These glasses are also getting new features at a decent clip, too. Why this deal matters These Meta Ray Ban glasses don't go on sale often. In fact, the last time we saw them on sale was during Black Friday last year. During the Black Friday sale, they were also discounted by 20%. Right now, the glasses are down to a starting price of $239, depending on which style you go for. Keep in mind, this sale ends on June 16.
CNET
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Nintendo Switch 2 Launch: What to Know Before You Get Yours
Scott Stein/CNET The Nintendo Switch 2 goes on sale tonight, but I've got a Switch 2 and some other gear right now, and am getting a feel for the hardware as fast as I can. The Switch 2 box is pretty compact, and it's similar-looking to the original Switch. The dock is thick, but similar to previous Switch docks. This one has its own cooling fan, with HDMI, USB-C and Ethernet ports inside, and two USB-A ports outside. I'll be setting up the Switch 2 soon, will have thoughts on how everything works! The magnetically-snapping Joy-Cons are already a lot easier to swap on and off.
