MyOpinion

Virtual Desktop rewrote its macOS streamer from scratch, letting you spawn extra monitors and offering higher framerate and lower latency than even Apple's Mac Virtual Display.

While Virtual Desktop doesn't support its now-flagship PC VR streaming feature on macOS, since neither Meta's PC VR runtime nor Valve's SteamVR even support macOS, it does stream your monitors as 2D virtual surfaces, which was actually the app's original feature before VR streaming.

Since June of last year, Virtual Desktop has even been able to spawn extra monitors for Windows PCs, but doing so on macOS required using third-party solutions like BetterDisplay. Now, with the new update, Virtual Desktop, can do this on macOS itself.

Scientists at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center have demonstrated VR's effectiveness in managing cancer pain while developing a new method for measuring pain objectively. Their study, published in Scientific Reports, used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to analyze brain activity and classify pain into three levels: mild, moderate, and severe.

The research team worked with three distinct groups: healthy participants without VR exposure, cancer patients using VR, and cancer patients without VR intervention. All participants wore wireless fNIRS headgear to monitor their brain activity. The VR group experienced "Oceania," a nine-minute relaxation program on Meta Quest, with pain levels measured before and after the session.

The results were impressive: over 75% of patients reported pain reduction exceeding 30% — a threshold considered clinically meaningful. The team's pain classification model achieved 74% accuracy in predicting pain intensity based on brain activity. Additionally, they observed significant changes in brain connectivity, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, which handles cognitive functions and emotional regulation.

I saw the tracking system occasionally slip out of position during this aggressive testing. If the strap slips out of place in any way on my body, it seemed enough to confuse the system and trigger the need for a recalibration. That's a quick process, but one that could be annoying if you had to do it multiple times during a play session. I suspect that for high-intensity movements, mocopi Pro might need a more robust harnessing system to ensure reliable tracking.

Overall, though, I was impressed testing mocopi Pro, and it seemed to have solid performance to my eyes. Of course, incorporating Sony's software ecosystem into the workflow of a professional would be an entirely different question.

Photos app gets 3D conversion, Spatial Photos support (iPhone 16)

2D photos can now be converted to photos with a stereoscopic depth effect. This can be done individually or for a large number of photos (batch conversion). Apple Vision Pro offers a similar feature, while Meta Quest does not support it at all. Spatial photos and videos taken with iPhone 16 can now be viewed in the headset, all with improved image quality thanks to multi-frame noise reduction. Meta Quest only supports spatial video playback. New tool: Performance Tuner

The Performance Tuner copies the concept of the Quest Games Optimizer and allows users to set performance parameters (resolution, frame rate, CPU level, GPU level, fixed-focus rendering) for individual apps for an optimal gaming experience. The tool can be found in Settings > Developer.

On Meta Quest, third-party applications such as the Quest Games Optimizer, SideQuest or the manual input of ADB commands are required for the same function.

Spatial video recordings

You can now record content in spatial video format with the headset and view it as spatial video in the photo gallery.

Improved Pico Connect

Pico's PC VR app now supports frame interpolation, which improves streaming performance on mid-range and low-end PCs.

More flexibility in window management

The distance and position of application windows can now be freely adjusted.

The lying down mode now also has a shortcut in the Control Center, making it easier to toggle it on and off. In Meta Quest, this requires clicking through several menus.

Handtracking-only mode

According to Pico, the new interaction mode provides a "controller-free experience". You can switch between the different interaction modes at any time in the Control Center.

Improved motion tracker

The algorithm has been optimized to improve stability in sitting and lying positions. The update also increases the tracking update frequency, resulting in more accurate and smoother display of complex movements.

The ultimate accessory for serious VR gamers, the StretchSense Reality XR Game Gloves take VR gaming to a new level of immersion.

With Valve Index controller emulation for all Valve Index compatible games on the SteamVR library, it’s time to ditch the controllers for an unrivalled blend of realism, control, and comfort.

Features and Pricing The Reality XR Game glove has 32 sensors for finger tracking, twice as many as its predecessor, the Studio Glove. Brand new animation machine learning system for highest fidelity finger tracking with per finger splay Wrist orientation tracking – IMU based No occlusion or magnetic interference Haptic module for confirmatory haptic feedback Virtual joystick, choose between using your thumb or wrist orientation Map any gesture as any Valve Index button All day battery life. 20hrs without haptics 5m wireless range. Pair the gloves directly with your PC. No dongle required. The knitted fabric make them the most comfortable glove on the market Durable and machine washable

$399/pair USD

If you want to use it with steamvr you will need a tracker for each glove that you need to purchase extra.

Now live on all platforms, the latest No Man Sky update now allows you to dig up the skeletal remains of alien creatures that once inhabited these worlds. Hello Games confirmed RELICS lets you reshape and dig deep into the terrain of each world, digging up prehistoric bones of varying sizes and rarity to excavate. Any missing ones can also be bought from a new specialist at the space station, and these fossils can then be displayed however you'd wish.

The Nissan LEAF is now a crossover with some pretty major upgrades. Nissan unveiled the third-gen EV, dropping the iconic hatch design for a stylish crossover. It now has significantly more range, and it even has an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers. Here’s our first look at the new Nissan LEAF EV.

Underpinned by its new CMF-EV platform, the same one underpinning the Ariya SUV, Nissan promises the new LEAF will have “significant range improvements” over the outgoing model. It will also be available with 19″ alloy wheels and a panoramic moonroof for the first time.

One of the most exciting upgrades is that the new LEAF will be Nissan’s first EV with an integrated NACS port so you can charge up at Tesla Superchargers. This alone will make it more competitive in the US.

Nissan said more details will be shared mid-year. However, Nissan vehicle programs chief, Francois Bailly, told TopGear.com the new LEAF is expected to have 373 miles (600 km) driving range (WLTP). It will draw power from Nissan’s new 3-in-1 EV powertrain.

The new LEAF will arrive in the US and Canada later this year, joining the Ariya electric SUV. It will be one of ten new and refreshed vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands.

South Korean news portal ETNews, citing industry sources, reports that Samsung plans to launch a smart glasses product, codenamed Haean, later this year alongside the Project Moohan mixed reality headset. Features and specifications are said to be being finalized. According to the report, Samsung is focusing on comfort and will include cameras and sensors to track movements.

Like the headset, the smart glasses will likely be based on Google's Android XR operating system. Last September, Qualcomm CEO Christiano Amon hinted that Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm were working on AI glasses, and in October, The Information reported that Google and Samsung were developing a competitor to the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses based on the Gemini AI assistant.

While not a household name, China’s Vivo is known for its sensible, mid-range smartphones, regularly ranking it in the top five smartphone creators by market share.

Now, at the Boao Forum for Asia in China’s Hainan Province today, the company showed off its first entry into the XR segment: Vivo Vision.

In a press statement, Vivo says the move comes as a broader push to pursue both robotics and XR devices, referring to Vivo Vision as “a significant milestone in vivo’s exploration of mixed reality technology.”

As Vivo’s first XR device, it’s possible the company may attempt the same feat with Google’s upcoming Android XR OS, which is being launched with Samsung’s upcoming mixed reality, ‘Project Moohan’, which is said to release sometime this year, although that’s pure speculation for now.

This marks a growing trend of look-alike Vision Pros arriving from Chinese manufacturers, with the first notable arriving from Play for Dream; its MR headset not only stole the show at CES 2025 earlier this year, but also garnered high praise from former Quest engineer Amanda Watson, who called it “absolutely the best all around HMD demo I saw on the floor today.”

As someone who spent countless hours on Soulcalibur IV as a teen, I was disappointed to learn you can't throw people out of the arenas, though there are some things fighting fans should appreciate. The character intros when a match starts are a nice touch to give each character some personality, and there's a great atmosphere boosted by colorful stages and an energetic soundtrack.

I'm impressed by what I've seen, though I need more time to determine whether any characters feel unbalanced. I've also yet to try the offline modes. So far, it's a promising start, and Final Fury could become a must-play for classic fighting game fans. The controls feel great, winning is highly satisfying, and that's all boosted by a strong presentation. A lot can change between now and launch, but the early signs are positive.

Final Fury is “coming soon” to Steam and the Meta Quest platform, and an Alpha playtest is currently live on both platforms.

Bigscreen says it sold more Beyond 2 headsets in the first 24 hours than it did Beyond 1 in its first 6 months.

It says this represents ten times as many Beyond 2 headsets as compared to Beyond 1's launch day two years ago.

The startup also said yesterday that it outsold Beyond 1's first day in just 25 minutes, and its first 2 months in just 4 hours.

New orders of Beyond 2 and Beyond 2e will now ship in June, compared to April and May for the first batches respectively.

Bigscreen Beyond 2 and Beyond 2e were announced and went on sale yesterday. Compared to the original, Beyond 2 adds clearer, wider lenses with independent IPD adjustment, all while actually weighing 20 grams less, and Beyond 2e also adds eye tracking via just 1.05 grams of tiny sensors.

The original Bigscreen Beyond is used by 0.45% of SteamVR users, around 1 in 200. We'll keep a close eye on the adoption of Beyond 2 in the coming months, with its initial sales velocity suggesting it might surpass the original by the end of the year.

The reason I made the trip is because the latest design includes a new feature absent in the original which made it exceptionally hard for me to fully review. Namely, the new Bigscreen Beyond 2 adds independent adjustment of lens placement directly in front of each eye.

"Independent monocular IPD was made for your eyes Ian," Shankar wrote over email. "It’s not a common need, but we remembered your desire for it."

After criss-crossing the United States to test the new hardware, and after talking to Shankar for a couple hours, I can write the following sentence about Bigscreen Beyond 2:

I've never seen anything like it.

Bigscreen's elegant solution to lens placement involves the use of what they call an IPD Tool for manually adjusting each lens position. Apple's $3500 headset automatically moves each lens into individualized placement in front of each pupil, but Bigscreen's solution is cheaper and lighter.

The lightweight solution in Beyond 2, meanwhile, also makes the headset shareable with others with a quick change that also ensures accidental adjustments don't occur when handling the device, because there's no button or wheel to hit as is present on some other headsets.

And really, this is just cool.

I saw fewer distracting internal reflections and, overall, the area of clarity is huge. Bigscreen claims "total edge-to-edge clarity", and the lenses did seem very clear to the edges. The biggest distraction for me was some kind of tracking jitter I usually associate with SteamVR base stations. This was a pre-production unit I wore, the base stations weren't in the best position and there were plenty of reflective surfaces in the area that could have caused issues. Still, it was a minor distraction during a short demo, and we'll need to see how a shipping headset holds up over many hours of wear to make a review recommendation.

The more important thing to convey is to those of you who are just learning about Bigscreen for the first time. This device is built by genuine VR enthusiasts building VR headsets for people who want to spend hours at incredible places. For those who haven't experienced VR yet, yes, there's a full theater-sized screen inside that tiny headset, and it could have just as easily been Half-Life: Alyx I was playing in there.

Bigscreen says it weighs just 107 grams, down from 127 grams in the first version. With Beyond 2, this company of less than 40 employees puts the critique that VR headsets are heavy in the past. You'd think it was an FPV viewer but, no, this really is a PC-powered VR headset you can share with family and friends.

Beyond 2 is slated to start shipping in April starting at $1019 with an eye-tracking model to follow for $1219. Bigscreen recommends an RTX 2070 or higher graphics card to drive the headset with a PC.