Starbucks coffee mugs price

Meta just made the surprising announcement that it will be raising the price of its Quest 2 virtual reality headsets by $100 next month. If you did a double take upon seeing that news, we commiserate — it’s weird for a two-year-old consumer tech product to suddenly go up in price. We’re conditioned to expect the price of tech products to go down over time thanks to the relentless advancement of technology and more efficient manufacturing processes. But here, the same product you could buy in September 2020 will cost 33 percent more in August 2022. The official reason Meta is upping prices is that “the costs to make and ship our products have been on the rise,” according to a company blog post credited only to the “Oculus Blog.” “By adjusting the price of Quest 2, we can continue to grow our investment in groundbreaking research and new product development that pushes the VR industry to new heights.” Prices for a lot of things we cover here at The Verge have gone up in … [Read more...] about Yes, it’s weird for the two-year-old Meta Quest 2 to go up in price

Audio player loading… The Oculus Quest 2 is about to get a lot more expensive. Meta representatives informed us via a press release that from August 1, 2022, one of the best VR headsets out there is going to see its price jump up to $400 / £400 / AU$630 for the 128GB version (up from $299 / £299 / AU$479), and $500 / £500 / AU$790 for the 256GB model (instead of $399 / £399 / AU$639). That means if you want to grab the Oculus Quest 2 ( now officially the Meta Quest 2 ) before it sees a massive price hike you’ve only got a couple of days left. Meta has warned that the price increase will also impact the best Oculus Quest 2 accessories and refurbished units –  giving you even fewer reasons to hold off making a purchase if you've been on the fence. According to Meta, despite the incredible success its VR hardware has seen – with an estimated 15 million Quest 2 headsets being sold , and over $1 billion being spent on Meta Quest apps since launch – the … [Read more...] about Oculus Quest 2 is getting a major price hike so it’s time to bring back the 64GB model

The best standing desks around today can help offset and prevent a sedentary lifestyle. The health benefits they offer to those of us who spend all day in front of our computers can’t be understated. We are not meant to sit around all day. Sitting down too long – more than 8 hours a day – as stated by the American Journal of Public Health (opens in new tab) , can not only increase the risk of chronic diseases by 10% to 20% but premature death as well. UK's NHS points out (opens in new tab) that it also could slow your metabolism, which could impact "the body's ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat." Unfortunately, most of us spend a large portion of our work life hunkered down at an office desk (opens in new tab) , which is why a standing desk is a great investment. Even students going back to school should consider one for a healthier way to do homework. To help you make the leap to a healthier work life, we’ve collected the best … [Read more...] about Best standing desk for home office and WFH 2022

Audio player loading… While I often consider my iPad Pro a pretty great tablet, it's not perfect - and with Huawei launching a new slate that could hit our list of the best tablets , I'm reminded of a common issue I have with Apple's iPads. The new tablet is an updated version of the Huawei MatePad Pro called... well, with the same name, but we'll append (2022) so you know that we're talking about the new one. This new MatePad Pro has an 11-inch screen, like its predecessor, and the big upgrade over the 2021 model is in this display, as it uses OLED tech instead of LCD, and has a 120Hz refresh rate. The new tablet also has improved speakers, a redesigned rear camera bump, and software that's designed to be better for multi-tasking. When I was reading the press release on the new Huawei MatePad Pro, I wasn't sure that it was worth reporting on - Huawei hasn't provided a price or release date, or even said whether it'll be available to buy in any … [Read more...] about My iPad Pro would be the best tablet ever if Apple borrowed this Huawei pad feature

A hot potato: Smartwatches have come a long way in recent years. In the UK, they'll soon be used as a way to track migrants who have been convicted of a criminal offense through the use of face scanning and facial recognition technology. The Guardian reports that plans from the UK's Home Office and the Ministry of Justice involve smartwatches installed with facial recognition software scanning the faces of migrants with criminal records up to five times per day. The scheme is set to come into effect this fall at the cost of $6 million ($7.25 million), though it's unknown how many watches will be produced and the individual build price for each unit. British technology company Buddi Limited will create the "non-fitted devices" to monitor "specific cohorts," part of the Home Office Satellite Tracking Service. Buddi's website shows it creates wrist wearables and clip-on devices that allow vulnerable people to alert others in an emergency. The wristbands also have Apple … [Read more...] about The UK will use smartwatches and facial recognition to monitor migrants convicted of crimes

Around the same time Meta hiked up the price on its Quest 2 headsets , it also announced that it’s ending Quest 1 support for Population One , a popular battle-royale shooter set in virtual reality. BigBox VR, the Meta-owned developer behind the game, shared the update in a post on its blog , noting that Quest 1 owners will no longer be able to launch or play the game starting October 31st, 2022. BigBox VR says the shutdown is necessary so it can focus on developing new experiences “that will push the boundaries of multiplayer VR.” Quest 1 players can still technically play the game if they have a VR-ready PC, however. The game supports cross-buy , which makes the PC version available via Air Link and Oculus Link . This should let users play Population: One by connecting their Quest 1 headset to their computer (whether wirelessly or with a wired connection). Players using the Quest 2, Oculus Rift, and Oculus Rift S will still have access to the game. While Meta’s … [Read more...] about Meta is shutting down one of its biggest VR games — but only for Quest 1 owners

Editor's Note: July 2022 We've started the second-half of the year, so you know what that means: all those major product announcements back in January are now hitting the store shelves, whether digitally or at local brick-and-mortar retailers, and many of the best monitors have gotten updates this year. This includes a new entry on our list, the Gigabyte M32UC, an UHD curved gaming monitor that hits a sweet spot between price, performance, and features that make it a standout choice for gamers on a budget. - John Loeffler, US Computing Editor The best monitor for you will obviously depend on what you need it to do, whether it's gaming, photo editing, or including important features like picture-in-picture or multiple input sources. Fortunately, there is a monitor for every need on the market, but unfortunately, there are a lot of monitors with opaque names that make it nearly impossible to sift through them all to find the one you want. The computing team has done a lot … [Read more...] about Best monitor 2022: the best monitors for every budget

We're firmly in the world of the best 4K monitors now, and though 1080p and 1440p monitors are hardly obsolete, a whole new generation of 4K monitors have hit the market with better speeds and responsiveness, meaning having to sacrifice refresh rates for resolution are a thing of the past. You can now have both. The best monitors with the most visual clarity, at least the ones that aren't reserved for royalty who can afford the best 5K and 8K monitors , will make your movies and video games pop off the screen, while the best monitors for photo editing and video editing don't just offer 4K resolutions, but they also have the widest possible color gamut coverage so you can feel confident that what you're editing on the screen is as close to the real thing as possible. Ultra HD resolution may not be the current standard just yet, and the best 1440p monitors still continue to hit that sweet spot between high resolution and affordability. But, 4K is what you need in order to get … [Read more...] about The best 4K Monitors 2022: top Ultra HD screens for your PC

Editor's Note: July 2022 We're rounding the halfway mark on 2022, and this year's best ultrawide monitor models are starting to fill up store shelves, both the physical and digital kind. It's also a time to wave goodbye to some discontinued monitors, like the BenQ EX3510R, which was one of our favorite ultrawide monitors on this list. Fortunately, BenQ has released the EX3410R, which is a slightly smaller but more capable ultrawide than the EX3510R. It is much faster, both in refresh and pixel response, and has slightly better contrast and brightness as well. Best of all, it's a good deal less expensive, so you're getting a much better value any way you look at it. - John Loeffler, US Computing Editor Getting the best ultrawide monitor you can afford will probably feel like a bit of a flex for a lot of people, a way to make a statement more than serve a purpose. In a world dominated by 16:9 aspect in TVs, film, and displays of all kinds, it makes sense to ask what the … [Read more...] about Best ultrawide monitors 2022: the top 21:9 monitors we’ve tested

There’s never been a better time to switch to one of the best curved monitors that 2022 has to offer. If you’re in the market for a new computer display , skip those outdated flat panel displays and go curved, which includes some of the best 4K monitors . Make sure to check out our included price comparison tool to find the best price. There’s nothing quite as immersive as the best curved monitors. Flat panel displays pale in comparison. And, though their curvature gives these monitors their unique look, it’s more than just an aesthetic.  There are some actual benefits to using a curved screen over a flat one, especially as you go up in size. Besides that more immersive viewing experience, the best curved displays also cure a few issues that flat ones have. They suffer less from edge distortion. And, more importantly, that curvature lessens the risk of eye strain and ensures that you have a wider field of view. Regardless of whether you’re playing your favorite games, editing … [Read more...] about Best curved monitors 2022: excellent curved displays for more immersive viewing