Technologies

Apple Should Build Their AR on the Meta Quest

Commentary: Its glasses may be on hold, but the immediate future is already in front of us.

Apple’s first-ever VR-AR or «mixed reality» device is expected this year, and already its follow-up product seems to be on hold. According to Bloomberg’s reliable Mark Gurman, a planned set of AR glasses isn’t coming from Apple anytime soon. That’s OK: AR glasses don’t seem like they’re imminent from anyone.

After a trip to Las Vegas to try out some of the emerging technologies around future VR and AR headsets, one thing is increasingly clear: Everyone’s trying to figure out AR glasses, but everyone’s trying to perfect VR headsets. The difference between those two scenarios is bigger than you think.

All-day AR glasses that are useful, work convincingly, have long enough battery life, work with your phone and function as actually legit prescription glasses haven’t materialized, although the pieces are coming into place. Companies like Meta have promised a decade-long path to these glasses. It turns out, maybe, that’s going to be the case for everyone else, too. I’ve seen smart glasses that look real but don’t do much, or glasses with AR that feel chunky and do some things, but don’t quite work with my vision and can’t figure out how to work with my phone yet. Chipmaker Qualcomm is working on this; Google, Apple and Samsung need to solve it someday, too.

In the meantime, VR already has a very real and reasonably popular product that most families I know in the everyday world are familiar with: the Meta (formerly Oculus) Quest 2.

That recognition is no small thing. I think of the Quest’s place in everyday life like the Amazon Echo was years ago: something odd that over time became familiar, normalized. Something reasonably priced, and good enough to do a few things actually well. The Quest 2 is basically a game console. Where Meta has struggled is figuring out how to expand that base beyond gamers.

Following Meta’s playbook is something I expected Apple would do. Heck, I expect most companies are going to do it. The Quest 2 works just like most people imagine it will, or better. It’s a bit of instant magic that’s totally wire-free.

The Quest 2 does have downsides. In fact, those problems emerge the more you use it. I find connecting with friends and social spaces gets weird and buggy, prone to lag, disconnects and way-too-basic avatars. The battery life is bad. For fitness apps, which the Quest 2 can do surprisingly well, it’s still not good at really managing sweat or keeping my glasses from fogging.

Even though Meta wants the Quest 2 and higher-end, work-focused Quest Pro to open up new ways to work by creating virtual monitors around my laptop, the connections and display quality aren’t good enough to be more than a clever experiment most of the time. I can see my laptop keyboard with the Quest Pro’s passthrough cameras, but typing feels awkward and nowhere near as good as when I’m just on my laptop… and I can’t see my phone screen to check messages, either. The Quest can show me phone notifications like a basic smartwatch from a decade ago, but I can’t interact with them.

These VR headsets can even do some basic AR, using passthrough cameras that «mix reality» to show the real world in fuzzier video, with VR layered on top. The effect is sometimes pretty amazing, and could even approach feelings I’ve had with early AR headsets like the Microsoft HoloLens 2.

So where does that put Apple? Clearly, there’s a headset coming soon. And according to Bloomberg’s Gurman, the next goal after this first expensive headset is to work on a more affordable model. It’s like Meta’s approach to the Quest and Quest Pro, in reverse. And there are plenty of things Apple could focus on to make its entry into VR (and AR) worth the effort.

Better comfort, better fitness

The Quest 2 is already an affordable fitness device, and pairs with watches to show heart rate and fitness stats. Apple clearly has an advantage on time spent developing the Apple Watch, fitness and health tracking, and its Fitness Plus subscription video workouts, which also have overlaid fitness stats.

Apple could emphasize workouts and fitness on its headset, with comfortable, breathable straps and face pieces that could feel better for exercise. Meta is starting to realize it needs to improve comfort for VR: A recent Razer partnership using head straps made by CPAP-maker ResMed shows a need for better materials. I’d expect Apple to make this aspect a key part of the headset’s advantages. There are other advantages, too. Apps like Beat Saber and Supernatural use music for fitness, and Apple already has all of Apple Music at its disposal.

Connect better with laptops, iPads, phones, watches

VR headsets right now have an extremely hard time working well with all the other things we have lying around us. I can’t get a Quest to connect nicely with my phone all the time. To work with my laptop, I need a specialized third-party app with its own thing I have to install on my laptop and turn on.

Meanwhile, Apple has been focusing on handoffs and continuity across AirPods, HomePods, iPhones, Apple Watches, MacBooks, Apple TVs… all over the place. That’s what’s needed to make a VR headset seem seamless and integrated into other stuff. I want to check my watch in VR, or use it to control apps. Or use my phone, and also see the phone. Suddenly grab my laptop, and the headset connects. Incoming calls? No problem. Send myself things back and forth from my phone or laptop and get all the files and things I want, and not feel like I’m on a vacation from them. That’s what Apple’s headset could set out to achieve.

That’s a best-case scenario. Much like the first Apple Watch and iPhone, the actual Day 1 functions of this headset might end up disappointing.

Better social

Even though the metaverse is on everyone’s minds, there aren’t many big social spaces in VR that work well. Microsoft’s Altspace is nice, but often feels empty. VRChat is wild, experimental, full of big features and ideas, and feels like a messy explosion that’s hard to jump into. Meta can’t get enough people into Horizon Worlds. Even when these platforms do work, for concerts or events, the limits on people who can attend at once, the lag and drop-off, not to mention the avatar limits, make it a trade-off versus any other way you could connect on a phone or laptop.

Apple may not be able to solve this any better for larger-scale experiences, but for more intimate and several-person FaceTime-like moments, Apple could make shared experiences in VR work a lot better. Meta hasn’t perfected social VR yet, and someone needs to.

Can Apple make a better controller? (Or none?)

The Quest 2 controllers are fine, but all of VR leans on the same game controller-like inputs for headsets. Apple’s headset could lean more on hand tracking, or wearable inputs like the Apple Watch. I’m curious if a more work-oriented controller or accessory can be created that makes the headset feel better for taking on apps beyond games. Meta’s working on a long-term, game-changing shift to neural input wristbands eventually, but it’s unclear whether this approach will end up succeeding.

The Quest platform has continually improved its hand tracking over the years. However, hand tracking’s reliance on particular gestures without any physical feedback is an imperfect solution right now. Maybe Apple tries hand tracking along with using an Apple Watch or the iPhone for tactile haptic feedback, or finds a smaller go-between accessory.

I’ve been trying out experimental haptic technology recently, trying to imagine how VR could think its way to new inputs. This headset feels like the biggest opportunity Apple’s ever faced to create a brand-new type of input device that could make a big impact on the landscape. If it’s done right, maybe it’ll be the input accessory that makes its future AR glasses, whenever they arrive, seem feasible.

Build out more interesting mixed reality

For all the Meta Quest Pro promises to blend AR and VR with its mixed-reality capabilities, not many apps tap into its extras yet. I’ve seen some mind-blowing demos of mixed reality in VR with the ultra-high-end Varjo XR-3 connected to a PC, which at least showed me ways that a VR headset could begin to feel like a portal interconnected to my own home reality. Apple could start experimenting with more engaging AR moments in a high-end VR headset, and at least get the ball rolling on things that work in advance of whenever its AR glasses are ready, years from now.

Smaller sessions in VR may make more sense right now

VR is a thing I don’t use all the time, and that’s true for most people. Maybe that’s exactly where Apple should start. It’s not a given we’ll want to wear AR glasses everywhere, or even what those glasses would be good for. In the meantime, a VR headset at home that’s meant to be worn sometimes, but not all the time, is the place most of us feel safest to start. It’s why the Quest is something people actually use.

It’s also a way to avoid dealing with questions of accommodating true prescription vision needs in everyday glasses, something no one’s succeeded in tackling, either. VR headsets sometimes need prescription inserts, but many just fit right over the glasses we already have. I prefer the easy-fit solution: I don’t need to make VR a thing I spend a whole day in. I’ll settle for a truly useful hour or two, and if Apple can make that hour or two even better than what we have now, that’s a big enough step forward for me.

Editor’s note, Jan. 20: Adds mention of Meta’s hand tracking for the Quest.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Sept. 11

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Sept. 11

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle took me a while. The answers are numerous and tough to unscramble, I thought. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Take a break

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Relax.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

STEER, SHOW, CREE, STEM, METS, MICE, SHADE, DIME, TREE, STREET, DARE, DARES, PAIN, MITE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

READ, REST, PAINT, SHOWER, STRETCH, EXERCISE, MEDITATE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is METIME. To find it, look for the M that’s three letters down on the far-left row, and march straight across.

Technologies

Everything Announced at Apple Event 2025: iPhone Air, iPhone 17, AirPods Pro 3 and New Apple Watches

Apple’s annual September reveal of its latest mobile devices featured the brand new iPhone Air, AirPods Pro 3 with heart-rate sensing, the iPhone 17 lineup and new Apple Watches.

Each September, Apple’s product release playbook dials up the unveiling of the company’s newest line of iPhones, along with a variety of complementary gadgets. On Tuesday, the company took the wraps off the iPhone 17 in all its variations, most notably the new skinny iPhone Air, along with new Apple Watches — Series 11 and Ultra 3 — and an upgrade to its 2-year-old AirPods Pro 2 earbuds.

Along with the hardware, Apple is rolling out the new versions of the devices’ respective operating systems, iOS 26 and WatchOS 26, both of which have been in public beta all summer. (The final version of iOS 26 will be available on Monday, Sept. 15.) The new Liquid Glass interface design may even seem routine to you by now.

Many of the new devices’ capabilities come from new features in their operating systems, and throughout Apple stressed health and fitness as one of the primary drivers. It deemphasized how many of the features’ analysis capabilities — notably most of the new heart-rate sensing and Live Translation in the AirPods Pro 3 — really rely on the iPhone for their heavy lifting.

Given Apple’s struggles with its AI efforts, especially given how much it stressed Apple Intelligence at previous events, the company came as close to downplaying it as it could: There was only the occasional mention of features being driven by AI and the increased neural power in the new A19 Pro processor. And despite no discussion of smart home tech, there was a brief hint in the iPhone Air announcement.

For more in-the-moment commentary, check out ourApple Event live blog.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

iPhone 17 boasts a better screen

The update to Apple’s most mainstream model comes in pastel colors. Notably, the base iPhone 17 now has a ProMotion (120Hz VRR) display, which was formerly only on the Pro models. The screen is larger (6.3 inches) and brighter (up to 3,000 nits) with an improved scratch- and glare-resistant coating. ProMotion has been a much-wanted upgrade; I think there’s probably some dancing going on right now. Inside, it incorporates the A19 chip with a five-core GPU and adds fast charging.

The new front camera has an 18-megapixel square sensor for more flexibility in framing, alongside a larger field of view to enable Center Stage and stabilization. It still has two cameras, though the main camera is bumped to 48 megapixels via Dual Fusion or 24 megapixels as standard.

It starts at $799 in the US — the 16E remains in the line at $599 — and all the iPhones are available for preorder now. It’s £799 in the UK and AU$1,399 in Australia.

The iPhone Air is thin but powerful

Thin seems to be in for phones this year — at least for manufacturers, since buyers don’t seem to be quite as interested and iPhone buyers even less so. Did anyone ask for a super thin iPhone? But in the continuing absence of a foldable iPhone model, what’s a company to do? Behold the iPhone Air, at 5.6mm thick.

It has a polished titanium frame and Ceramic Shield on both sides, which makes some people just want to touch it. According to the company, it’s almost entirely battery on the inside, with Apple claiming all-day battery life.

It’s got high-end specs, too: a 6.5-inch ProMotion XDR display and the A19 Pro processor found in the Pro models. The processor incorporates neural accelerators into each GPU core (six of them), bigger caches and more, giving it quite a bit of computing power.

A new N1 chip and C2 modem improve connectivity (Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6) and power conservation. The device has 48-megapixel Fusion and 12-megapixel wide-angle cameras, the Center Stage front camera, and a way to combine front and back cameras live.

It requires all-new accessories, including a MagSafe pack (80 hours) and a thin, translucent case. It starts at $999 (£999, AU$1,799).

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max deliver a love letter to videographers

The flagship iPhone Pro models tend to differ only by screen size (now 6.3 and 6.9 inches), and their unique features are made possible by their higher-powered processors, more flexible camera arrays and other component differences over the lower-end models.

Like the Air, the iPhone 17 Pro uses an A19 Pro processor with updated cooling and thermal management — a vapor chamber — and has a Ceramic Shield back and front. Apple promises 39 hours of video playback.

The cameras are usually the highlight of the Pro, and that remains true: It has an 18-megapixel front Center Stage camera and a triple-camera Fusion Telephoto system, with three 48-megapixel cameras, including a 4x-8x telephoto for a maximum of 200mm equivalent. The phones can capture ProRes Raw and Genlock (to synchronize cameras for video), which should tickle the fancy of pro videographers.

The Pros now come in orange, which isn’t everyone’s favorite, and there’s a new 2TB storage option. They start at $1,099 (£1,099, AU$1,999).

Apple Watch Series 11, Watch SE and Watch Ultra 3 get redesigns

The Apple Watch Series 10 is our Editors’ Choice for smartwatches. The next-generation Watch Series 11 shrinks the thickness, with a more scratch-resistant front glass. It adds 5G support and better power management for up to 12 hours of battery life. A new Flow watch face takes advantage of Liquid Glass visuals. It adds blood pressure tracking (based on blood flow) to find indications of high blood pressure and sleep score from WatchOS 26. Prices start at $399 (£369, AU$679).

There are new bands in new colors, too.

It’s been three years since the last iteration of the Watch SE. Now, we get the Watch SE 3, with the new S10 chip with 5G wireless. It still delivers 18-hour battery life and an always-on display. There’s wrist temperature sensing for ovulation tracking, it gets sleep apnea tracking, sleep score and more. Prices start at $249 (£219, AU$399), and preorders start now.

Apple’s top-of-the-line smartwatch, the Ultra 3, is updated over the Watch Ultra 2 with a wide-angle OLED (smaller bezels mean more display area). Apple has given it emergency-related satellite connectivity, which required a new antenna and receiver. It also comes with increased battery life. Prices start at $799 (£749, AU$1,399).

AirPods Pro 3 upgrade includes live translation

The AirPods Pro 2 version released in 2023 offered only incremental hardware upgrades over the 2022 models (hence the lack of a name change). The AirPods Pro 3 are smaller, with an updated design that introduces foam-ish eartips for better noise isolation and upgraded active noise cancellation, live translation with adaptive ANC for better focus on the speaker, five sizes of ear tips and IP57 water resistance. Fitness enhancements include heart-rate and calorie tracking, among other updates, which come from iOS. Battery life increases to eight hours with ANC and 10 hours with transparency.

The live translation can be somewhat awkward, though, or as CNET’s Macy Meyer puts it, it’s fluent in convenience, not culture. The price hasn’t changed; they still start at $249 (£219, AU$429).

Notable new accessories for the iPhones

The iPhone Air debuts with new accessories. If you want to keep it thin and still have some level of protection, Apple is offering a $39 polycarbonate bumper that wraps around the edges. Aside from drop protection, I know I’d need it simply to keep the slight phone from slipping out of my hands. There is also a traditional $49 clear MagSafe Case along with an opaque Beats-branded polycarbonate case for $45. If for some reason you want to turn your ultrathin phone into a thicker one with longer battery life, you can pick up the $99 MagSafe battery.

The redesign of the camera section of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max means it needs a new case design, and in addition to all the newly designed versions of the usual cases Apple introduced a $59 MagSafe case made of a new TechWoven material — colored yarns of recycled polyester woven into a textured material and coated with polyurethane, or PTU. Presumably, it will fare better than the FineWoven cases Apple released with the iPhone 15.

You can also get a novel (for Apple) $59 Beats Kickstand Case, which looks like the standard polycarb case. The kickstand, though, isn’t a kickstand; it’s a handstrap with a small bit on the end that you can use for standing the case on its side. The kickstand case also comes in a version for the iPhone 17.

For many of the iPhone cases Apple launched yesterday, the company introduced magnetic attachment points. That makes them compatible with its new $59 Cross-Body Strap. On one hand, I’m not sure I want to trust my $1,200 phone to some magnets or my propensity to walk into walls and doorways. On the other, it’s probably safer than my back pocket.

Technologies

NASA Found Signs of Ancient Alien Life on Mars. Here’s How Excited You Should Be

NASA is finally releasing details on its discovery of Mars biosignatures and exactly what that means for alien life.

NASA released a significant update from the Perseverance Mars rover on Wednesday, focusing on a particularly juicy tidbit for those watching from home: A small rock sample called Sapphire Canyon showed signs of potential biosignatures, or ancient alien life that may have once grown on Mars.

That’s possible because of the unique location where Perseverance located the sample in July 2024. It came from a rock named Cheyava Falls. This particular rock is in Jezero Crater, home to an ancient dry riverbed. In other words, water once flowed abundantly in this spot, one of the most essential requirements for life as we know it.

A representative for NASA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While exploring, Perseverance’s cameras picked up colorful, leopard-like spots that eventually led to the Sapphire Canyon discovery.

«This finding is the direct result of NASA’s effort to strategically plan, develop, and execute a mission able to deliver exactly this type of science — the identification of a potential biosignature on Mars,» said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington.

Life on Mars?

So, does this finally confirm that life once existed on Mars? It’s a very good start, and the most significant lead NASA has found so far.

The data collected by Perseverance using its onboard instruments (X-ray lithochemistry and NASA’s SHERLOC scanner) was peer-reviewed and appears promising, but it doesn’t absolutely confirm life. More tests and input are needed for that, and the samples could have been generated from a natural chemical process without the presence of life. But scientists are excited about these signs and eager to learn more.

What kind of Mars life are we talking about? It’s not the sort that comes in peace, or goes much of anywhere. The possible biosignatures indicate small, microbial life. Sapphire Canyon showed signs of vivianite and greigite. Vivianite, in particular, is found on Earth’s peat bogs and swamps, while greigite is a byproduct some earth microbes leave behind. Think of this finding like a potential algae or swamp scum.

NASA is working on analyzing the data, running more tests and sharing the results with other scientists around the world to see what more they can learn. There’s a lot to rule out, from accidental sample contamination to the likelihood of nonorganic origins. That’s tough to do from millions of miles away, but NASA is on the case.