Technologies

Samsung and Google Combine Forces in New Mixed Reality Partnership

Here’s what we think this new tech will bring.

This story is part of Samsung Event, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Samsung’s most popular products.

Samsung made a lot of impressive announcements during its Galaxy S23 launch event last week. But an out-of-the-blue partnership with Qualcomm and Google on an upcoming mixed-reality platform certainly caught fans off guard. The new «XR» technology is an umbrella term for the intersection of AR, VR and mixed reality, or MR.

In a year that’ll see a new PlayStation VR headset, a new HTC Vive VR headset, a new Meta VR headset and likely a first-ever Apple VR headset, how will this Samsung product (or products) end up changing the game, and when could it arrive?

Samsung’s on-stage announcement was incredibly vague, with Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer, head of Android, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon promising new hardware and software that’ll bring new experiences. But Samsung’s and Google’s histories in VR (and AR), along with Qualcomm’s major presence in the field, can point to some answers. So, too, can the last major Google and Samsung partnership two years ago, on smartwatches.

In 2021, Google’s partnership with Samsung began a rethinking of its smartwatch lineup, which also led to a Pixel Watch last fall. It’s likely that this new Samsung-Google-Qualcomm partnership could play out in a similar way in AR and VR. In this instance, though, both Google and Samsung will be making long-overdue returns to the VR/AR spaces they’ve both stepped away from for several years.

Here’s why Samsung and Google entering the field makes sense, and is even sorely needed.

VR and AR needs to work with phones again

VR goggles used to work with phones, half a decade ago. Back in the days of the Samsung Gear VR and Google’s Daydream View, you’d drop a phone into a cheap set of goggles that would use the device as a VR screen. It was a fun novelty back then, and greatly expanded access, but also had its limits. In 2023, oddly, VR headsets barely work with phones at all.

It’s annoying because most of us live our lives on our phones. VR, meanwhile, tends to stand alone. The Meta Quest 2 has slowly developed hooks into phones via its pairing app, but doesn’t have nearly enough cross-device intelligence.

Qualcomm has been trying to solve this idea already on its own. Via an early wave of AR glasses and certain Android phones, the company has been developing tools to bridge apps and experiences, and also have glasses directly connected to phones.

That’s a lot easier to do with official Android support. Google would enable that, and this Samsung-Qualcomm-Google partnership seems like a key to exploring how that would work with new VR headsets, or AR glasses, or both.

Right now, VR is the future. Then, AR

No one’s perfected AR glasses yet, although the hardware pieces are slowly coming together. In the meantime, standalone VR headsets using built-in cameras to show «passthrough» video of the real world, with virtual reality experiences overlaid, is the fastest solution to AR. It’s also called «mixed reality,» and it’s what the Meta Quest Pro does in some apps. Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset should work the same way. HTC’s Vive XR Elite coming this February? Same thing.

I’d expect Samsung and Google to start with developing a similar lightweight VR headset with mixed reality features first, using similar Qualcomm chips as other hardware (or a next-gen chipset). After that, AR glasses.

Qualcomm has already promised a new generation of low-power wireless AR glasses that will work with next-gen phones over the next three years, using a new AR2 Gen 1 chipset announced last fall. Samsung’s Google partnership might also involve exploring how to build phones and glasses that could work together in the years to come.

Google’s already dipping its toes into assistive AR glasses research, and has a decade of experience in AR and VR before that. Samsung has all of its experience with the Gear VR and working with Oculus. Between the two, along with Qualcomm, it seems like there’s plenty of team wisdom.

A new OS (think smartwatches)

Evolving Android into a new software experience for VR and AR is the biggest challenge and opportunity, and it would make a ton of sense for Samsung to lean on Google here. VR headsets of the last five years have tried to go it alone with dedicated app stores, much like the Meta Quest. But the whole spirit of the idea of «the metaverse» is cross-device compatibility. And, in theory, easy app support.

Samsung shifted strategy on its watches by adopting Google’s WearOS as part of a partnership announced two years ago, aiming to bring Samsung’s watches closer to Google’s Android OS. But Samsung also helped Google think about higher-end health and hardware features to advance its aging smartwatch lineup. Which brings us to…

A road to Pixel hardware?

At some point, you’d imagine, Google will try to make its own AR/VR hardware again. The team behind Google’s Daydream, led by Clay Bavor, has shifted focus into Google Labs, working on more experimental projects like Project Starline (and those research-based assistive AR glasses).

It seems highly likely that the road to Google’s future XR hardware will run through Samsung in much the same way as smartwatches ahead of the Pixel Watch. The Galaxy Watch 4 became the first experiment in Wear OS 3, and then Google entered the waters over a year later with a Fitbit-infused Pixel Watch.

AR and VR headsets are significantly more complicated. Maybe Google waits a bit longer on a Pixel device. Maybe, as both Google’s Lockheimer and Qualcomm’s Amon seemed to suggest, there will be a variety of forms and possibilities, including some that aren’t headsets at all. Remember: Google’s idea of «ambient computing» involves immersive tech from every angle, including stuff that isn’t worn.

What year will this emerge?

That’s the hard question here. It seems likely that Google will dive into this partnership more at its I/O developer conference that usually happens in May, which would be right before Apple would likely go over its VR headset at WWDC. We haven’t seen any hint of any actual hardware yet. It’s not impossible that a standalone VR headset in the spirit of the Meta Quest could materialize sometime sooner than later, but it would be a huge surprise if anything arrived in 2023.

When Samsung and Google announced the Wear OS 3 partnership in 2021, it came with a teaser photo of the watch itself and a promise of hardware by year’s end. No such statements were made or shown this time and 2024 would seem like the earliest likely launch date.

And at any rate, 2023 is looking like a turbulent year for the greater XR world. While plenty of VR hardware is coming, it’s unclear who can actually afford it. For Samsung and Google, the best bet might be to wait out this crowded year and figure out how to make improved, possibly more affordable hardware in 2024.

Technologies

The Duskbloods Is New FromSoftware Gaming Action Coming to Switch 2 in 2026

Talk about a surprise for the new Switch.

FromSoftware had a big day with the Switch 2 Direct. The company revealed a new game called The Duskbloods and confirmed that its smash-hit action RPG Elden Ring is coming to the new console, which launches on June 5 for $450.

The Duskbloods is exclusive to the Switch 2, which was a surprise announcement during the Switch 2 Direct. According to FromSoftware, the game is a player vs. player vs. enemy, or PvPvE, online multiplayer game similar to the developer’s upcoming Elden Ring: Nightreign.

Players will be part of the Bloodsworn, which is a group that has «transcended human strength thanks to their special blood.» Each individual will be playing against each other as well as taking on other foes.

The game features some mainstays for FromSoftware games, with a gothic tone and a focus on gore, like its popular Bloodborne game for the PS4. It does appear that characters have a few more abilities than seen in previous games from the cult developer.

The Duskbloods will release sometime in It will be released in 2026.

The Switch 2 will launch on June 5 and preorders will start on April 9 at retailers. The new console will feature plenty of third-party support, with major games like Borderlands 4, Madden and Civilization 7 coming from other publishers.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, April 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 3.

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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has two similar clues, 5-Across and 6-Across. They both play off the same idea — using the first part of two words to make one, all food-related. I didn’t get that at first, so I struggled with those two clues. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Hit the ___ (go to bed)
Answer: SACK

5A clue: Misleading name for a sub/shish kebab restaurant?
Answer: SUSHI

6A clue: Misleading name for a taco/pasta restaurant?
Answer: TAPAS

7A clue: Certain sports bets
Answer: OVERS

8A clue: Cooped (up)
Answer: PENT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Almost *too* sophisticated and charming
Answer: SUAVE

2D clue: Upscale Colorado skiing destination
Answer: ASPEN

3D clue: Word after bar or pie
Answer: CHART

4D clue: Smooch
Answer: KISS

5D clue: Word on an eight-sided traffic sign
Answer: STOP

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2: Everything We Know About the Console, New Games, Release Date

The $450 console will get Mario Kart World at launch, 4K gaming when docked, Switch 2 Edition game enhancements and new mouse controls.

The Nintendo Switch 2 console’s biggest reveal yet arrived Wednesday morning as part of the company’s Nintendo Direct event. This teed up a day of Switch 2 reveals that include its June 5 release date, a $450 price, its specs, and its initial game lineup that extends from launch into 2026.

The console will be further buoyed by having Mario Kart World as a launch title, which will go on sale in either a $500 bundle with the Switch 2 or on its own for $80 — making the open-world racing game one of Nintendo’s most expensive yet. Other games announced, such as Donkey Kong Bananza, are being priced around $70, which matches the cost of 2023’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. That Zelda game and Breath of the Wild are among the original Switch titles that will get enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrades, a premium upgrade allowing players to get new features, modes and graphical enhancements that take advantage of the newer system’s capabilities.

Here are the top highlights from Nintendo’s console event, all of the games we’ve heard about so far (including new titles, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles and GameCube games coming to Nintendo Switch Online) and all of our coverage so far. You can also check out our Nintendo Switch 2 live blog for even more updates about the Switch 2 as we learn them.

Nintendo Switch 2 console

The Nintendo Switch 2’s specs saw a noticeable technical bump over the Switch. The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch, 1080p resolution LCD that supports a 120Hz refresh rate — matching what we now see on most Android phones. When the Switch 2 is docked, compatible games can run in 4K resolution. The new dock also includes a cooling fan.

The Switch 2 comes with 256GB of internal storage, and the new Switch 2 Game Cards will load games faster. For digital libraries, however, the Switch 2 will only work with microSD Express cards, which are different from the microSD cards that are compatible with the prior Nintendo Switch. Nintendo will have a Software Transfer feature available to help move games and data from the original Switch to the Switch 2.

The new Joy-Con for the controllers will support mouse controls, and a new C button will be part of a new GameChat communication feature that allows both voice and video chat. There’s also a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing players to see each other.

The Switch 2 also adds a second USB-C port to the top of the system, which Nintendo says can help connect its new camera accessory or charge the console when playing in tabletop mode. Nintendo also revealed a new Switch 2 Pro Controller with the C button and customizable GL and GR buttons on the back.

Following the presentation, Nintendo unveiled the system’s price of $450 in the US. It will also sell the Switch 2 bundled with a digital version of Mario Kart World for $500.

Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World removes its traditional boundaries and lets drivers roam freely across an entire world of race courses. The game will get its own Nintendo Direct later this month, where we’ll see additional details, but we already know it’ll include traditional races and a Free Roam mode, much like in the Forza Horizon series.

Getting the game bundled for an extra $50 on the cost of the Switch 2 might be the move if you are interested in the game, because Nintendo announced on its website that standalone copies of Mario Kart World will cost $80.

Joy-Con 2 C button and GameChat

Nintendo’s rolling out its new C button across several new Switch 2 controllers. The button will be used for the new GameChat communication features without a headset. The button will be used alongside a microphone on the console itself, which Nintendo says can be used whether it’s docked to a TV or in handheld mode.

In its teaser video, Nintendo promises the microphone will be able to cancel out loud background noises. GameChat will also work with a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing video chat and various camera-based game modes in supported titles. GameChat will be free at launch through March 31, 2026.

Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games upgrade titles

The Nintendo Switch 2 will play three types of games: original Switch games, Switch 2 games and Switch 2 Edition games that will receive substantial enhancements. For many of these Switch 2 Edition games, you’ll need to buy an upgrade pack if you own the original for Switch. Many of them will get more than just enhanced graphics in the upgrade; for example, Super Mario Party Jamboree will get new games that support the new Joy-Cons’ mouse controls, audio recognition and video camera gameplay options through the Switch 2 Camera.

Other Nintendo Switch games that are getting Switch 2 Edition options include The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Enhancements vary: The Zelda games will start working with a companion phone app for maps and sending schematics to friends, while Kirby will get a new story that’s exclusive to the Switch 2 Edition. On the third-party side, Civilization 7 will get mouse controls.

Nintendo did not announce what upgrade packs will cost. However, some Switch games will get free updates that will improve performance or enhance features when playing them on the Switch 2. The Switch games getting these updates include:

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a new game set in the world of Zelda that tells the story that leads into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This appears to be similar to how Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity told the story of a war that led to the events of Breath of the Wild. The teaser shows Zelda discovering that she’s arrived in the past of Hyrule, and the game will expand on how she gets involved in the corresponding Imprisonment War.

Nintendo Switch 2 games

Several other first- and third-party games were spotlighted during the Switch 2 Direct. These include Donkey Bananza, one of the first 3D platforming games featuring DK since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. Kirby will also return to the racing genre in Kirby Air Riders, which comes more than 20 years after the GameCube racer Kirby’s Air Ride. DragXDrive will use mouse controls to control a futuristic wheelchair basketball game in which players will simulate push and pull motions to control their character.

An onslaught of Switch 2 third-party games were quickly shuffled through during the Direct, which I list below. An unnamed James Bond game is in development at Hitman studio IO Interactive, as is a darker title from Elden Ring creator FromSoftware called The Duskbloods, which will be exclusive to the Switch 2.

The full list of announced Nintendo Switch 2 games includes:

Borderlands 4
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion
Deltarune
Donkey Kong Bananza
Drag x Drive
EA Sports FC
EA Sports Madden NFL
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
Enter the Gungeon 2
Fast Fusion
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
Fortnite
Hades 2
Hitman World of Assassination — Signature Edition
Hogwarts Legacy
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Kirby Air Riders
Kirby and the Forgotten Land — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Star-Crossed World
Kunitsu-Gai: Path of the Goddess
Mario Kart World
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
NBA 2K
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition
Pokemon Legends: Z-A — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Project 007
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Split Fiction
Star Wars Outlaws
Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions
Street Fighter 6
Super Mario Party Jamboree — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Jamboree TV
Survival Kids
The Duskbloods
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4
WWE 2K
Yakuza 0 Definitive Edition

Among these titles, you can see the full list of June 5 Switch 2 launch day games here.

Nintendo GameCube library coming to Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch Online game library will add GameCube games to the Switch 2. On launch day, these games will initially include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, SoulCalibur 2 and F-Zero GX, with each game getting enhanced graphics. Online multiplayer will also be added to certain titles. Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Strikers and Luigi’s Mansion are among the games set to arrive later. At launch, Nintendo will also sell a GameCube controller, which will be wireless and include a C button for GameChat.