Technologies
PSVR 2 vs. Quest 2: Which Should You Buy, or Should You Wait?
Two very different VR headsets compared — and you may also want to wait for the inevitable Quest 3.
Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 is the PlayStation 5’s first dedicated VR headset, but 2023 is just getting started. With Meta’s Quest 3 expected by the end of the year and Apple’s unknown VR/AR headset expected to make an appearance as well, this isn’t necessarily the best time to get a VR headset. But we love a lot of what the PSVR 2 offers, even if it’s currently limited to a smaller game library and needs a wired connection to a PS5.
The Quest 2 is the most successful VR headset, although it’s over two years old. Here’s how these two devices differ and what each is best at. My colleague Justin Eastzer and I deeply discussed the topic in the video embedded in this story.
For more, read CNET’s PSVR 2 review and Quest 2 review, and check out our favorite Quest 2 games and PSVR 2 games.
Read more: Best VR Headsets of 2023
Hardware: Standalone vs. cabled
The Quest 2 is a fully self-contained VR game system; nothing else is required. For its $399 (£399, AU$630) price, that’s a huge advantage that other competitors are still trying to match.
The $550 (£530, AU$880) PlayStation VR 2, meanwhile, is tethered to a nearly 15-foot cable that needs to be plugged into a PlayStation 5. It doesn’t work on its own at all. It’s really a headset extension of your PS5.
That difference in design makes a bigger impact than you might think. The Quest 2’s portability also means it’s an easy headset to set up for full-motion VR gaming and fitness games and apps. Games like Beat Saber, and fitness apps like Supernatural, are some of the best things you can do on the headset.
The PSVR 2’s cable is long, and it feels heavy. The one-cable setup and its self-contained in-headset camera-based tracking are a lot easier to set up than the original PSVR was, but it’ll still need to live wherever your PS5 lives, and makes the PSVR 2 a better sit-down or stand-in-place experience than a full-motion one.
The Quest 2 (left) is more compact, but has less impressive graphics and optics. The PSVR 2 fits my glasses better, is comfier, but it’s bigger.
Scott Stein/CNETDisplays and audio: PSVR 2 has a big edge, mostly
The Quest 2’s LCD-based display is pretty sharp (1,832×1,920 pixels per eye), but the PSVR 2’s 2,000×2,040 pixel-per-eye HDR OLED display is higher res, more vivid and has much better contrast and black levels. Colors are bright and rich. On top of that, the PSVR 2’s ability to drive PS5-quality graphics means games have greater detail than the Quest 2. The latter uses an integrated Snapdragon XR2 mobile processor that’s less powerful, although the Quest 2 can be tethered to a gaming PC, which lets it play higher-end games similarly to the PS5.
The PSVR 2 (right) can adjust its distance from your face, but its visor design is bulkier.
Scott Stein/CNETThe Quest 2 has speakers that pump 3D audio near your ears but still lets other sounds in, which is bad for cinematic experiences but good for hearing kids or alarms — handy when absorbed in VR. It also has a headphone jack. The PSVR 2 has included earbuds for 3D audio but no speakers, which means you’re far more isolated when listening to audio. The earbuds sound OK, but Sony’s wireless Pulse 3D over-ear headphones (sold separately) offer better sound. The PSVR 2 has a headphone jack too, just like the Quest 2.
The PSVR 2 also adds an extra couple of immersive wrinkles. The headset uses eye tracking to boost graphics quality where your eyes are looking via foveated rendering technology. The headset also has rumble, which sounds gimmicky but can feel like an extension of bass vibrations in-game, adding an overlap between sound and immersive sensation.
The Quest 2 Touch controller (left) and PSVR 2 Sense controller: Similar button/stick/trigger layout, but the PSVR 2 has better haptics and force feedback, while the Quest 2 has better finger sensing off-button.
Scott Stein/CNETControllers and input: PSVR 2 has better haptics and eye tracking, Quest 2 has hand tracking
The PSVR 2 and Quest 2 have the same type of controller design, mostly: VR headsets have settled on buttons, analog sticks, triggers and grips that are pretty consistent across the board. The PSVR 2 Sense controllers have much better vibration feedback and even force-feedback «adaptive triggers» that offer resistance in some games. These are features the PS5 DualSense controller already has, but they feel a lot richer in VR than the Quest 2’s pretty basic buzzing. The PSVR 2 also uses eye tracking to add additional controls in some games, letting you glance at objects to select them, potentially improving accuracy.
The Quest 2 has better finger awareness when holding the controllers, sensing when your fingers are on or off, or even resting on the buttons or triggers. This awareness can create sensations that feel like hand tracking. The PSVR 2 doesn’t do this nearly as well yet. Also, the Quest 2 can do actual hand tracking without needing any controllers. This input type isn’t perfect, but it can be helpful… and the PSVR 2 doesn’t do this at all (yet).
The PSVR 2’s triggers (right) have pressurized force feedback you can feel, which gives an edge for some games.
Scott Stein/CNETSoftware: Quest 2 has a huge advantage (for now), PSVR 2 has some standouts
The Quest 2’s software library covers hundreds of games, productivity and design apps, fitness apps, meditation apps and social world apps. There are also plenty of free apps and games. The Quest platform has been around since 2019, giving it a big lead time. The PSVR 2 is starting from scratch. The hardware isn’t automatically backward-compatible with original PSVR games. Although many of those games are getting PSVR 2 upgrades, it means waiting for the updates to happen, if they do at all.
For now, the PSVR 2 is also skipping entire genres found on the Quest 2. The PSVR 2 is all games, as you’d expect. There should be a few fitness apps (Les Mills Body Combat is already available) but no social world apps. That might be comforting for parents with younger kids, but it leaves out extra uses you could get from the still-evolving Quest 2.
Additionally, most of the PSVR 2 launch games are ports of games on the Quest 2. Only a few are unique standouts that the Quest 2 natively lacks: notably Horizon Call of the Mountain, Gran Turismo 7, Resident Evil Village and No Man’s Sky, with more coming.
The PSVR 2 (right) has eye tracking and more adjustable eye distance, or IPD, while the Quest 2 lacks eye tracking and has only three IPD settings.
Scott Stein/CNETPrice: Quest 2 has the edge
The $399 all-in value of the Quest 2 is a big advantage here. The PSVR 2 is more expensive at $550, and you still need the PS5, making it a $1,000-plus investment. But the Quest 2 is getting old, and a Quest 3 will likely come later this year that you should hold off for.
Yes, you should wait
Now is the time to wait and see what comes for VR. The Quest 3, expected by the end of the year, should be a clear upgrade over the nearly three-year-old Quest 2, and there’s a chance that many more games (and even a holiday bundle) will upgrade the PSVR 2 experience by year’s end. If you can, I’d hang on and see what the situation looks like for both Meta and Sony in the fall.
If you already have a Quest 2, the PSVR 2 doesn’t offer enough yet to make the switch. And if you’re a PS5 owner who doesn’t mind spending a bunch of money on new tech, the PSVR 2 is already a fun experience, just one we can’t quite get a future sense of yet.
Technologies
Apple Reportedly Planning Cheaper Macs to Compete With Budget Chromebooks, PCs
Apple doesn’t market its machines as affordable, but that could be changing.
Apple may release more affordable Mac laptops to compete with Chromebooks and budget-friendly Windows laptops as early as 2026.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports the company has plans to roll out a machine for «well under $1,000.» According to Gurman, the new laptop is already in early production under the codename J700. This matches earlier rumors that a low-cost MacBook Air was in the pipeline at around $599, which would allow Apple to directly compete with other cheap laptops, including Chromebooks and Windows PCs.
A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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According to the report, costs will be kept down by using a lower-end LCD that’s smaller than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, potentially making the new affordable MacBook as small as 12 inches.
Another way Apple could reduce the cost is by using an A-series iPhone chip, which falls short of the top-tier performance offered by the MacBook Pro or the current M4 Air. The upcoming chip may be a variant of the A19 Pro chip that debuted with the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air, which Apple says is capable of MacBook-level performance.
As CNET senior editor Matt Elliott noted, the promise is a bold one. He speculates that the rumored $599 MacBook Air may get the same smartphone processor, or an M-series chip based on that architecture.
Bloomberg also reports that a MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro and M5 Max chip is in development, and Apple has completed work on a MacBook Air powered by the M5 chip, which is planned for release early next year.
The affordable laptop would be designed for casual users, students and businesses, specifically individuals who need a device for tasks such as web browsing, light media editing and document creation. The tech giant is also targeting the education market, as well as iPad buyers who may also want a traditional laptop.
«If this is strictly a move to entice consumers with a high-quality, lower-cost MacBook running MacOS in place of an iPad with a keyboard, then yes, Apple can likely take a chunk of that market,» said Josh Goldman, managing editor at CNET.
«Making inroads into the education market at this point, where Chromebooks have taken over since the pandemic, will prove challenging, though I’m sure it’s nothing that throwing billions of dollars at can’t fix,» CNET’s Goldman said.
This price range is ‘a big departure’
Price is likely to be key here. A $599 price tag would place the new Mac in the same range as more affordable Chromebooks and entry-level laptops, representing a significant change from Apple’s previous strategy.
«Apple potentially dipping into the Chromebook range of $300 to $500 with a new MacBook is a big departure,» said Goldman.
He notes that one of Apple’s most affordable MacBooks is the M4 MacBook Air, available new starting at $999 for the 13-inch model. Walmart still sells a new M1 MacBook Air, a 5-year-old laptop, for around $600.
By contrast, an iPad 11th Gen with a Magic Keyboard will run you around $600, making it clear that Apple’s target market for the rumored device is students and lighter users.
Apple typically hasn’t targeted the lower-priced segment of the market with its MacBooks. However, with consumer wallets under pressure from inflation, high tariffs and layoffs, an affordable MacBook could be imperative and timely.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 5, #408
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 5, No. 408.
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is pretty diverse. The blue answers stuck out to me right away, because some of them are super famous and the others felt like they belonged with those names. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: How to see a game.
Green group hint: Soccer.
Blue group hint: Giddy up!
Purple group hint: Not a run play.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Ways to consume a sporting event.
Green group: NWSL teams.
Blue group: Triple Crown horse racing winners.
Purple group: Pass ____.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is ways to consume a sporting event. The four answers are in person, radio, streaming and television.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is NWSL teams. The four answers are Current, Dash, Pride and Spirit.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Triple Crown horse racing winners. The four answers are Citation, Gallant Fox, Omaha and Secretariat.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is pass ____. The four answers are breakup, interference, protection and rush.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 5, #878
Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 5, #878.
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics, including a neat blue category that music fans will ace. And it isn’t too tough, but if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Mess up.
Green group hint: Lead pipe is another one.
Blue group hint: They command the stage.
Purple group hint: Not snow, but …
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Make a hash of.
Green group: Weapons in the game Clue.
Blue group: Iconic soul singers.
Purple group: Rain ____.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is make a hash of. The four answers are blow, botch, butcher and spoil.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is weapons in the game Clue.The four answers are candlestick, knife, rope and wrench.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is iconic soul singers. The four answers are (Anita) Baker, (Roberta) Flack, (Aretha) Franklin and (Gladys) Knight.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is rain ____. The four answers are bow, coat, forest and maker.
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