Technologies

How Apple’s Headset Could Immerse You in Sports

Commentary: Multiscreen view and «umpire view» would be pretty sweet in virtual reality.

Earlier this month, Apple TV 4K owners who watch sports on Apple’s TV service may have noticed a small new feature called multiview as part of TVOS 16.5. As its name suggests, this feature allows users to watch multiple games at once, making it particularly useful for MLS Season Pass subscribers or MLB fans who are trying to keep tabs on multiple matches that Apple is streaming at the same time.

And whereas Apple’s current multiview plans are extremely limited to just its Apple TV 4K boxes running beta software, the feature could be a bit more interesting with Apple’s long-rumored AR/VR headset that rumors suggest will materialize in June at the company’s annual WWDC.

Watch this: How Apple’s VR Headset Can Stand Out

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Immersing in sports

In a recent report, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman detailed a few ways Apple plans to position the forthcoming headset to users. Among apps for FaceTime, gaming and fitness was this:

«One selling point for the headset will be viewing sports in an immersive way. The company already offers games from Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball on Apple TV Plus, but it’s looking to make that a richer experience.» He also notes that Apple purchased NextVR, a company that produces sporting events and concerts in virtual reality, back In 2020.

Although Apple has yet to stream any games in virtual reality, its MLS and MLB deals could give it room to explore adding VR cameras to its productions in the future. Its Apple TV Plus broadcasts of MLB games have already explored new camera angles, including an «ump view» that lets you watch some action live from the perspective of the home plate umpire.

Belli gets us on the board!@Cody_Bellinger pic.twitter.com/Sl8r7VaSLY

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 7, 2023

Some leagues already offer VR games, including the NBA which has offered live VR streams for years. In January, the league announced it was expanding its partnership with Meta for VR streaming of regular season games on the latter’s Horizon Worlds platform.

While most of the NBA games that aired in VR this year were basically giant virtualized versions of the main TV broadcast, the league did do five «immersive 180-degree monoscopic live VR games in 2880 resolution» that allowed fans to virtually sit courtside to watch live basketball on a Meta Quest headset.

The NBA in VR on Meta's Horizon Worlds — The NBA in VR on Meta’s Horizon Worlds.

NBA

«We love quoting a stat that 99% of fans will never get to a game,» Teddy Kaplan, the NBA’s new media partner management lead, told CNET, noting that when factoring in international fans and the ability to sit courtside, that number is closer to rounding up to 100% of fans.

«And so we were like, what would be cooler than just setting up a camera courtside and stepping away and letting you experience that courtside seat experience,» he said.

«We want to bring that arena atmosphere to them,» said Paul Massache, the NBA’s associate vice president of broadcasting content management. «Part of that is building this immersive experience. Now to have viewers sit courtside virtually is an experience that really can’t be duplicated. Unless of course, you know, you’re at the game.»

Multiview could be the gateway

The concept of multiview isn’t unique to Apple. Google’s YouTube TV offered a similar feature for March Madness and plans to include a multiview option for its NFL Sunday Ticket package in the fall. Sony offered a similar capability with its now-discontinued PlayStation Vue live TV streaming service back in 2019, while Fubo has also had the option as a part of its service for years.

But while it remains to be seen how deep down the VR rabbit hole Apple goes with live game production, in the interim it could put multiview into play.

Imagine the Apple TV app on the headset. Whereas multiview on a TV puts up to four games into four windows that are limited in size by your physical screen, with the headset you could have what amounts to four giant virtual screens that provide a sports bar-like experience at home or wherever you put the headset on.

As Apple also is involved in the production of these MLS and MLB games, it could go down a route that combines AR stats and overlays to create an immersive experience similar to what Magic Leap and the NBA once envisioned for that company’s headset.

Apple’s dabbling with sports always felt like it was building to something more than just another piece of content for its streaming ambitions. It’s possible that with the headset’s rumored imminent arrival and the rollout of new features like multiview, we might be starting to finally see that vision beginning to come into focus.

Technologies

ChatGPT Has a New Language Translation Option for You

It’s like Google Translate, but ChatGPT.

OpenAI is putting Google Translate on notice: It now has a dedicated ChatGPT Translate webpage that can convert writing in 50 languages. At first glance it looks like a basic text-to-text translator that resembles Google Translate and other simple language translation tools on the web. But scrolling down the page reveals more about OpenAI’s ambitions for Translate.

You’ll come across a line that mentions adding voice or an image (for instance, a photo of a sign) to get a translation, although the page doesn’t indicate when those capabilities will become available.

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

OpenAI’s breakout of Translate comes as its chief competitor, Google, is aggressively deploying AI to support features like live translations using headphones and new language learning tools. In 2024, Google added 110 languages to its translations.

Language translation is a hot field for artificial intelligence in general. At CES 2026 last week, for instance, CNET’s Macy Meyer tried out a phone-sized device and companion headphones that let her carry on a live conversation with a Polish speaker even though she doesn’t speak Polish herself.

The skills that ChatGPT Translate currently provides are things you can already do in the chatbot itself. In fact, once you translate text on the webpage, ChatGPT offers a set of sample prompts as one-click buttons for what you can do with that text, such as «translate this and make it sound more fluent» or «translate this as if you’re explaining it to a child.»

Selecting one of those prompts takes you to a ChatGPT conversation where options like image uploads are readily available.

OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Technologies

Don’t Miss the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 While It’s $400 Off

A Galaxy Z Fold 7 is $50 cheaper on Amazon than at Samsung right now.

Who knew that foldable phones would be so popular again? If you’re looking for a foldable iPhone, you’re gonna need to wait until later this year. If you’re on the hunt for the best foldable phone you can get your hands on right now, you need to take a look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Normally $2,000, right now at both Amazon and Samsung, you can get a decent amount off that hefty price tag.

Amazon is dropping the silver version of Samsung’s foldable phone to $1,600. That’s an impressive $400 discount. If you prefer to shop at Samsung directly, you’ll end up paying $50 more as all colors of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 are down to $1,650. Neither of these are record-low prices, but Amazon is close enough at just $43 more.

Samsung’s unique foldable phones had an awkward adolescence, but after getting her hands on the new lineup, CNET reviewer Abrar Al-Heet confirms that the latest Z Fold 7 «just feels right.» For one, it’s incredibly sleek at just 8.9mm thick when closed or 4.2mm thick when open, which is so thin you may even forget that it’s foldable.

Despite weighing just 215 grams, this foldable features some serious hardware. It has a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch interior display with a fluid 120Hz refresh rate. It’s equipped with a cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and 12GB of RAM to support tons of helpful AI features and functions, and comes with Android 16 and Samsung One UI 8 right out of the box.

The camera system is also pretty impressive, boasting a 200-megapixel rear camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide shooting and a 10-megapixel front camera on both the cover and interior screens. Plus, it’s equipped with a 4,400-mAh battery for all-day use.

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Why this deal matters

With an unbelievably sleek design and cutting-edge hardware, the impressive Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is our favorite foldable phone on the market. But it also comes with a staggering $2,000 price tag, and if you’re hoping to get your hands on one, this $400 discount is a way to save and help cushion the blow of its considerable cost. Just be sure to get your order in soon, as we doubt this deal will remain live for long.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 15, #949

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 15, #949

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 fun purple category that expects you to find two words hidden in four separate clue words. It’s tricky, but intriguing. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times 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: For planting things.

Green group hint: Not going anywhere.

Blue group hint: Little pieces of something.

Purple group hint: Combine two names.