Technologies

The Man Who Named the Metaverse Is Optimistic Despite Waning Hype

Sci-fi author Neal Stephenson says the metaverse’s foundations are maturing. New mixed reality headsets from Meta and Apple could help his case.

It’s OK to be confused about the metaverse. Pessimists can point to Meta’s difficulties over the last year convincing us we’ll all inhabit this immersive 3D realm. Optimists can point to Meta’s new $499 Quest 3 virtual and mixed reality headset, announced Thursday, and a competing headset Apple is expected to reveal in just a few days as evidence that tech giants are still backing the idea of an immersive digital realm.

Put Neal Stephenson, whose 1992 dystopian sci-fi novel Snow Crash introduced the term «metaverse,» in the optimist camp.

«Just in the last couple of years, it feels like a bunch of things have snapped into place — the prerequisites that we need to have on hand in order to really start building a metaverse,» Stephenson said Wednesday in a talk at Augmented Reality Expo.

Stephenson’s vested interest just isn’t from his novel. He’s worked at several startups since the 1990s, including augmented reality headset maker Magic Leap, but his current effort, Lamina1, is working on metaverse plumbing it hopes will lead to an open foundation easy for developers to build upon and for people to visit.

It’ll be a tough sell. The 2021 metaverse buzz has diminished greatly. Facebook renamed itself Meta, but investors have slammed its ambition to capitalize on the metaverse. And Web3 movement, which aimed to build «decentralized» metaverse tools that would reward those creating salable goods in the metaverse, has suffered persistent problems. That includes scams, security vulnerabilities and «rug pulls» in which project organizers hype a cryptocurrency then cash out, leaving investors with valueless assets.

Creative Strategies analyst Olivier Blanchard is a skeptic and the mainstream adoption of computer-generated virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) that blends computer imagery with the real world, and the umbrella term encompassing both, mixed reality (XR).

«Once the AI gold rush cools off and Apple has finally given it some sense of direction, it is going to need to decide what it wants to be when it grows up if it has any hope of ever attracting mainstream consumers,» Blanchard said. «Metaverse and XR companies are going to have to clearly communicate to users how their solutions will actually make their lives better rather than just more expensive and complicated.»

But maybe the metaverse won’t be as tough a sell soon.

Apple’s expected headset, years in the works and likely to emerge at the company’s WWDC developer conference, could help convince developers to build mixed reality apps. Apple successfully wooed mobile developers to write millions of apps for iPhones and iPads. And Meta’s Quest 3 XR headset has video pass-through mode that will give it AR abilities.

The metaverse has a long way to go before matching the widespread adoption of today’s web or the metaverse in Snow Crash.

Snow Crash is a rollicking novel that uses humor and adventure to take the edge off its dystopian vision. The metaverse plays a central role in the book, but Stephenson places the blame for the dystopia on human society more broadly. With the metaverse, Stephenson wanted to present a technology realm that accommodated a broad span of human activity.

«Our initial exposure to the metaverse is a kind of very vast market, a lowest common denominator to include … the worst of television,» Stephenson said. «But later on, as we get farther into the book, we see that people have used it to make beautiful works of art. There are some people … who lavished a lot of time and attention on making homes in the metaverse that are exquisite works of art, both visually and in this sonic environment.»

That metaverse was all about VR, but Stephenson takes a broader definition today, «a three-dimensional, virtual, shared environment,» which includes AR, too. Although Snow Crash is famous for its metaverse, there also are «gargoyle» characters in the book’s real world, uber-techies hidden behind AR goggles who are constantly tapped into data feeds.

Stephenson said he was impressed with progress with VR, AR and XR, in particular with game engine tools like Unity and Unreal Engine that are widely used for 3D graphics and gaming. But so far, there’s not enough reason to hang out in the metaverse.

Ori Inbar, a leader of extended reality technology, stands on stage at the AWE 2023 next to a nearly life-size, virtual version of himself shown on a screen in a box. — Ori Inbar, a leader of augmented, mixed, and extended reality technology, speaks at the AWE 2023 next to a virtual version of himself.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

«If we’re going to have a metaverse that’s being used all the time by millions or billions of people, then there have to be experiences in the metaverse that are worth having,» Stephenson said. Lamina1’s goal is to improve the metaverse tooling so developers and other creators can build those experiences. That includes the blockchain and NFT technology that’s lost much of its luster as cryptocurrencies lost much of their value since peaking in 2021.

Lamina1 is working on partnerships to flesh out the metaverse. One is with Mira, which is scanning the real world to create a virtual version, but several others are with game developers.

Stephenson helped to co-found Lumina1 in 2022, but he’s pulled back some. He still serves as chairman, but in 2023, he resumed novel writing, too, he said.

At the Augmented World Expo, AR fans are abundant, including show organizer and AugmentedReality.org Chief Executive Ori Inbar, who shared the stage with a virtual, nearly life-size version of himself appearing in a telepresence box built by ARHT Media. Inbar spent much of his 20 minutes on stage at the show defending the technology, arguing that it’s thriving despite the tech world’s attention moving to AI.

«We won’t rest until everyone uses XR, everywhere, all the time.»

Technologies

I Made Google Translate My Default on iPhone Before a Trip and It Saved Me More Than Once

Google Translate supports far more languages than Apple’s app, and it’s easy to make the switch.

If you’re traveling overseas this summer, the Google Translate app can come in handy to quickly translate a road sign or conversation. The latest Google Translate update allows you to pick the app as your default translation app for Apple iPhones and iPads running iOS and iPadOS 18.4 and later. Previously, you were limited to the built-in Apple option.

Google began leveraging AI to boost Google Translate’s offerings, adding 110 languages last year to increase its total support for 249 languages. Compare that to Apple Translate, which supports 19 languages. Neither Google nor Apple responded to a request for comment.

Both apps offer voice and text translation, including a camera feature that lets you instantly translate by pointing your camera at text. Both also allow you to use translation features without an internet connection, which can come in particularly handy when traveling to more remote locations.

After using both, I found that the Google Translate picked up speech a little quicker so I didn’t have to constantly repeat myself, and the audio pronunciations were a little easier to understand than on Apple Translate. I switched to Google Translate as the default on my iPhone, and here’s how you can, too.

How to set Google Translate as the default on an iPhone or iPad

Setting Google Translate as your default app is simple on an iPhone or iPad, so long as it’s running iOS and iPadOS 18.4 or later.

Download the Google Translate app or update it to the latest version.
Go to the Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
Scroll down to the bottom then select Apps.
Click Default Apps at the top of the screen.
Then choose Translation.
Select Google Translate.

Technologies

The 20 Best PC Games Right Now

Put your gaming computer to the test with the best PC games out right now, including AAA hits like Elden Ring and Black Myth: Wukong as well as indie darlings.

PC gaming gives you the best of most worlds. With a decent budget and some gumption, you can build a solid desktop rig — or you can invest in one of CNET’s best gaming PCs and gain access to a wide world of PC exclusives, indie games and even some titles that were previously exclusive to Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox.

There’s a truly unlimited amount of tags, store queues and interactive recommendations to browse through, and it can get overwhelming trying to find the next best metroidvania, boomer shooter, collectathon or whatever your cup of tea is. PC gamers aren’t lacking for choice.

In fact, between Steam, the Epic Games Store, Game Pass and more, there are thousands upon thousands of games to choose from. One of the biggest issues you can run into with a massive backlog is choice paralysis. Just which are the best PC games out there?

We’re here to help. To narrow your game choices, CNET curated this list of the best PC games you can play right now.

Read more: Best Gaming PC Deals Right Now

TL;DR? These are the 20 best PC games for June 2025

Balatro
Warframe
Baldur’s Gate 3
Overwatch 2
Valorant
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Elden Ring
Cassette Beasts
Dread Delusion
Celeste
Total War: Pharaoh
Stardew Valley
Lunacid
Black Myth: Wukong
Neon White
Helldivers 2
Risk of Rain 2
Soulstone Survivors
Terraria
Haste

PC gaming FAQs

Recent updates to the list

February 2025: While no new games have been added to the list so far this year, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is an early frontrunner. A spate of stellar seasonal events, maps and new heroes has also put Marvel Rivals in contention for the PC hero shooter crown.

Read more: The Best Heroes to Play in Marvel Rivals

June 2025: Added Helldivers 2, Risk of Rain 2, Soulstone Survivors, Terraria and Haste to the list in order to represent both games industry behemoths and indie gaming hidden gems.

How we determined CNET’s best PC games

When creating this list of the best PC games, we factored in how unique and enjoyable these games are for most players. We evaluated criteria including graphical quality, innovative gameplay mechanics and compelling narratives. The picks we made cover a variety of genres from fantasy to retro platformers to shooters to strategy games, and while we favored PC-exclusive games and indie titles you won’t find on Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo Switch, we also included some can’t-miss games that appear on multiple platforms. If you’re looking for help choosing your next game, CNET’s top PC list is a good place to start narrowing your choices.

Technologies

How to Add These Hidden Music and Apple Intelligence Controls to Your iPhone

One control can Apple’s Visual Intelligence to more devices besides the iPhone 16 lineup.

Apple released iOS 18.4 on March 31, and the update brought bug fixes, new emoji and a new recipes section in Apple News to all iPhones. The update also brought a handful of new controls to the iPhone Control Center, including one that brings Visual Intelligence to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

When Apple released iOS 18 in September, the update remodeled the Control Center to give you more control over how the feature functions. With iOS 18, you can resize controls, assign some controls to their own dedicated page and adjust the placement of controls to your liking. Apple also introduced more controls to the feature, making it a central hub for all your most-used iPhone features.

Read more: Everything You Need to Know About iOS 18

With iOS 18.4, Apple continues to expand the number of controls you can add to the Control Center. If you have the update on your iPhone, you can add ambient music controls, and Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones get a few AI controls in the menu, too. Here’s what you need to know about the new controls and how to add them to your Control Center.

Ambient Music controls

Apple gave everyone four new controls in the Control Center library under the Ambient Music category. These controls are Sleep, Chill, Productivity and Wellbeing. Each of these controls can activate a playlist filled with music that corresponds to the specific control. Sleep, for instance, plays ambient music to help lull you to bed.

Some studies suggest white noise could help adults learn words and improve learning in environments full of distractions. According to the mental health company Calm, certain kinds of music can help you fall asleep faster and improve the quality of your sleep. So these new controls can help you learn, fall asleep and more.

Here’s how to find these controls.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Add a Control.

You’ll see a section of controls called Ambient Music. You can also search for «Ambient Music» in the search bar at the top of the control library. Under Ambient Music, you’ll see all four controls. Tap one (or all) of them to add them to your Control Center. Once you’ve added one or all the controls to your Control Center, go back to your Control Center and tap one to start playing music.

Here’s how to change the playlist for each control.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap the Ambient Music control you want to edit.
4. Tap the playlist to the right of Playlist.

A dropdown menu will appear with additional playlists for each control. If you’re in the Sleep control, you’ll see playlists like Restful Notes and Lo-Fi Snooze. If you have playlists in your Music app, then you’ll also see an option From Library, which pulls music from your library. Tap whichever playlist you want and it will be assigned to that control.

Apple already lets you transform your iPhone into a white noise machine with Background Sounds, like ocean and rain. But Ambient Music is actual music as opposed to more static sounds like in that feature.

Both of these features feel like a way for Apple to present itself as the first option for whenever you want some background music to help you fall asleep or be productive. Other services, like Spotify and YouTube, already have ambient music playlists like these, so this could be Apple’s way of taking some of those service’s audience.

Apple Intelligence controls

Only people with an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or the iPhone 16 lineup can access Apple Intelligence features for now, and those people got three new dedicated Apple Intelligence controls with iOS 18.4. Those controls are Talk to Siri, Type to Siri and Visual Intelligence.

Here’s how to find these controls.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Add a Control.

Then you can use the search bar near the top of the screen to search for «Apple Intelligence» or you can scroll through the menu to find the Apple Intelligence & Siri section. Tap any (or all) of these controls to add them to your Control Center. While Talk to Siri and Type to Siri controls can be helpful if you have trouble accessing the digital assistant, the Visual Intelligence control is important because it brings the Apple Intelligence feature to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

Visual Intelligence was originally only accessible on the iPhone 16 lineup because those devices have the Camera Control button. With iOS 18.4, Visual Intelligence is now accessible on more devices and people thanks to the titular control in Control Center. But remember, Visual Intelligence is like any other AI tool so it won’t always be accurate. You should double check results and important information it shows you.

For more on iOS 18, here are all the new emoji you can use now and everything you should to know about the recipes section in Apple News. You can also check out all the features included in iOS 18.5 and our iOS 18 cheat sheet.