Technologies

Immersive LA Lakers Games Are Coming to the Apple Vision Pro

The games will stream at up to 150 Mbps, with video captured by 3D rigs.

Apple and Spectrum are teaming up to stream select Lakers basketball games live for Vision Pro owners during the upcoming NBA season. It feels like a genuine test of where immersive entertainment and virtual reality headsets can go next.

This is the first time a major US sports league is committing to regular live broadcasts in Apple’s immersive format, and it could prove a meaningful moment for the long-term relevance of Apple’s $3,500 headset. Watching basketball from a courtside perspective, with cameras positioned at floor level and under each hoop, promises an entirely different sense of presence compared to a traditional broadcast.

How will live-streaming NBA games to the Vision Pro work?

Charter Communications announced the partnership this week, saying that Spectrum SportsNet will power the live immersive streams for Lakers fans through a new SportsNet app. But the technical execution here matters as much as the idea.

Apple and Spectrum say these games will stream at up to 150 Mbps, with a replay window of three days after each live broadcast. Spectrum’s new app will also host the live feed for viewers within the Lakers’ regional market, while the NBA app will distribute replays and highlights internationally. Supported countries include the US, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

Each stream will rely on custom Blackmagic Ursa Cine Immersive rigs, which capture 3D video calibrated for the Vision Pro’s optics. They’ll be filmed and broadcast in Apple’s custom Immersive format, which is designed for virtual reality content — it’s been used in the making of a number of short films already.

As someone who owns a Vision Pro, I can’t help but feel this is the kind of partnership the device has been waiting for. The headset has always felt technically astonishing, but searching for purpose. Live sports — something that thrives on immediacy and emotion — might finally be where it makes sense.

CNET’s VR/AR expert, Scott Stein, has described the Apple Vision Pro as «a bleeding-edge tech showcase and the most advanced standalone VR/AR headset in existence,» but also cautioned that «the price will never appeal to any regular person I know.»

While immersive Lakers games could make the Vision Pro more interesting, they won’t suddenly make it affordable. Apple still needs a stronger argument for why mainstream users should invest in such a costly device beyond its novelty and design credentials.

Analyst Max Weinbach from Creative Strategies describes the Lakers deal as «a step towards fulfilling the promise of XR platforms for entertainment, real-time immersive live sports» — even if it doesn’t move the needle for sales of the headset.

He sees it as «a great deal for the Lakers, one of the most popular NBA teams, to pilot the tech,» adding that while fans will enjoy the experience, «it’s more another way to pilot Apple Immersive Video in live entertainment as Apple still tries to find the killer app for Vision Pro.»

Which Lakers games will stream on the Vision Pro?

Spectrum and the NBA reportedly will confirm which games will be available before the end of November, and the first immersive broadcasts will happen by early 2026.

Streams will be accessible to authenticated Spectrum SportsNet subscribers and Spectrum Internet customers within the Lakers’ territory, while on-demand replays and highlights will be viewable globally through the NBA app.

The 2025-26 NBA regular season starts Oct. 21 and runs through April 12, with the playoffs to follow.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

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 is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so 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: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

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:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

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:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Oct. 22, #1586

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Oct. 22, No. 1,586.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle features some letters I don’t often guess, but it’s not terribly difficult. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with S.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with T.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to an action displaying spectacular skill and daring.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is STUNT.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Oct. 21, No. 1,585 was DETOX.

Recent Wordle answers

Oct. 17, No. 1,581: GROSS
Oct. 18, No. 1,582: HAVEN
Oct. 19, No. 1,583: IDEAL
Oct. 20, No. 1,584: LIMBO

Quick tips for Wordle

#1: Check our list ranking the popularity of all the letters in the alphabet and choose your starter words accordingly. (TRAIN, STERN and AUDIO are good.)

#2: Don’t forget that letters can be used more than once.

#3: Many words are similar. You don’t want to use up multiple guesses that don’t advance your cause. So if the puzzle is STA_E, don’t guess STARE, STATE and STALE. Guess something that uses that R, T and L, like TWIRL.