Monthly Archives: September 2025

The Morning After: Hands-on with the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, AirPods Pro 3 and more

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As the Pumpkin Spice approaches, it’s time for a bunch of new iPhones. Welcome to a special edition of the Engadget newsletter, breaking down everything Apple announced in the last 24 hours. What’s notable this year is, of course, the iPhone Air. Launching alongside the base iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, it’s an intriguing new flavor of iOS.

The iPhone Air: It’s a brave choice to label the new superslim phone with the same suffix as the game-changing MacBook Air. Barring the slimmer profile and accompanying compromises, it’s not as surprising as it could have been. Early rumors suggested it might have arrived without a single port, with wireless charging and WiFi alone.

Instead, the iPhone Air (no 17) is an engineering marvel. With a body thickness of just 5.6mm and made of spacecraft-grade titanium, it also has Ceramic Shield 2 on both sides, which helps make it more durable than any previous iPhone.

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Engadget

It features the same A19 Pro chip as the iPhone 17 Pro, along with Apple’s N1 chip for wireless connectivity and the new C1X modem, which is reportedly twice as fast as the C1 introduced with the iPhone 16e.

Compromises had to happen, though. Apple kept the iPhone Air thin in part by going for a single 48-megapixel camera, but it did try to make it as versatile as possible. It has a large two-micrometer quad-pixel sensor that excels in low light, along with an optical quality 2x telephoto. Apple says it’s “the equivalent of four lenses in their pocket,” but well, why doesn’t the base iPhone 17 have it? It also seems a bit weak compared to the S25 Edge (Samsung’s super-thin smartphone) and its 200MP main camera.

Worried that a thin battery means precarious battery life? Apple claims the iPhone Air will get “all-day” battery life thanks in part to hardware designed to cram more battery into smaller designs and software like Adaptive Power Mode. To assuage those concerns, Apple made a new super-slim MagSafe battery pack to boost how long it lasts.

There’s also an intangible appeal to the ‘first’ of a new Apple product. I remember upgrading a year into my iPhone 7 contract to get the first iPhone without a home button. The iPhone X is a good comparison to make, perhaps. Both the iPhone X and iPhone Air have the same price: $999.

— Mat Smith

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Our first impressions and hands-ons at the Apple iPhone 17 event

The iPhone 17 Pro is redesigned to house its biggest battery ever

New thermals, new cameras, new color!

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Apple

So, if the iPhone Air grabs the headlines, what about the pro model? Apple’s most powerful iPhone now has the A19 Pro chipset and comes with 6.9- (iPhone 17 Pro Max) and 6.3-inch (iPhone 17 Pro) screen sizes. Glass has been replaced with Ceramic Shield 2, which makes the iPhone 17 Pro more durable than ever.

A new rear camera setup includes a new 48MP telephoto lens, which can shoot up to 8x “optical quality” zoom at 12MP and 4x at its full resolution. Both the wide and ultrawide sensors are 48MP too, for resolution parity across them all. The iPhone 17 Pro series starts at $1,099 for a 256GB model and will be available for pre-order starting Friday, September 12.

Continue reading.

The iPhone 17 has a better screen and better durability

With base storage up to 256GB.

Arriving in four colorways, the iPhone 13 has improvements in power efficiency, a smoother screen and a new selfie cam. This might be the most intriguing update: The company has improved the selfie camera to be a “center stage” front camera, with better stabilization, a wider field of view and a new larger square sensor. Because it’s square, you won’t have to rotate your iPhone when you want to take a photo or video in landscape mode.

Continue reading.

AirPods Pro 3 have better noise cancellation and health-tracking features

Live translation is built into the buds.

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Apple

Yes, we have an update to Apple’s AirPods Pro — arguably, the Apple hardware I’ve used the most over the last three years. I even bought a standalone USB-C charging case. The company has improved the wireless buds in some major ways. The big features include a heart rate sensor that can hook into iOS workout apps (and third-party apps) and a new live translation feature (a la Pixel Buds) that converts foreign languages on the fly and even lowers audio of the speaker so you can better hear the translation. They’ll support English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish at launch. The buds themselves are a bit smaller to fit more ears, and there are now five tip sizes, up from three.

No feature yet to make people who talk to you while wearing AirPods less insufferable. The AirPods Pro 3 cost $249, and pre-orders are open right now.

Continue reading.

Apple launches the Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 and SE

Something for everyone?

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Apple

The Series 11 is twice as scratch-resistant as previous Apple Watches and now even has 5G connectivity. The watch will monitor for high blood pressure using improved algorithms and the built-in heart rate monitor. If the watch identifies patterns of hypertension, you’ll get an alert in the Health app. The biggest upgrade may be up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge.

The Ultra 3 has a bigger display, satellite connectivity, and emergency SOS. The Watch Ultra 3’s new 3D printed case has even smaller bezels, while the display technology has been tweaked (LTPO3) to improve off-angle viewing.

The Apple Watch SE is getting an update with a new always-on display, optional 5G, the improved S10 chip and support for gestures like double tap and wrist flick. The Apple Watch SE will also provide sleep apnea notifications and the new Sleep Score feature that’s available on Series 11 watches. The Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $399, the Ultra 3 starts at $799 and the SE starts at $249.

Continue reading.

The Apple news you might have missed

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-hands-on-with-the-iphone-air-iphone-17-pro-airpods-pro-3-and-more-111101338.html?src=rss

BMW Is Using Quest 3 To Train Technicians To Repair EV Batteries

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BMW is using Quest 3 mixed reality to train technicians to repair its electric car batteries.

Electric vehicle batteries are an intricate assembly of cells, wiring, and fasteners. Repairing them is challenging, and physically training technicians to repair them would require expensive and easily damaged replicas.

Exploring solutions to this problem, BMW of North America built a Quest 3 mixed reality app it calls Impossible Battery.

Impossible Battery features an interactive virtual replica of BMW’s fifth-generation EV battery, and lets technicians spawn the 14 different tools needed to work on it.

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BMW’s Impossible Battery Quest 3 mixed reality app.

Rather than trying to imperfectly replicate the specific interactions of using these tools, the app simply has the technician use hand tracking to tap the position where the tool should be used. The intention here is to give the technician a full understanding of the battery system, not frustrate them with clunky interactions.

BMW and Meta say Impossible Battery is an ideal training tool for new starts and seasoned technicians needing to get up to speed on EV batteries alike.

“Building digital twins and integrating them into our workflows is likely to be the number one use of industrial VR going forward,” BMW’s Corporate Strategy Manager for Innovations told Meta. “Programs that would have been too dangerous, ineffective, or just cost-prohibitive in the past can be developed, rolled out, and scaled for a fraction of the cost using VR.”

Impossible Battery also includes “gamification mechanics”, including tracking the time and cost of repairs, and BMW says it plans to add global leaderboards so that training centers can compete on who can make a valid repair the fastest.

The company is also experimenting with using Impossible Battery as a visualization tool, showing an X-ray view of how the electricity and coolants are flowing.

Nikon’s ZR is its first cinema camera co-designed with RED

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Nikon has unveiled its first cinema camera developed in collaboration with the company it acquired last year, RED. The Nikon ZR (the “R” is for “RED” I imagine) is a camera that neither company could have made on its own, marrying RED’s color science and video codecs with Nikon’s advanced subject detect AF and in-body stabilization. It will go up against other creator-oriented models like Canon’s new C50 and the Sony FX3 but at a much lower price. 

Nikon’s mirrorless cameras are known for their high dynamic range and the company is leaning into that for the ZR. It has a partially stacked 24MP sensor with a Dual Base ISO of 800/6400 that promises 15+ stops of dynamic range for high low-light sensitivity and greater detail in shadows and highlights. Though it doesn’t quite match the C50’s 7K resolution, it will output 12K RAW 6K video at 60 fps, or 4K at 120 fps. 

The internal RAW format used will be RED’s new R3D NE and a log format called Log3G10 with the same color science as RED’s high-end cinema cameras (so it can match those in post). That’s a lighter codec designed exclusively for Nikon, but the ZR also supports Nikon’s N-RAW format along with ProRes/ProRes RAW and H.265. If you want to apply RED’s LUTs, you can load and monitor up to 10 at a time.

Nikon ZR cinema camera
Nikon

Nikon focused on audio as well, offering 32-bit float internal audio recording and Nokia’s OZO surround sound tech via three built-in high-performance mics. You can choose from five pickup patterns including front (super directional), front, all directions, rear and stereo (binaural) for any situation from interviews to vlogging to ASMR. 

The ZR comes with subject tracking hybrid phase-detect autofocus, making it more palatable for content creators than any RED camera that has ever existed. That includes AI tracking of people (eyes, head and body) along with animals and vehicles, with nine types total. It also has five-axis in-body stabilization with 7.5 stops of smoothing, something palpably lacking in Canon’s new C50. Another key feature is digital focus-breathing compensation.  

Nikon ZR cinema camera
Nikon

Since the ZR has no viewfinder, Nikon made the screen as big, bright and sharp as possible. It’s a 4-inch 16:10 display with 1,000 nits of brightness and full DCI-P3 HDR color coverage, with 3070K dots of resolution, one the highest of any camera display. Meanwhile, the tiny 540 gram (1.2 pound) body dissipates heat well enough to allow 6K 60 fps RAW recording for up to 125 minutes at 25C (77F) temperatures. It supports audio capture through a the digital hotshoe or a 3.5mm input and has a USB-C port for charging, data transfers and webcam/streaming, along with a headphone input. The HDMI port is unfortunately a small and flimsy Micro HDMI type, however. 

For its capabilities, the Nikon ZR looks like a stunning bargain. It starts at $2,200 for the body only without accessories, which is nearly half the price of the Sony FX3 and $1,700 cheaper than Canon’s C50. Shipping is expected to start on October 20, 2025. It supports any Nikon (or third-party) Z mount lens or F mount glass with an adapter. Nikon also unveiled the $339 ME-D10 digital shotgun mike that’s compatible with the camera’s 32-bit float audio. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/nikons-zr-is-its-first-cinema-camera-co-designed-with-red-110022972.html?src=rss

The Atherton A.130 is our Trail Bike of the Year for 2025 – here’s why

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Hot on the heels of dishing out our Road Bike of the Year awards last week, it’s time to turn our attention off-road and crown our Trail Bike of the Year winner… the Atherton A.130.

This year, we’ve put eight of the best all-rounders through the wringer to find a winner, with the A.130 shining through as a trail bike that’s a comfortable climber, and ridiculously flickable and fun on mellower trails, but a proper hooligan when pointed downhill.

Up against stiff competition from Canyon and Forbidden in our final head-to-head showdown, with bikes from Specialized, Giant, Pivot, Santa Cruz and Yeti also tested and earning highly commended nominations, Atherton’s A.130 takes top honours as a trail bike that does it all with aplomb.

My head-to-head feature on the Atherton, Canyon and Forbidden bikes delivers a blow-by-blow account of how these three fare against one another – and explains why the Atherton edges it to take the crown – but, for now, let’s dive into more detail on Trail Bike of the Year 2025.

Want to know more about our Road Bike of the Year winners? Head this way – or check out our full Bike of the Year hub.

Bike of the Year is supported by Auto-Trail

Auto-Trail logo

Big thanks to sports campervan specialists Auto-Trail for supporting our Bike of the Year 2025 test. Head to auto-trail.co.uk for more details about their range, including the cycling-specific Auto-Trail Expedition 68, which features a purpose-built bike garage.

Our 2025 Trail Bike of the Year podium

Trail Bike of the Year 2025 winner – Atherton A.130
Introducing our 2025 Trail Bike of the Year… the Atherton A.130. Scott Windsor / Our Media

Trail Bike of the Year 2025 runner-up – Canyon Spectral AL 6
Canyon’s Spectral AL6 earns a runner-up spot on our Trail Bike of the Year podium. Scott Windsor / Our Media
Trial Bike of the Year 2025 runner-up – Forbidden Druid 3
The Forbidden Druid completes the podium as one of our two Trail Bike of the Year runners-up. Scott Windsor / Our Media

How we found our Trail Bike of the Year

Two mountain bikers riding downhill on dirt track
Back-to-back testing is the best way to uncover which bike performs best on the trail. Scott Windsor / Our Media

For this year’s MTB Bike of the Year test, we decided to focus exclusively on the trail bike category – it’s an exciting segment that’s really developed over the last few years, with bikes now better than ever.

We’ve got an expert team of testers here and, together with my colleague Alex Evans, and skills coach Luke Marshall, we looked back on the last 10 months of riding to put together our shortlist of the best trail bikes we’ve tested collectively.

Male mountain biker in white top riding the Canyon Spectral AL 6 mountain bike
We focused this year’s test on the trail bike category – after all, these bikes are designed to do it all. Scott Windsor / Our Media

That enabled us to capture a broad range of trail bikes with varying amounts of travel and differing builds, across a wide range of prices.

Once we’d all put our favourites forward, we hit the trails again to determine which bike came out on top. And guess what? It wasn’t easy… not only because these bikes are so good, but because the trail bike category continues to evolve.

What even is a trail bike?

Male mountain biker in black top riding the Forbidden Druid 3 mountain bike
One thing is for sure, a trail bike needs to rip going downhill. Scott Windsor / Our Media

We say it every year, but defining what a trail bike is can be challenging.

During the process of this test, what we’ve discovered is that while the amount of suspension travel is important, it’s certainly not the most important factor when defining a bike.

Suspension travel on the bikes here varies from as little as 130mm at the rear to as much as 160mm up front, and while the amount of squish is important, it’s not the defining factor. How it’s delivered – in terms of leverage rate, anti-rise, anti-squat and other kinematics – is crucial, dictating whether a bike is super-efficient on the climbs or will soak up chunder as effectively as a longer-travel enduro rig.

There’s also been more of an emphasis on adding bigger, more powerful brakes, along with grippier tyres that’ll stave off ride-ruining punctures.

Canyon Spectral AL 6 mountain bike
Suspension travel on the bikes tested varied from as little as 130mm at the rear to as much as 160mm up front. Scott Windsor / Our Media

That is largely down to ensuring the bike – even if it’s capable of being ridden all day – should still be able to handle a beasting, no matter what you’ve got it pointed down.

But despite, in some cases, being focused more on going downhill, all the bikes here are more than capable of going up and along, too.

After all, trail riding is such a mix of everything that these bikes need to be the truest of all-rounders. Designing a bike like that isn’t easy.

Male mountain biker in red top riding the Atherton A.130.3 mountain bike
The Atherton A.130 feels energetic and excitable when pointed uphill. Scott Windsor / Our Media

While there’s a need for it to be pedalled out into the hills for hours, maybe even days at a time, it still needs to handle the descents, a trip to the bike park or even just an evening in the woods ripping turns and hitting jumps.

There will always be some level of compromise with trail bikes, but one thing is for sure, not a single bike included here is a dud in any way.

What we were looking for in the winner

Male mountain biker in red top riding the Atherton A.130.3 mountain bike
Although there’s only 130mm of rear-wheel travel, our winner, the Atherton A.130, is more than capable when it comes to tackling full-on descents. Scott Windsor / Our Media

Because we’ve hand-picked every bike here based on our testing experience – a big advantage of the way we’ve approached Bike of the Year this time round – each of them is worth considering for your next purchase.

Which one suits you best will depend on what you’re looking for in a bike and how much money you’ve got to spend. For our overall winner, we were looking for an all-rounder that exemplifies the modern trail bike.

Male mountain biker in red top riding the Atherton A.130.3 mountain bike
The A.130 is a truly incredible all-rounder and ticks all the right boxes when it comes to delivering what a trail bike should. Scott Windsor / Our Media

It needed to be lively and engaging, fast and efficient, but still capable of soaking up the hits – and with geometry that would ensure we weren’t terrified on steeper, more technical trails.

It’s a big ask, but thankfully, nearly every brand out there now makes something that can meet or, in some cases, exceed these expectations.

However, the Atherton A.130 is the bike that heads off the competition as our 2025 Trail Bike of the Year.

Meet the team behind Trail Bike of the Year

Robin Weaver

As our technical editor-in-chief, Rob has years of racing and testing experience, so knows what makes a good trail bike.

Alex Evans

A hard rider with a habit of breaking bikes, senior technical editor Alex pulls no punches with his reviews.

Luke Marshall

Our former tech writer turned skills coach is rarely off a bike and can quickly expose any kit weaknesses

7 things you need to know about the new Garmin Edge 550 and 850 bike computers

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Garmin has launched its new Edge 550 and 850 bike computers. Here’s what you need to know about the new computers, in brief:

  • Garmin says the Edge 550 and 850 are its “brightest and smartest” compact bike computers.
  • The computers are “built to help riders better prepare and train for an event or goal”. You can use them to access free Cycling Coach plans, track your cycling ability, and monitor hydration and fuelling while riding. 
  • The Edge 550 and 850 now offer real-time weather updates, including wind direction.
  • They also have features for mountain bikers, such as enduro and downhill ride profiles that enable more precise GPS tracking. 
  • Battery life is 12 hours in “demanding use cases” and 36 hours in battery saver mode. 
  • The Edge 850 has several extra features, including a touchscreen and built-in speaker, and you can use it to make contactless payments. 
  • The Edge 550 costs £379.99, while the Edge 850 costs £469.99. 
Garmin Edge 850 bike computer on handlebar.
Garmin

Want to know more? Read our coverage of the new Garmin Edge 550 and 850 bike computers.

VR Tennis Game ‘Tennis Esports’ is Hosting a $100,000 Live Tournament Today in Las Vegas

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The International Virtual Tennis Federation (IVTF) announced it’s hosting its first World Tennis Esports Championships today, which is set to bring together the world’s top 16 Tennis Esports (2023) players to compete for a $100,000 prize pool.

Those competing are either champions of their respective regions (Austria, Switzerland, Germany, India, Australia, UK, Ireland, Canada, USA), or are one of the top eight highest-ranked online players on the ‘Tennis Esports Tour’.

The World Tennis Esports Championships is backed by sponsors including MGM Group, Sportradar, the ÖTV Austrian Tennis Federation, AEL (Australian Esports League), the First Coast Esports Alliance, GameForYou and NoScope Gaming.

“The rapid rise of VR tennis showcases its potential as a mainstream esport. The World Tennis Esports Championships will mark a defining moment for competitive VR sports,” said Gregory Gettinger, CEO of Tennis Esports.

Taking place at eports venue The Space in Las Vegas, the tournament will kick off on September 10th at 5:30PM PT (local time), and will be available for ticketed in-person fans as well as livestream viewers. You can get in-person tickets here, priced at $44.

Livestream tickets are also available here, priced at $13, however the studio is additionally livestreaming via YouTube for free, which is said to include “live match streams blended with on-site footage from The Space, followed by the trophy ceremony and winner interviews.”

Released on Quest 2 and above in 2023, Tennis Esports is a free-to-play game that offers up online gameplay with co-op and head-to-head matches, as well as training tutorials on forehand and backhand swings. A premium version is also available, which unlocks unlimited live matches, 10 AI opponents, 25+ training exercises, six arcade games, and more.

The studio notes Tennis Esports has “exploded from 35,467 to 400,000 active users” within the past year, making it a serious esports contender in the XR space.

The post VR Tennis Game ‘Tennis Esports’ is Hosting a $100,000 Live Tournament Today in Las Vegas appeared first on Road to VR.

SpecFive Strike Handheld Linux Workstation with LoRa Mesh

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The SpecFive Strike is a handheld Linux workstation with integrated LoRa mesh networking. Built on the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 and a custom SpecFive carrier board, it targets developers, makers, hackers, and off-grid communicators by combining Linux computing, wireless connectivity, and portability. The device comes in a PETG enclosure featuring a 4.3-inch touchscreen and […]

Venice Immersive 2025: Everything We Saw In Italy

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Venice Immersive recently wrapped up, and we spent a week going hands-on once more with various projects.

An XR-focused segment of the Venice International Film Festival, this year marked my third year visiting Lazzaretto Vecchio after attending in 2023 and 2024. Featuring nearly 70 different projects from 27 countries, only 30 projects were in competition for awards, and this event provides a strong opportunity to discover what’s happening on the film-adjacent side of this industry.

Many of these projects don’t usually end up seeing home releases, often being more geared up for festivals and location-based experiences. I’d love to see that change in the future for greater accessibility, though I’m happy to see Venice Immersive also hosting a VRChat world once again. Together, these stages continue offering platforms for creators to find their feet across immersive art and entertainment.

This year’s event had some extenuating personal circumstances that, unfortunately, meant I couldn’t try out as much as I would normally. Even still, I got a good look across the wider selection of projects. With that said, here’s everything I saw at Venice Immersive 2025.

My festival began with Asteroid, a 180° short film that’s launching alongside Samsung’s Android XR headset later this year. Starring Ron Perlman, Hailee Steinfeld, Leon Mandel, NFL player DK Metcalf, and more, this story sees a group of strangers risk everything by flying an old rocket to mine a near-Earth asteroid for untold wealth.

Splitting this experience between three different sections, the actual film segment is the best part. It’s a familiar story of the corrupting power of greed, and Steinfeld puts in a great performance while the remaining cast doesn’t have much time to truly shine. Unfortunately, the interactive segments are hampered by the segments using a generative AI version of DK Metcalf that doesn’t tonally work. More on that soon.

Face Jumping was my personal highlight for that day, offering a surrealist VR adventure that puts you in someone else’s position using eye tracking on Quest Pro. It’s a bit of a one-trick pony that lasts roughly 25 minutes, though it’s one of the better uses I’ve seen yet for eye tracking across all types of VR experiences. My full thoughts can be found below.

Face Jumping Delivers Surrealist Eye-Tracking On Quest Pro
Face Jumping is a surrealist VR adventure that quite literally puts you in someone else’s position via eye tracking.
UploadVRHenry Stockdale

1968 presented a seated, communal VR experience focused on the power of protest, though the execution feels scattered. Sense of Nowhere followed, which I originally considered a potential highlight but found myself disappointed by. Empathy Creatures is about looking after a bird across different environments, providing some colorful visuals and nice interactions but not much else.

The following day delivered several strong experiences, each of which sticks with me for different reasons. Blur was perhaps my most memorable experience, though that’s purely because of how surreal certain aspects are. Joined by other participants with live actors also involved, this roomscale experience goes on a strange journey about the ethics of cloning.

As a Formula 1 fan that follows Ferrari, Black Cats & Chequered Flags was easily my highlight this day. It’s an interactive VR and MR experience focused on Alberto Ascari, winner of the 1952 and 1953 championships. It’s an all too brief tribute to Italy’s most successful F1 driver and his life that misses some key details, though there’s considerable heart to this tale that softens some rough edges.

The mixed reality minigame where you perform a 50s-style pit stop is rather enjoyable, too.

Black Cats & Chequered Flags Celebrates One Of Formula 1’s Earliest Champions
Black Cats & Chequered Flags celebrates Alberto Ascari, one of Formula 1’s earliest champions, with a VR and mixed reality experience.
UploadVRHenry Stockdale

My day ended with Alien Perspective. This explores the legacy of Italian special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, the three-time Academy Award winner that worked on King Kong (1976), Alien, E.T., and more. Co-directed by his granddaughter Cristina Rambaldi and Jung Ah Suh, this turns his painting, Città Spaziale 2, into an immersive world. I was immediately drawn to this idea, which leads into a touching tribute for the deceased artist.

Once I returned to Venice Immersive, this started out well through Out of Nowhere. With climate change becoming an ever-increasing threat to our future, this 10-minute experience focuses on the story of Anna, a resident of Hallein near the Austrian Alps. This highlights the challenges posed by an increasingly unpredictable climate well, focusing on 2021’s devastating European floods.

Similarly enlightening is Reflections of Little Red Dot by Chloé Lee, a mixed reality experience that explores time, memory, diaspora, and place in Singapore through “intimate conversations” and personal stories filmed in 2015. As someone largely unfamiliar with the country’s history, I found a compelling insight into the country’s history and heritage.

What I particularly liked about this experience is the use of props, using a faux film projector where you slot one of eight cards into it to see these stories unfold on a digital table in front of you. This isn’t always the smoothest execution as I encountered some positioning issues, though that does little to hamper an otherwise deeply personal look into the country.

Reflections of Little Red Dot Explores Singapore’s History Through Mixed Reality
Reflections of Little Red Dot uses mixed reality to explore how Singapore’s rapid urban development has affected its communities.
UploadVRHenry Stockdale

My next appointment is what I’d consider to be my highlight of Venice Immersive 2025, The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up, which adapts a Taiwanese short story into a free-roaming VR experience. It focuses on Guan, who finds his wife’s unfinished novel after her sudden death. Grief-stricken and full of regret, he sets off on a journey to complete her work, investigating the endangered clouded leopard and Rukai tribe.

Not only does this deliver a captivating story focused on love and loss mixed with indigenous mythology, it’s a highly distinctive approach to VR filmmaking that goes beyond the 180° and 360° videos we’ve often seen. You can’t influence the actions each character takes, though you can fully explore these scenes and catch subtle details you might otherwise miss. If there’s anything that I hope gets a home release, it’s this.

The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up Feels Like Walking Into A Movie
The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up adapts the Taiwanese short story into a free-roaming VR experience.
UploadVRHenry Stockdale

Capping off my last day at Venice Immersive were four different projects, and I walked away from A Long Goodbye feeling quite emotional. This focuses on the life of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist who has dementia, while you interact with tape recordings, memories, and more. This handles the subject matter rather delicately, brought to life by some gorgeous visuals. I can agree with this taking the Venice Achievement Prize.

Then we have Mulan 2125, a lesson in researching what you try before booking an appointment. One of the few Apple Vision Pro experiences at Venice Immersive, this 180° 3D animated movie makes some strange design choices that overly objectify its female characters and becomes really awkward to watch. That’s not helped by the black borders clearly visible whenever I look left or right even slightly. I ended my session early.

I soon moved onto First Virtual Suit, an intriguing journey of self-discovery that focuses on how we project ourselves through digital avatars, looking at communities like VRChat or Resonite. Last was La Magie Opéra, a roomscale experience that goes beyond a tribute to the opera. A nice idea that needs a more modern headset than a Vive Focus 3. Hand tracking feels painfully outdated compared to Quest, especially since it doesn’t register finger movement.

Like before, there are a few highlights I couldn’t fit in. Creation of the Worlds is a poetic exploration of M.K. Čiurlionis’ works, Mnemosyne blends VR film and theater, while L’ombre (The Shadow) sees a scientist bring his shadow to life. I’m pleased Ghost Town, Wall Town Wonders, and The Midnight Walk hosted demos, too. It’s another year when the highs were high but the lows were low, delivering an enjoyably varied showcase. I’d love to see where this goes next year.

Venice Immersive 2025 ran from August 27 until September 6, 2025.

‘Star Wars: Beyond Victory’ Mixed Reality Game Comes to Quest 3 in October

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ILM and Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset is set to launch next month, coming exclusively to Quest 3 and 3S.

The studios released a new trailer for Star Wars: Beyond Victory, revealing the game’s release date of October 7th.

Set during the Reign of the Empire, this time around the studios are offering up a good slice of podracing and what they call a “powerful narrative” that combines both virtual and mixed reality gameplay.

Image courtesy ILM, Lucasfilm, Meta

“This experience is designed to celebrate storytelling, action, imagination and everything we love about Star Wars,” said Jose Perez III, Director of Star Wars: Beyond Victory. “We wanted to give players a new way to step inside the galaxy and make it their own.”

Three modes are set to be available at launch:

  • Adventure Mode: delivers the primary narrative journey placing players in the role of Volo Bolus, an ambitious pilot mentored by none other than podracing legend Sebulba. Through a mix of fully immersive VR and MR, players will experience an epic Star Wars story from a bold new perspective.
  • Arcade Mode: transforms the player’s physical space into a holotable-style racing arena where high-speed podraces are controlled from a top-down view. Each track features multiple paths to the finish line providing fast, replayable fun for fans of classic arcade gameplay.
  • Playset Mode: invites players to unleash their creativity in a dynamic sandbox from a galaxy far, far away. Using unlockable digital action figures, including vehicles and iconic characters, fans can populate their physical environment and stage their own Star Wars stories.

What’s more, the game features a cast of recognizable voice talent too, including Fin Argus (Queer as Folk), Greg Proops (Whose Line is it Anyway?), Lilimar Hernandez (Inside Out 2), Lewis MacLeod (Star Wars: Episode 1), and Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live).

Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset is set to launch on October 7th on the Horizon Store for Quest 3 and 3S, priced at $19.99. You can wishlist the game here.

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Beats’ new iPhone 17 case has a lanyard that turns into a kickstand

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Beats has launched a new collection of cases to go with Apple’s latest iPhones, including one with a removable lanyard that doubles as a kickstand. Lanyards and cross-body straps for phones are becoming pretty common these days. If you’re someone who travels every now and then, they can help protect you from pickpockets or from accidentally leaving your phone behind while you struggle with your luggage. The lanyard on Beats’ case comes with something extra: It has an adaptor at the end that slides open and attaches to a magnetic part on the side of the case so that it can act as a kickstand for hands-free phone use. The Beats iPhone 17 Kickstand Case with MagSafe & Camera Control is available in Granite Gray, Bedrock Blue, Lime Stone and Pebble Pink. You can get it from Apple’s website for $59. 

The new collection also includes a basic case that Beats describes as “thin, light, and precisely crafted.” It’s available in the same colors, with the same matte hard outer shell that prevents fingerprints and an interior microfiber lining. This model will set you back $45 and is the only one in the collection that you can get for the iPhone Air. 

Finally, the Beats iPhone 17 Rugged Case with MagSafe & Camera Control will give you some extra protection if you tend to drop your devices. Beats designed it with a rugged polymer backing that’s complemented by impact-absorbing sidewalls. It has an enclosed bottom for enhanced protection and a textured matte exterior to give you a good grip on your phone. The manufacturer said it put the case through repeated drop and scratch tests, as well as multiple thermal, mechanical and chemical tests to simulate real world use. Beats’ rugged case is available in Everest Black, Rocky Blue, Alpine Gray and Sierra Orange for $79.

A person plugging in an iPhone in a case.
Beats

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/beats-new-iphone-17-case-has-a-lanyard-that-turns-into-a-kickstand-035044992.html?src=rss

GNOME 49 Release Candidate Restores X11 Support in GDM

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The GNOME desktop environment has taken a significant step back from its controversial X11 deprecation with the release of GNOME 49 Release Candidate, which restores default X11 support in the GDM display manager. This major policy reversal addresses widespread community concerns and ensures better hardware compatibility for Linux users who have struggled with Wayland-only sessions.