Just two months after releasing its last big AI model, Meta is back with a major update: its first open-source model capable of processing both images and text. The new model, Llama 3.2, could allow developers to create more advanced AI applications, like augmented reality apps that provide real-time understanding of video, visual search engines that sort images based on content, or document analysis that summarizes long chunks of text for you. Meta says it’s going to be easy for developers to get the new model up and running. Developers will have to do little except add this “new multimodality and be able to show Llama images and have it communicate,” Ahmad Al-Dahle, vice president of generative AI at Meta, told The Verge. Other AI...

Meta's Mark Zuckerberg announces the Meta Quest 3 headset. . That lower price for the Quest 3S comes with a few compromises compared to its predecessor. The biggest is the display, an LCD panel which matches the 1832x1920 per eye resolution of 2020's Quest 2. That should be a noticeable downgrade from the two 2064×2208 pixel LCD displays on the Quest 3. The 3S also mirrors the Quest 2's use of fresnel lenses, a downgrade from the pancake lenses on the Quest 3 which allowed for improved clarity and less bulky lens housing. The Quest 3S also promises just a 96 degree horizontal field of view, down from 110 degrees on the Quest 3, and 90 degrees of vertical field of view, down from 96 degrees on the Quest 3. That should lead to a noticeable, relative "tunnel vision" effect that requires a lot more head movement to center an object in your VR vision.

The $300 headset looks and feels like its premium counterpart, and it made me wanna barf.

The Quest 3S starts at $300, and it promises mixed reality capabilities that are comparable to the Quest 3.

The Meta Quest 3S has nearly all the same capabilities as the Meta Quest 3, but costs $200 less. It ships in October.

Meta is discontinuing the Quest Pro, its high-end VR headset launched in 2022 that we said “isn’t very good.” The company plans to sell its remaining Quest Pro headsets through the end of the year or “until they’re gone, whichever comes first,” according to a blog post. Meta’s post didn’t specify why it’s moving on from the Quest Pro so soon, but it’s clear the headset wasn’t well received. My colleague Adi Robertson rated the headset a 4, finding that the device was heavy and uncomfortable and that its professional-focused Workrooms experience was “basically a matter of luck.” At launch, the Quest Pro was also jaw-droppingly expensive at $1,499. Meta permanently dropped the price to $999 just months after launch, but that was still a...

Meta finally announced the very heavily leaked Quest 3S VR headset, and the leaks were right: it’s a $299.99 headset that looks like a mix of the Quest 2 and Quest 3. But now that the specs are official, I can tell you that it’s a lot closer to the Quest 3 than expected for a refresh that’s almost half the price. If you don’t have a Quest headset already, the 3S is potentially a very compelling purchase. The Quest 3S offers the same mixed reality features and performance as the Quest 3 — it even has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip — meaning you can play all of the same games and experiences on either device. The Quest 3S uses the same Touch Plus controllers as the Quest 3. And the Quest 3S is actually rated for a higher...

In November of 2020, Google — which had offered unlimited storage for what it called “high quality” (read: compressed) photos — announced that, as of June 1st, 2021, “unlimited” was being changed to “up to 15GB on your Google account.” Since then, photo and video storage has counted against your total of 15 free gigs on a Google account, along with your Gmail, Google Drive files, and other stored data. Once you hit that 15GB threshold, you have to buy into the Google One service to increase your storage capacity. You can, of course, simply pay for Google One (plans start at 100GB for $1.99 a month). But it’s a good idea to check out your alternatives. Below are some of the main photo storage services available to you, along with their...

Sony finally confirmed the PS5 Pro, and in addition to enhanced features like Wi-Fi 7 and 8K gaming, the company has been sharing how recent and older games will perform on the system. As of September 25th, it’s revealed 25 different PS5 games that developers are specifically enhancing for the new console — here’s our hands-on with 11 of them. The PS5 Pro may also “stabilize or improve the performance of supported PS4 and PS5 games” with a feature called Game Boost, and the Pro’s “enhanced image quality” could possibly improve the resolution for certain PS4 games. Here’s a non-comprehensive list of games that will receive patches to take advantage of the Pro’s graphical and performance features, and what we know about those changes so...

Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company would start making users pay to share their passwords this month, and now we know how much it will cost. In an announcement on Wednesday, Disney Plus says adding an “extra member” to an ad-supported plan will cost $6.99 monthly, with that price going up to $9.99 for its ad-free plan. The company says the extra member offering will let you share your subscription with a friend or family member who lives outside your household. This option only applies if you have a standalone subscription to Disney Plus — not the bundle with Hulu, ESPN Plus, and other services — and if you’re billed by Disney directly. The extra member add-on comes with some limitations, too. That...

Imagine Outbreak or 28 Days Later as a French horror thriller that plays out through one continuous shot.

Ubisoft is delaying Assassin’s Creed Shadows from its planned November 15th release to February 14th, 2025. After showing off 12 minutes of gameplay in June, it looked like Ubisoft was set to deliver its next Assassin’s Creed installment in the usual holiday period, but now the publisher says it needs more time to get its new parkour and stealth systems ready. “We realize we need more time to polish and refine the experience, pushing further some of our key features,” says Marc-Alexis Côté, vice president and executive producer of Assassin’s Creed at Ubisoft. Assassin's Creed Shadows will now release February 14, 2025. pic.twitter.com/J2ah7kkytW Ubisoft says, “the learnings...