The 6 best VR headsets 2017

It’s not particularly stylish, as donning any VR headset makes you look like you’ve been kicked through the discount aisle of PC World, but the magic that’s going on under the headset is almost indescribable. Just be ready to apologise for the strange “ooooh” and “ahhhh” noises you’ll make while drooling at the gorgeous worlds blooming into life around you. And for those who just want to jump in and explore those gorgeous worlds right away, then our favourite VR headset right now is the Oculus Rift.

How to choose the best VR headset for you

Technology has finally caught up to what we first dreamt VR could be back in the Eighties, allowing us to enjoy our favourite games, films and apps in brand new ways. Whether it’s reaching out to select a button on a menu or riding on a rollercoaster while covered in Dorito shards on your living room sofa or ducking out of the way of a zombie’s bite, VR is technology that needs to be experienced to be believed.
The good news is that the VR market isn’t swamped with headsets yet, so the problem isn’t sifting through dozens and dozens of options. The difficulty is understanding the distinct and unique strengths of each headset – knowing how and why HTC Vive headsets will fully immerse you in its worlds in a way that Google Cardboard can’t, for example.
Which is why we’ve put together this guide to the best VR headsets on the market. To save you time, to save you confusion, and to let you know how you can dazzle your friends (and yourself) with the latest in cutting-edge technology.

The  best VR headsets 2017

1. Oculus Rift

April 04, 2017 ·   0

Google tweaks the Pixel C's interface to match its smartphones

Google will probably put the promising but ultimately ill-fated Pixel C tablet out to pasture before too long -- it's been on sale for a year and a half now, after all. But that hasn't stopped the company from giving the device some attention in Android 7.1.2; users on Redditas well as 9to5Google have both confirmed the new software update contains a bunch of tweaks for the Pixel C interface. Chief among those is a new multitasking view designed for the tablet's bigger screen. Instead of the scrolling list of open apps, the Pixel C app switcher now displays a grid of your eight most recent programs.

The rest of the tweaks here are meant to unify the interface with Google's own Pixel smartphone. That means rounded app icons abound for Google's own apps as well as third-party offerings that have updated their look. There's no more "all apps" button at the bottom of the tablet screen; instead, you'll swipe up from the bottom of the screen to see every app you have installed.

The last notable change is that the Pixel's weather and date widget is now in the top right corner of the screen. The Google search bar is gone, replaced by the "G" logo in the top left that you can tap or swipe across to get to the search app. Unfortunately, in classic Android tablet fashion, tapping that new weather widget brings you to a weather page that's only viewable in portrait mode -- super annoying if you have your tablet docked to its keyboard in landscape mode.

The update has been available to those installed in the Android beta program for a while now, but it should be available to all users as of today. Go over to the settings app and check the "about" menu for the system update.

April 04, 2017 ·   0