Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR)

Nvidia's new RTX technology may bring real-time ray tracing to gaming and other media. Ray tracing results in incredibly realistic lighting, which has long been a difficult process for most game engines to handle in real-time. In its current form, RTX is only compatible with Nvidia's Volta-based GPUs.

First introduced at CES 2018 with a planned mid-year launch, Lenovo’s Mirage Solo Daydream VR headset will land on May 11. The device features what is effectively a built-in smartphone to provide a completely untethered VR experience good for up to 7 hours per charge.

Motorola looks set to release a new VR-based headset as a MotoMod for its Z series smartphones. The new headset also looks like it might have the backing of Oculus, if its headstrap is any indication.

PlayStation 5 is most likely not going to be released this year, but dev kits being distributed this early could mean that the next version could be launched in 2019 at the soonest. Sony might also be concerned that the XBox One X is taking over the PS4 Pro sales and the company might want to release a new system as soon as possible.

Oculus Rift virtual reality headset owners have been struggling to operate their devices today due to an issue with the Oculus Runtime Service. Users who have tried to open the app have faced an error message stating “Can’t Reach Oculus Runtime Service.” Technicians at the tech company are currently investigating the problem, which is possibly down to an expired security certificate.

The talented folk at Cyan, Inc. have released a cinematic trailer for the upcoming game, Firmament. A spectral voice narrates as the viewer is steered around some truly stunning graphics while briefly exploring the latest world being created by the developer behind games such as Myst, Riven and Obduction. Very few details for Firmament are currently available, but it is described as “a new VR experience” on Cyan’s YouTube channel.

They're finally here. The latest flagships from Samsung, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, share a lot in common with last year's S8 and S8+ with some incremental improvements. The biggest change lies in the camera, which now features a variable aperture for better low-light shots and 960 frame-per-second video capture.

Google has used MWC to announce the that its ARCore SDK is now in version 1.0 allowing developers to start populating the Play Store with new AR-powered apps. The company says there are 100 million phone in circulation, with more to come this year, that support the technology.

LG has launched its modestly revamped V30 dubbed the V30S ThinQ. The new model is the first from LG to include new AI-inspired software features, largely centered around improving its photographic capabilities.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed that it is working on products now that won't ship until well into the 2020s. Although it is obvious Apple works on products in advance of their launch, the company has never been quite this specific about its product planning.

HP will be reselling Apple's iPhone, iPad and Macs to its enterprise customers. The new program is aimed at giving its customers a one-stop solution for the deployment and support of multiple devices and operating systems in the workplace.

Apple has teamed up with LG and Valve to invest in eMagin, a company that has developed industry-leading technology in OLED microdisplays for use in AR and VR headsets. The move is indicative that Apple could be on track to release a headset in the near future.

Nvidia has recorded its highest quarterly revenue as the market for GPUs explodes thanks to both mining and gaming. The company says that in response, it is doing everything it can to increase supply to meet demand.

Sony's third quarter results for 2017/18 show the company is performing well regarding profitability, with gaming, financial, semiconductor, and music standing out for income contribution. Mobile communication profitability drops further as Sony tries to breath new life into their smartphone designs.

Facebook-owned Oculus is getting closer to the launch of its new standalone Oculus Go headset as the leak of its devkit highlights. Also revealed is that the device will have a rich selection of over 1000 apps when it launches early this year.

During the presentation of Sony's Q3 2017 financial ressults, they announced the resignation of their current President and CEO, Kazuo Hirai, to be replaced by Kenichiro Yoshida. Hirai's time at the top was defined by a return to profitability for Sony, and he will remain with Sony Corporation as Chairman.

The new PowerVR Series8XT GT8540 GPU uses Imagination Technologies' Furian architecture and provides an 80 percent fill rate gain over its predecessor. Even more, it can feed up to six 4K displays at 60 fps simultaneously.

Nintendo's latest innovation is something completely out of left field: cardboard toys and accessories for their highly successful Switch console. Dubbed "Nintendo Labo," the new project allows Switch users to build things like a fishing pole, a piano, and even a robot suit to enjoy new gaming experiences (and maybe learn a bit about engineering and coding).

The docking station will turn your Ideapad into a decent gaming machine for about $400 USD.

Answering criticisms of its earlier VR headset, HTC's new Vive Pro cuts the cable, adds built-in headphones, and brings much more pixel-dense displays for a more immersive VR gaming experience.

Asus has put forward another eGPU offering this CES. With an external 330W power supply and all-aluminum chassis, the XG Station Pro aims to be quieter and sleeker than competitors.

After a droolworthy announcement last year, Intel has finally taken wraps off its much hyped Intel-AMD MCM. The MCM is available in 65W and 100W total package power and will soon start showing up in notebooks and NUCs this year.

An FCC listing reveals that the Oculus Go will come in 32 GB and 64 GB variants. Apart from the storage differences, both models are identical in all other aspects.

The 2018 Zotac mini PCs will get CPUs ranging from Gemini Lake ultra-low voltage chips to six-core gen 8 processors from Intel. The fanless models will feature redesigned chassis that support processors with TDPs up to 25 W, allowing for pre-overclocked Kaby Lake-R processors.

Nissan is developing a new technology, named Brain-to-Vehicle (B2V), that will help car interpret human thoughts. The aim of the tech is to help newer cars better anticipate driver decisions and work with the human operator rather than to function autonomously.

A 44-year-old Russian man has been reported dead after he crashed into a glass table and suffered significant wounds while playing a VR video game in his apartment.

Exelus has announced the availability of the Nomadeec platform on the HoloLens that will enable EMTs and paramedics to get real-time information of patient vitals and medical records. It will also enable them to directly teleconference with doctors to provide appropriate emergency care.

The dreaded "screen door" effect that plagues the current VR headsets will soon be a thing of the past with Japan Display's 803 ppi and 1,000 ppi LCD screens.

The Nvidia GTX 1070-equipped Alienware 15 R3 is currently on sale at Best Buy for USD $1450, or $350 less than its retail price.

The new UFS 2.1 storage memory chips integrate Toshiba's 64-layer BICS 3D TLC NAND technology, and will target mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and standalone VR headsets. Providing sequential read speeds of up to 900 MB/s, sequential write speeds of up to 180 MB/s and improved random read/write performance for the 64 GB memory chip, Toshiba promises even better specs for the higher capacity versions.

The new Kryo cores should include four ARM Cortex-A75 processors and four efficient Cortex-A53 cores, along with the Adreno 630 GPU. The Snapdragon 845 is also expected to support quad 25 MP cameras (2 front + 2 rear) and the X20 modem with 1.2 Gbps downlink speeds.

Other new features include enhanced audio return channel, variable refresh rate, quick media switching, quick frame transport, auto low latency mode, and display stream compression (DSC). The 2.1 standard actually allows 8K@120Hz and 10K@120Hz, but only through DSC. A new "Ultra High Speed HDMI" cable with 48 Gbps throughput will also be required.

HoloTouch claims Microsoft's HoloLens is infringing on two of its patents involving a touch-less way of controlling devices, and a design that optimizes the power consumption, size and weight of a holographic head-mounted device.

DJI is getting serious about drone racing. The latest version of its Goggles is targeted at the burgeoning drone racing market and offers a number of feature upgrades over its standard model.

Apple is rumored to be developing its own Augmented Reality (AR) headset independent of its existing mobile offerings, running custom parts and software. The company is said to be targeting a late-2019 to early-2020 launch for the headset.

Apple has acquired mixed reality headset startup Vrvana for a reported US$30 million. With its own headset rumored for 2018, it is likely that we will see Vrvana's unique technology rolled into Apple's own product.

The upcoming iteration of the Dell XPS 15 will finally have full speed 4-lane Thunderbolt 3 along with possibly a 5K display option according to Dell's VP Gaming and XPS, Frank Azor, who also confirms that Dell is waiting for Intel to ship its 8th generation H-series processors.

Apple will be reportedly using the A11X Bionic CPU in the next generation iPads, which is an octa-core CPU based off TSMCs 7nm fabrication process.

HTC and Logitech have partnered to create a tactile keyboard experience for SteamVR. The system is compatible with the HTC Vive VR headset and is currently rolling out to interested developers.

It's the holiday season, which means Black Friday deals are coming. Dell is kicking things off with some enticing deals on XPS and Alienware notebooks and desktops. The sale is on now until 8 AM EST on November 3.

The Mali-D71 display processor introduces the new CoreLink MMU-600 and Assertiev Display 5 units that enable the HDR10 color space and VR features at 4K resolutions / 120 fps. These chips should be launched with early 2019 smartphones.

The 360 Round is the first camera that features genuine 3D VR recording capabilities. It comes with 17 lenses and it can record and stream in 4K. The included proprietary Samsung software makes it easy to edit the footage and preview it on a Samsung Gear headset.