Articles by Michael L Hicks

To decide which of the best Dell monitors to add to your PC or laptop, we focused our choices on the displays that our readers should reasonably expect to pay for an accessory. Dell technically sells $4000+ “monitors” that are larger than your TV, and beneath those are a variety of giant curved models and other premium devices that only a handful of professionals will need for color accuracy. What truly matters is that Dell sells several reasonably-priced monitors that will appeal to any student, artist, or gamer in need of more desktop space, such as the excellent 27″ P2720DC USB-C Monitor.

Best overall: Dell 27″ USB-C Monitor (P2720DC)

With its QHD resolution, the P2720DC strikes the right balance between gaming-centric or budget 1080p monitors that just don’t look amazing and the more expensive 4K monitors that cost as much as a laptop. At 2560×1440 resolution with a high PPI density and 350 nits of brightness, you get a level of aesthetic quality that will fit the vast majori…

Our favorite VR dungeon crawler gets the first of several free expansions, filled with new creepy foes and abilities.

What you need to know

Out today, free DLC Realm of the Rat King is available for anyone who beats the first campaign.
It includes new environments, new enemies like the Gorgon, new cards and the titular boss.
Currently available on the Quest and Quest 2, Demeo’s base game costs $30 and could soon come to the Rift as well.

Resolution Games revealed today the first of several planned expansions to Demeo, its VR-based Dungeons and Dragons lookalike. Titled Realm of the Rat King, it has you and your fellow adventurers dive into the sewers of Sundhaven to investigate and eradicate a recent plague of feral rats.

Demeo initially launched with just one campaign titled The Black Sarcophagus, which contained three dungeons for up to four players to complete. While some of the dungeon elements are procedurally generated – adding some much-needed replay value – you’ll t…

Samsung’s Galaxy-brain play: leaving Tizen behind for Wear OS.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, one of the best Android smartwatches, may have only just launched in November 2020, but the latest rumors out of South Korea suggest the company may already be developing its replacement — with some big changes and upgrades in the works meant to topple Apple from its smartwatch throne.

There’s no confirmation whether Samsung’s 2021 smartwatch will be named the “Galaxy Watch 4” or adopt a new name entirely. However, we know that this new watch will run the new version of Wear OS, which would have a big impact on app support and Android phone connectivity. It could also feature a newer-faster chipset, which could put it leagues ahead of the best Wear OS watches.

Details are fairly scarce so far, but we’ve scrounged up every known leak about specs, design leaks, and pricing, along with everything else we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.

Samsung’s best — so far

Samsung Galaxy …

We’ve rounded up the best Oculus Quest 2 games worth your time and money.

Best Oculus Quest 2 games

Shooters
Music and rhythm
Exercise
Multiplayer
Action
Horror
Family-friendly
Puzzles and relaxation
Sports
Oculus Link

There hundreds of games and apps on the Oculus Quest storefront, and while some are free, the majority of them cost at least $20 while only offering about 3–5 hours of gameplay on average. Some find ways to pad their runtime, but the fact is, most Quest and Quest 2 games are short and sweet. How sweet is what matters, and there’s no feeling worse than wasting your gaming budget for the month on a bad game that you finish in one afternoon.

Android Central has a disproportionate number of VR fanatics who spend their leisure time blocking out reality with the Oculus Quest 2 — which does run on an Android OS, believe it or not. We’ve spent a lot of time testing out games, good and bad, to figure out which are the best Oculus Quest 2 games that we’d actually r…

First comes the developer preview, then the public beta, and finally Snow Cones for everyone.

Android 12 is on the way. On February 18, we learned that the first Android 12 Developer Preview had gone live, giving devs access to a preview build of the new operating system, codename Snow Cone. Based on our Android 12 Developer Preview hands-on, the UI is largely unchanged, but there are some behind-the-scenes upgrades that could make your Android handheld that much better.

Shortly after Google I/O was finished, Google dropped the first Android 12 beta for Pixel owners. But we also saw quite a few other phone makers launch Android 12 beta programs for their devices. Many of these compatible phones rank amongst the best Android phones), which really shouldn’t come as any surprise.

With the first Android 12 beta, we have been introduced to Google’s Material You design language, marking one of the biggest updates to Android that we’ve ever seen. This includes subtle changes to different…

You could spend hundreds of hours playing through the best Oculus Quest 2 games without looking for new ones, but you shouldn’t sleep on the best App Lab games, and best sideloaded titles for the Quest 2. They often provide unique experiences from indie developers, many of which are free or dirt cheap. In contrast, others are mods of classic PC games that’ll likely never make the Oculus Store officially. Oculus App Lab opened up a whole new world of experiences for Quest owners, but these games often cost money to play. We gathered a ton of free titles to check out with that in mind, so you can always keep something new on deck without making a monetary commitment. Be sure also to check out how to sideload games on the Oculus Quest so you can get SideQuest set up.

★ Featured favorite

Gorilla Tag

In Gorilla Tag, there’s no crazy locomotion method for you to adjust to; just use your hands to grab the ground and fling your monkey body around an arena where the only purpose is n…

Oculus sells a ton of accessories for its newest VR headset, but your first purchase should be one of the best Oculus Quest 2 cases, without question. A case will shield your lenses from sunlight damage and make sure all your VR accessories are kept in one place. Original Quest owners can try using their old cases, but the Quest 2 is about an inch smaller, so there may be a bit too much wiggle room if you use it as a travel case. We’ve rounded up the Quest 2 storage and travel cases that we trust to keep your headsets properly protected from falls, lens scratches, or controller stick drift.

Official Quest 2 case

Oculus Quest 2 Carrying Case

Staff Pick

Unlike many of the Quest 2 cases made by third parties that were originally Quest 1 cases, the official Quest 2 Carrying Case is specifically tailored to its new dimensions. It can squeeze inside the headset, controllers, charging cable, power adapter, and Elite Strap with Battery, keeping them static so nothing moves around. Th…

Many of the best smart thermostats require a C wire (“common” wire) to power it due to their LED displays and Wi-Fi-powered advanced functions, leading homeowners with older heating systems to look for smart thermostats without a C wire requirement. If you don’t already have a C wire in your system, these smart thermostats use separate power sources or adapters that let you monitor your home climate without having to hire a professional to rewire your home.

Simple and straightforward

Nest Thermostat E

Staff pick

Our top pick for the best smart thermostat without a C wire goes to the Nest Thermostat E. It’s a great option for folks who don’t want to spend too much and prefer minimalist devices. The display simply shows the temperature setting, while the app lets you prioritize certain rooms’ cooling, change settings when you’re away, and lets you know if it senses a problem. Most importantly, the Thermostat E features a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery that bypasses the…

These days, Oculus Quest 2 owners who want to play PC VR games on their headsets have many options. You can use Virtual Desktop to play PC VR games at 120Hz, or stick with the free Oculus Air Link for a more basic wireless streaming experience. But if you don’t have a fast Wi-Fi network or a PC that can’t keep up with the network speed needed for wireless PC VR, an Oculus Link cable is the next best thing. But you can’t just hook any cable up. You need one that’s both long enough to allow you to move freely, and one that’s fast enough to handle all the streaming data that PC VR requires. Here are our personal favorites, the Oculus community’s top picks, and Oculus’s official Link alternatives.

Skip the cable altogether

Virtual Desktop

Staff Pick

If you’re willing to go the unofficial route for PC VR, the best Quest 2 link cable alternatives aren’t cables at all. Virtual Desktop is an official Quest store app that allows you to stream games from your PC to your headset wireles…

The quality of the best streaming devices has drastically grown in recent weeks, as one tech company after another launches new streaming dongles with superlative specs and shockingly low prices. Devices like the Chromecast with Google TV have shifted consumers’ expectations, with Google proving that Dolby streaming and innovative AI tech doesn’t need to cost you a ton of money. With so many fresh and affordable streaming devices to choose from, we’re breaking down which fits your needs best.

Best Overall: Chromecast with Google TV

When Chromecast dongles could only cast content from your devices to the TV, many people reserved one HDMI slot for their Chromecast and another for a traditional streaming stick. Now, Chromecast with Google TV bundles both casting and Google TV streaming into one cheap dongle that will serve the needs of most streaming addicts.

For starters, the Chromecast with Google TV is disproportionately powerful for its size and price. It can stream 4K, HDR, HD…