Articles by Nicholas Sutrich

More bang for your buck

Arlo Essential

$99 at Amazon
$99 at Best Buy
$130 at The Home Depot

Pros

Color night vision with built-in spotlight
No hub needed
Up to six months battery life
Noise and echo cancellation
People, package, animal, and vehicle detection
Support for 2TB local storage

Cons

More expensive
Advanced detection requires a subscription

While it costs a bit more, Arlo Essential provides the essential experience for smart home security cameras. While it’s not as inexpensive as Wyze Outdoor, it’s still less expensive than many other options on the market, and still doesn’t skimp on important features like advanced motion detection, color night vision, and automated track and zoom.

Smart price, brilliant decision

Wyze Outdoor

From $47 at Amazon
$60 at Walmart (starter kit)
$70 at The Home Depot (starter kit)

Pros

Very low price
Free local and cloud storage
Up to six months battery life

Cons

Hub required
Lower video framerate
People detection r…

The best of both worlds

Oculus Quest 2

From $299 at Amazon
From $299 at Best Buy
From $299 at Walmart

Pros

Can be used standalone or with a PC
Very high-resolution display
Doesn’t require external sensors for tracking
Modular design with interchangeable pads
Hand tracking support
Lots of developer support

Cons

Only 2-3 hour battery life
Requires a Facebook account

The Oculus Quest 2 represents a true vision for the future of VR from Facebook. It can be used by itself thanks to the powerful Snapdragon XR2 chipset inside, sports the highest resolution display, and has the best built-in speakers on any Oculus headset. It can be optionally used as a PC VR headset and requires no external sensors for room scale tracking.

A dying breed

Oculus Rift S

$299 at Amazon
$299 at Best Buy
$369 at Walmart

Pros

Doesn’t need to be charged
Easier setup than other PC-only headsets
Headstrap design might be more comfortable for some

Cons

Mediocre built-in speakers
No hand …

The Oculus Quest 2 is the newest VR headset on the block, delivering a stellar experience with no wires to trip over. The best accessories for the Oculus Quest 2 will help you get an even better experience, but first you’ll need to make sure the headset is a good fit. You want a fit that is firm so it won’t slip off your head while playing, but without being too tight. After all, you are going to be wearing this for a while, right? Here’s how to adjust the Quest 2 strap.

How to get the best fit with Oculus Quest 2

The headstrap that ships with the Oculus Quest 2 is very different from what Facebook used on the original Oculus Quest, so even if you’ve owned that device in the past you’ll need to retrain your brain on how to adjust the Quest 2. First, we’ll want to adjust the side straps to wrap comfortable around your head.

Remove your Oculus Quest 2 from the box.
Remove any plastic inserts from the headset and unwrap the cloth straps.
To adjust the circumference of the straps, h…

Of the many upgrades Facebook made from one generation to the next, the Oculus Quest 2’s 90Hz display is probably one of the best. The refresh rate provides a 25% improvement over the original Oculus Quest, delivering a smoother, much more realistic VR experience. The Oculus Quest 2 can now automatically run supported games at 90Hz, but if you’re connecting to a PC with Oculus Link you may still need to adjust some settings to get the best experience.

Products used in this guide

The best in VR: Oculus Quest 2 (From $299 at Amazon)
A longer cable means more room to move: OQLink Oculus Link USB cable ($35 at Amazon)

Quest games with 90Hz support

In November, Facebook updated the Oculus Quest 2 to automatically switch the display to 90Hz mode when a game supports it. That means players won’t have to modify their Quest 2 in order to play their Oculus Quest games at 90Hz. The caveat is that developers need to update their games in order to support 90Hz on the Quest 2, otherwise they…

A better fit

Linksys Velop AX4200

$499 at Amazon (3-pack)

Pros

Wi-Fi 6 capable
Optional wired backhaul
Lots of gigabit ethernet ports on each node
Linksys Intelligent Mesh support
More coverage
Better value

Cons

Doesn’t support 160Mhz channel
No 2FA support for remote management
Wi-Fi 6 speeds aren’t as fast as others

While its 4.2Gbps wireless speeds are a little slower than the Velop MX10, there are very few people who might notice the difference. A lower price and a third included node means you’re getting a great deal on blazing-fast Wi-Fi 6 speeds everywhere in your home or yard without ever dropping a connection.

Upgrade pick

Linksys Velop MX10

$699 at Amazon (2-pack)

Pros

Even faster Wi-Fi 6 speeds
Optional wired backhaul
Lots of gigabit ethernet ports on each node
Linksys Intelligent Mesh support

Cons

Doesn’t support 160Mhz channel
No 2FA support for remote management
Significantly more expensive

When only the fastest Wi-Fi 6 mesh speeds will …

Varjo threw everything and the kitchen sink into these feature-rich headsets.

What you need to know

Varjo’s next-gem VR-3 and XR-3 headsets are mainly designed for commercial and industrial applications.
Both headsets feature top-of-the-line specs with ground-breaking clarity and comfort.
LiDAR and 200Hz eye tracking combine to give these headsets a significant immersion advantage over the competition.

Varjo VR-3 and XR-3 are next-generation XR headsets in just about every way imaginable. While Varjo mainly designs for commercial and industrial settings (and prices them accordingly), what we’re seeing here is a look at what consumer-level headsets will certainly look like in just a few years. Commercial VR has picked up much faster than consumer-level VR, so it’s understandable to see Varjo continue to target this market for the time being. Both headsets sport many similarities, with the XR-3 being the higher-end headset with some extra features.

Starting with the visual perfor…

Turns out that Black Friday isn’t just the best time to get great tech deals. It’s also a great time to stock up on workout equipment so you can stay in shape without having to go to a gym. Supernatural VR is one of our absolute favorite ways to workout at home not just because it’s easy, but also because it just plain works. Strap on your Oculus Quest or Oculus Quest 2 and you’ll be having more fun sweating than you ever have before!

Achieve that post-workout glow

Supernatural VR annual subscription | $50 off

Forget going to the gym — Supernatural VR gives you everything you need to stay in shape without leaving home. Strap on your Oculus Quest or Oculus Quest 2 and get moving to great music, energetic coaches, and personalized goals with a new workout every single day of the year.

$150 at Supernatural

From Black Friday until November 30, you can get an annual Supernatural VR membership for just $150. That’s $50 off the regular cost, and it makes cuts the monthly cost o…

You’ll need to connect to a PC with an Oculus Link cable to get it.

What you need to know

Oculus is celebrating the 1-year release of the Oculus Link by giving away copies of Asgard’s Wrath, one of the highest-rated Rift games.
The promotion runs from November 20 through January 31.
Quest 2 users will need to connect their headsets to the Oculus software on a PC via Oculus Link.

Facebook is celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the release of Oculus Link by giving away one of the best Oculus Rift games for free to all newly registered Oculus Quest 2 headsets. In order to qualify, you’ll need to be a first-time Oculus Quest 2 user and will need to register your Oculus Quest 2 between November 20, 2020 and January 31, 2021. After registering, you’ll need to claim Asgard’s Wrath by 11:59:59 PM PT on March 31, 2021.

Once your Quest 2 has been registered, you’ll need to download the Oculus Link software at the Oculus website and connect your Quest 2 to your PC with a compatible USB …

Star Wars: Tales From The Galaxy’s Edge is the next VR-only Star Wars game from acclaimed developer ILMxLAB. As another Oculus-exclusive title, it’s quickly becoming apparent that Oculus is the platform of choice for Star Wars VR games. Star Wars: Tales From The Galaxy’s Edge is an Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2-exclusive game and will not be coming to the Oculus Rift on PC due to Facebook sunsetting the Rift platform. That means that the Oculus Quest 2 is the best way to play the game, which is now available on the Oculus store for $25.

Oculus Studios and ILMxLAB have partnered with the same folks who crafted the Smuggler’s Run attraction at Disneyworld and Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge theme park to help work on the studio’s latest game. The goal is to create a virtual reality game that matches the experience you can have at the theme park, albeit with more action, interactivity, and aliens than you’ll find in the physical locations. Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge will also see player…

The prevalence of Wi-Fi-connected security cameras has made it easy to keep an eye on your home when you’re away. Many of these cameras include internal batteries so that you can mount them anywhere, even in places that a power cable can’t reach. We’ve rounded up our favorites to help keep your security untethered to power outlets, although our favorite is the EufyCam 2C thanks to all of its features for the price.

Best Overall: EufyCam 2C

If you’re looking for a wireless security camera with brains, battery life, and a great price, look no further than the EufyCam 2C.

There’s no need to pay for cloud service after purchasing your EufyCam 2C’s.

All EufyCam 2 models connect to the Eufy HomeBase 2, which stores all recorded videos in one easy-to-access location. This local storage is accessible via the Eufy app anywhere you might be in the world, and you can even drop an extra SD card in it for additional storage. All this to say there’s no need to pay for cloud service after…