Articles by Nicholas Sutrich

You’ll need a literal warehouse in order to take advantage, though.

What you need to know

Oculus Quest and Quest 2 update v30 could introduce a new, expanded Guardian play space.
This place space would max out at 15 meters per side, or 49ft long.
Upcoming games like Space Pirate Arena should be able to take full advantage of the new, larger play spaces.

The Oculus Guardian looks to be getting a big upgrade with Oculus Quest update v30, as noted by UploadVR. The Oculus Quest will soon be able to create those virtual Guardian boundaries up to 15 meters in length; that’s 49ft long for Americans like myself who aren’t used to metric sizing. We’re confirming the math with Facebook but, if the measurements are in the same proportion, this means the new maximum diagonal size of the Oculus Guardian would be 11.25 meters or nearly 37ft. That’s a substantial upgrade from the current maximum diagonal size, which rests at 7.5 meters or 24.6ft.

Oculus updated the Guardian around this time l…

An underwhelming release overwhelmed by the competition.

Ring has had two big video doorbell product launches lately: Ring Video Doorbell Wired, the company’s least expensive video doorbell ever, and Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 which is Ring’s most advanced video doorbell ever.

From the spec sheet, Ring Video Doorbell 4 doesn’t fit into either of these categories. It’s decidedly middle-of-the-road in terms of excitement value and, from an experience standpoint, doesn’t do too much to alter that feeling. There’s no denying it’s the best Ring doorbell powered by a battery that Ring has ever made. With all the great features you’ve come to expect from Ring Video Doorbells, now with color pre-roll. It’s just a bit of a boring release.

Despite its excellence, there are no real reasons to upgrade from a Ring Video Doorbell 3 if you’ve already got one. Also, despite the lower up-front price when compared to last year’s models, it feels like Ring’s value proposition only gets worse over tim…

The TicWatch Pro 3 GPS seems set to get the Wear OS update, but we have to wait and see.

Update: A source close to Android Central stated that the Wear OS 3.0 update is not yet confirmed for the TicWatch Pro 3 at this time, but efforts are being made, and we should hopefully know more soon. The article has been updated to reflect the new information.

What you need to know

According to a customer service representative, the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS will be receiving the new Wear OS in the future.
There is no set date for the availability of the new wearable OS from Google and Samsung, but it’s expected to launch this year.
If true, this update would put Mobvoi into an elite category of manufacturers willing to update their smartwatch to the brand new OS.

Ever since the new Wear OS was announced at Google I/O 2021 — a joint effort by Samsung and Google to make the ultimate smartwatch OS — a few things have remained a bit unclear. Which of the best Wear OS watches will be getting t…

Hey Fossil, watch this!

What you need to know

According to a customer service representative, the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS will be receiving the new Wear OS in the future.
There is no set date for the availability of the new wearable OS from Google and Samsung, but it’s expected to launch this year.
This update puts Mobvoi into an elite category of manufacturers willing to update their smartwatch to the brand new OS.

Ever since the new Wear OS was announced at Google I/O 2021 — a joint effort by Samsung and Google to make the ultimate smartwatch OS — a few things have remained a bit unclear. Which of the best Wear OS watches will be getting the update? What is the new Wear OS going to be called? Thanks to a Reddit user, it seems that Mobvoi support has some answers for us.

First up is the news that the TicWatch 3 Pro GPS will, indeed, be getting the brand new Wear OS update co-created by Samsung and Google. Given that the latest Samsung Galaxy smartwatches — and current Wear …

VR lens manufacturers are gearing up for huge orders from Facebook and Sony.

What you need to know

Both Facebook and Sony’s next-generation VR headsets will launch in 2022, based on supply chain orders for lenses.
These new lenses are more advanced and will cost more to produce, which should deliver greater clarity and a wider field of view.
Kuo estimates that 8-9 million Quest 2’s will be shipped in 2021, while Facebook will be shipping 18-20 million VR headsets in 2022.

While we’ll still be busy playing the best Quest 2 games well into the next year, VR lens factories will be working to build even better hardware than we have right now. As the Oculus Quest 2 enters its second year of existence, supply chain analysts believe we will see an Oculus Quest 3 hit the shelves. That, or an Oculus Quest Pro, depending on what Facebook’s headset strategy turns out to be.

Meanwhile, the same Taiwanese lens manufacturer, Yujingguang, will also be working on orders for Sony’s PlayStation …

Amazon Sidewalk is one of the coolest new ways to connect smart devices in your home and beyond. Many Ring devices can use the Amazon Sidewalk network to extend wireless coverage to several other smart devices. Even Tile Trackers and Level Locks can use Amazon Sidewalk to help connect outside of normal Bluetooth range. In addition to that, Ring devices like the Echo Show 8 can be used as Amazon Sidewalk bridges. You might want to disable Amazon Sidewalk on Ring if you’re extra concerned about privacy or mobile security. Even if you’ve disabled Amazon Sidewalk elsewhere, you’ll need to specifically disable it in the Ring app to take your Ring devices off the network. Let’s get started!

How to opt-out of Amazon Sidewalk on your Ring devices

Open up the Ring app on your smartphone.
Tap the hamburger menu on the top-left corner of the Ring app. It looks like three horizontal lines stacked on top of each other.
Select Control Center.
Scroll down to Amazon Sidewalk and select it.

Tap …

A more practical look at a futuristic light source.

If you’ve ever watched a tech-focused video on YouTube, you’ve undoubtedly spotted them glowing on a wall somewhere. Nanoleaf is ubiquitous in the tech sector, thrilling RGB enthusiasts everywhere with its geometrically perfect, highly customizable glowing nature. But Nanoleaf’s new Elements Wood Look product line is totally different from the triangles and hexagons of the past, eschewing RGB aesthetics for a much more natural look, all without forgetting about what makes Nanoleaf’s products truly great — their products always seem to make the list of best smart lights no matter the category.

I sat down virtually with Nanoleaf CEO Gimmy Chu to discuss a bit of Nanoleaf’s past, a smattering of Nanoleaf’s present, and a look ahead to the future of the company and the smart home industry, as a whole. Having just come from the announcement of the Elements Wood Look line, Chu was practically glowing with excitement from the possibili…

While Oculus Move is a great way to track some basic workout stats on your Oculus Quest 2, a smartwatch can provide much more accurate health data when paired with supported apps. Right now, there’s no native way to pair your smartwatch with your Oculus Quest 2. Still, apps like Supernatural have apps that work specifically with your smartwatch to gather additional data that you can use to track your VR workouts more accurately.

How to pair a smartwatch or fitness tracker with Supernatural

Supernatural supports the Apple Watch, Wear OS watches, and the best fitness trackers with BLE support.

First, you’ll need to grab the Supernatural Companion App from the app store of your choice. It’s a free download and can be found below.

Supernatural Companion app

Free at Google Play Store
Free at Apple Appstore

The Supernatural Companion App lets you manage your workouts, pair your smartwatch, and do more with the best VR fitness app.

Once logged into the app, select the heart …

Ditch the hub and the subscription with Eufy’s latest.

What you need to know

Eufy announced six new cameras covering four different categories: Essential, Spotlight, Solar, and Floodlight.
All of these new cameras ditch the reliance on a central hub and feature 8GB built-in storage and local AI-powered human detection.
Eufy’s new Floodlight Cam 2 Pro features automatic human tracking via a built-in 360-degree pan/tilt/zoom motor.

Eufy Security took to the virtual stage to announce six new cameras today, each falling into one of four new categories. Three of these categories call under the SoloCam branding — meaning they’re entirely self-reliant since they’re all battery-powered and connect directly to Wi-Fi instead of a central hub — while one is a brand new floodlight camera with a big new feature. All of these cameras feature 8GB of built-in storage, connect directly to Wi-Fi instead of a hub, sport at least a 90-decibel alarm, and even have local AI-powered human detectio…

Cozy up to Wi-Fi 6 anywhere you could possibly want it — even outside.

Linksys Velop products regularly top our list of best mesh routers, and the new Linksys Velop AX4200 is a more affordable version of our favorite Wi-Fi 6 mesh system. It may offer a lower maximum theoretical wireless speed than the higher-end Velop MX5/MX10, but it doesn’t cut out any of the important features or compatibility with other Linksys products that make the Velop family so darned good.

It’s also a lot less money — for $500, you’ll be getting a 3-pack of Velop AX4200’s which are rated to cover over 8,000 square feet of space. Compare that with the Velop MX10, which is $600 for a 2-pack that only covers 6,000 square feet, and you’ll immediately understand the value proposition. Since it’s Wi-Fi 6, you can use advanced high-speed wireless devices like the Oculus Quest 2 in ways that Wi-Fi 5 just didn’t allow.

On top of that, each Velop AX4200 node sports three usable gigabit LAN ports, giving you ni…