Microsoft has announced that Windows 11 support is officially coming to the Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets. The announcement comes as part of Microsoft Ignite 2024, which was otherwise focused on updates to its Copilot AI systems. And though not many details were shared on the mixed reality front, it’s nice to see the support finally arrive.
According to the announcement, the update will bring “the full capabilities of Windows 11 to mixed reality headsets” through either a local Windows PC or a Windows 365 Cloud PC. The point, of course, is not to bring PC games into VR, but rather to do to work in mixed reality. You’ll be able to have multiple virtual monitors all at your disposal to use however you want, regardless of the physical space you’re working in.
Microsoft is definitely just catching up here, though. Apple has been pushing its support for using MacBook with the Vision Pro all year. With the two newest Quest headsets, however, there’s never been better hardware to support Microsoft’s efforts in bringing its operating system to mixed reality.
The feature was first hinted at back in 2022 in tandem with the launch of the Meta Quest Pro. Here’s what the blog post said at the time: “In the future, Windows 365 will also be available on Meta Quest devices, with the ability to stream a Windows Cloud PC, including your personalized apps, content, and settings.”
There’s been very little in the means of updates since then. In fact, Windows Mixed Reality headsets were unceremoniously deprecated in December 2023. The Quest Pro has also been discontinued.
But now, Microsoft is finally bringing something to the table. The company says that setup is “seamless” and it “takes only seconds to connect to a private, high-quality, large multiple-monitor workstation.”
There are currently ways to get Windows 11 running on a Quest headset, such as through installing a Meta or third-party remote desktop app. We don’t yet know exactly how Microsoft’s solution will differ, but assume it will be more full-featured implementation.
With more headsets coming next year in the Horizon OS family, it’s a good time for Microsoft to get serious about its support for the platform if it wants to keep up with Apple.
The update will be available in public preview in December.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.