All posts tagged: Headset

‘Finally, a boomless headset for the office’: How Jabra made headphones I’d take to a boardroom

‘Finally, a boomless headset for the office’: How Jabra made headphones I’d take to a boardroom

Published by skeptic

pros and cons Pros Streamlined, lightweight design Exceptional call quality Robust business features Cons Pricey Best suited for indoor environments Finicky wireless charging pad more buying choices Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Jabra’s latest premium office headphones line, the Evolve3 series, comes with a redesign: they ditch the foam earcups for fabric, and completely do away with the boom mic. I know this approach might be considered blasphemy for a business headset, but the trade-off is a sleek, lightweight build that works very well as a hybrid pair you can actually wear out of the office.  Also: Are work headsets a gimmick? I tested a pair, and it actually made calls more enjoyable The Evolve3 75 headphones are one step down from the company’s most premium model, the Evolve3 85, and although they’re not cheap (regularly priced around $450), they come with a replaceable battery, a five-year warranty, and are more durable than they might appear. I’ve been using the headset for a few weeks now. Although primarily marketed as a business headset, …

Valve’s Next VR Headset May Run Meta Quest Games

Valve’s Next VR Headset May Run Meta Quest Games

Published by skeptic

Valve’s upcoming standalone VR headset, the Steam Frame, is poised to offer a unique combination of functionality and flexibility. As highlighted by Cas and Chary XR, one of its most intriguing capabilities is its potential to run games from Meta’s Quest platform, thanks to its Android-based standalone mode and compatibility layers like “Lapton.” This feature, alongside its ability to function as a wireless PC VR headset and a Linux-powered spatial computer, positions the Steam Frame as a versatile device catering to a wide range of VR use cases. With an expected price range of $700 to $1,200 and a launch anticipated in late 2026, the Steam Frame aims to balance advanced performance with accessibility. Explore how the Steam Frame’s modular hardware design, including a rear-mounted battery and detachable visor, enhances comfort and customization. Gain insight into its advanced performance technologies, such as eye-tracking-enabled foveated rendering and dual wireless radios, which optimize both standalone and PC VR experiences. Additionally, learn about potential challenges like battery life and the trade-offs of its LCD panels, offering a nuanced …

This Premium Gaming Headset Is Off on Amazon

This Premium Gaming Headset Is $80 Off on Amazon

Published by skeptic

Looking for an upgrade to the earbuds you typically use while gaming? SteelSeries is one of my favorite gaming headset brands, with great audio and features, super comfortable headbands, and a variety of options across the price spectrum. As part of Amazon’s “Big Spring Sale” you can grab the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro for just $300, an $80 markdown from its usual price. Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wired/Wireless Headset One of the Nova Pro’s standout features is the swappable battery packs. The headset comes with two batteries, so while one is powering your current gaming session, the other is charging up in the USB DAC and connection box. When the headset starts to get low on juice, you just pop out the battery and switch the two, and as long as you do it quick enough, the headset will turn right back on and reconnect. The result is essentially unlimited battery life, as long as you’re near the hub. They have all the other features you’d expect from a serious gaming headset …

AR headset transforms workplace training for people with disabilities

AR headset transforms workplace training for people with disabilities

Published by Jenni Sidey

Before the headset went on, Armand could complete exactly one step of the task correctly. One out of ten. He wasn’t struggling because he wasn’t trying. The task, shelving library books in assigned locations, involves reading, pattern recognition, and spatial navigation. Without guidance, it stayed just out of reach. Within a single session, Armand completed 80 percent of the task steps correctly and independently. By the fourth session, he was at 100 percent. Nineteen days after the intervention ended, with no headset, no coach, no prompting of any kind, he was still at 100 percent. Three other participants in the study followed a nearly identical arc. Researchers at Florida Atlantic University wanted to know whether augmented reality could change that equation. (CREDIT: Shutterstock) The 15% Problem Only about 15 percent of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities hold competitive, integrated employment. That number has remained stubbornly low despite decades of federal investment in supported employment programs and policy frameworks designed to open the workforce to people with significant disabilities. The gap isn’t for lack of …

Our Favorite Upgraded Gaming Headset Is Off

Our Favorite Upgraded Gaming Headset Is $20 Off

Published by skeptic

Looking for a new gaming headset that can keep up with your professional aspirations? You can grab the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro from Amazon for $230, a $20 discount from the usual $250 price. This upgraded gaming headset is great for serious FPS fans, aspiring esports competitors, and anyone else trying to climb the ladder in their favorite game. One area where the BlackShark V3 Pro particularly impressed me was the sound isolation and active noise-canceling. While those aren’t always standout features on gaming headsets, these are built for serious gaming, so tuning out any extra noise, whether that’s a cheering stadium or a barking dog, could help give you an edge as the end of your round of Counter-Strike 2 closes in. That approach makes the spatial audio on the headset work even more efficiently, which I found perfect for games where that level of specificity helps. Tense first-person shooters and battle royale games all benefited from the sharper, more detailed response. If you’ve ever heard someone creeping around in Arc Raiders but couldn’t …

Bytedance’s Upcoming Project Swan VR Headset Wants to Be the Computer Meta’s Isn’t Yet

Bytedance’s Upcoming Project Swan VR Headset Wants to Be the Computer Meta’s Isn’t Yet

Published by skeptic

In the last few months, Meta has seemingly taken its foot off the gas when it comes to developing next-generation VR hardware and experiences. The Beijing-based Chinese competitor, ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, is going the other way — and it appears focused on expanding its work beyond just gaming. The Pico Project Swan, announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, is a lot of head hardware. Coming “later this year,” according to ByteDance, it doesn’t sound cheap. An onboard micro OLED display will have 40 pixels per degree of resolution density, which should be in line with what the Apple Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR offer. The headset will have similar capabilities to create mixed-reality overlays of graphics in real-world settings using passthrough cameras. The headset is also powered by its own dual-chip custom processors that ByteDance claims are twice as powerful as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip that’s on Meta’s Quest 3 and 3S headsets, and in a stepped-up version on Samsung Galaxy XR. While that may still lag behind Apple’s M5 chip on the Vision …

Pico’s Project Swan XR Headset Wants to Go Where the Apple Vision Pro Failed

Pico’s Project Swan XR Headset Wants to Go Where the Apple Vision Pro Failed

Published by skeptic

ByteDance, the Chinese company best known for creating TikTok, got into the virtual reality game when it bought the startup Pico in 2021. Now, Pico is taking its mixed reality (XR) efforts even more seriously by building out software that lets people use multiple applications in 3D digital workspaces. Many of its features sound very much like what you can find in the Apple Vision Pro, two years after that device launched. At Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Pico announced its newest XR operating system, Pico OS 6. The OS will not work on the company’s existing Pico 4 from 2022, but is aimed to deploy on Pico’s unreleased headset, nicknamed Project Swan. At MWC, Pico only offered a light spritz of information about its upcoming headset. But details about what features it plans to put in its OS offer a good look at what Pico hopes to achieve with its flagship device, which it says will arrive this year. One of the big focuses of the new operating system version is what Pico …

Pico’s Project Swan XR Headset Wants to Go Where the Apple Vision Pro Failed

Pico’s Project Swan XR Headset Wants to Go Where the Apple Vision Pro Failed

Published by skeptic

ByteDance, the Chinese company best known for creating TikTok, got into the virtual reality game when it bought the startup Pico in 2021. Now, Pico is taking its mixed reality (XR) efforts even more seriously by building out software that lets people use multiple applications in 3D digital workspaces. Many of its features sound very much like what you can find in the Apple Vision Pro, two years after that device launched. At Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Pico announced its newest XR operating system, Pico OS 6. The OS will not work on the company’s existing Pico 4 from 2022, but is aimed to deploy on Pico’s unreleased headset, nicknamed Project Swan. At MWC, Pico only offered a light spritz of information about its upcoming headset. But details about what features it plans to put in its OS offer a good look at what Pico hopes to achieve with its flagship device, which it says will arrive this year. One of the big focuses of the new operating system version is what Pico …

Save On Our Favorite Gaming Headset

Save $20 On Our Favorite Gaming Headset

Published by skeptic

While there are a ton of different gaming headsets to choose from, with their own strengths and weaknesses, one has stood out among the crowded field. My favorite gaming headset for most people, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3, is currently marked down as low as $90 at Amazon, a $20 break from the full price. SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3P Wireless My favorite thing about the Arctis Nova 3 is their fit, which I think are the most comfortable of any gaming headset I’ve tested so far. They’re super lightweight, which makes them great for long gaming sessions and larger heads like mine, and the earcups are a light, squishy mesh that’s breathable without sacrificing too much in sound isolation. Despite the super lightweight build, the battery life doesn’t disappoint, with these cans lasting around 30 hours on a single charge. They sound excellent for both gaming and mixed media usage, largely thanks to the SteelSeries app, which has a huge library of game-specific equalizer presets ready to go for any situation. That more than makes …

Snag a Feature-Packed Gaming Headset for Under 0

Snag a Feature-Packed Gaming Headset for Under $100

Published by skeptic

Looking for a wallet-friendly gaming headset with big feature support? The Corsair Void Wireless V2 is currently marked down to just $80 at both Best Buy and Amazon, a healthy $50 discount from their usual retail price. This lightweight yet capable gaming headset was already a great buy before the discount, with wide compatibility and a comfortable design built for long grinds. They’re one of the more comfortable gaming headsets that I’ve had the opportunity to review, thanks to a combination of their super lightweight build and breathable mesh earcups, and they even fit my oversized noggin. Because they don’t have ANC, they have a much more open and natural sound profile, which is nice for anyone who needs to still be aware of their surroundings while deep in a round of Arc Raiders. One of the big selling points is Dolby Atmos, a spatial audio implementation that’s fairly uncommon at this price point, and basically unheard of at the marked down price. It’s only supported in a handful of games, but even without it …