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Uber considers insurance payouts for delays, canceled rides, missed flights, more

Uber is inquiring select Brazilian customers on a series of new services, including multiple forms of insurance. Here are the details. Insurance may cover delays and even missed flights If you’ve ever had to cancel an Uber ride request, you know that you might have incurred a cancellation fee, which Uber says goes to the driver to make up for gas and time spent on the way to pick you up. But you’ve probably also been in the opposite situation, whether because the driver canceled halfway to pi

One of the Most Prolific VR Headset Makers (Not Meta) Now Has Smart Glasses (Not Ray-Bans)

XR, or extended reality, headsets are on the outs, but smart glasses are eating more and more of what was once VR’s slice of the face-mounted wearables pie. HTC, one of the few lingering pioneers of VR headsets with its Vive series, couldn’t stand up to Meta’s Quest for cheap consumer virtual reality, but it may be able to shoulder in some room with a new pair of smart glasses that goes tit for tat with Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley HSTN smart eyewear. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have proved pop

I tried Meta's new Oakley smart glasses in my production studio - my verdict as a content creator

Jason Howell/ZDNET Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. When I saw that Oakley and Meta's collaboration on the HSTN Limited Edition smart glasses with improved 3K video for $499, I was excited they might be the perfect pair of POV glasses for the studio. Oakley's sport-forward design isn't my favorite, but I could easily overlook any aesthetic shortcomings if they nailed my primary use case of easy, hands-free recording fo

Thought HTC was dead? It just launched a surprisingly compelling Ray-Ban Meta rival

HTC Vive TL;DR HTC’s Vive division has announced a new pair of smart glasses called Eagle. These glasses come with a design similar to Ray-Ban Meta glasses but with better specifications and more colors. Unfortunately, HTC is limiting sales to Taiwan, unlike other Vive headsets that also sell globally. HTC has long given up on phones (except it hasn’t completely and still sells entry-level phones in certain markets). But its Vive division has continued to work on AR, VR, and XR headsets. It

Topics: ban glasses htc meta vive

Solos is equipping its smart glasses with an AI for the blind and low-vision community

Solos is teaming up with Envision, a company that makes assistive technology for the blind and low-vision community, to add an AI called Ally to its AirGo smart glasses platform. This chatbot was designed for those with vision issues. The companies say this integration creates a "first-of-its-kind, hands-free, voice-activated wearable." Solos says the specs can perform a number of tasks that should make life easier for the low-vision community, including recognizing and reading text in real tim

How AI startups are scaling revenue 'faster than any other companies in cloud history' - and what's next

Bessemer Venture Partners ZDNET's key takeaways AI startups are reaching revenue milestones faster than ever. A new, AI-native social media giant could emerge. Startups must be ready for lots of acquisition interest In its annual overview of artificial intelligence (AI), venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners on Wednesday said that startups it funds -- such as Anthropic, Perplexity, and Canva -- are reaching meaningful turning points in their revenue faster than at any other time in

These smart glasses use AI to help low-vision users

is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Accessibility-focused tech provider Envision has partnered with eyewear company Solos to launch new smart glasses specifically designed for blind and low-vision users. Envision says the camera-equipped Ally Solos Glasses can read and translate text, desc

HTC is getting in on AI glasses, too

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. With Meta, Google, Samsung, and maybe even Apple working on AI-powered glasses, smart spectacles are quickly becoming the hottest gadget in tech. Now, even HTC is jumping in on the trend with a new pair of Vive Eagle smart glasses that come with built-in speaker

My favorite lens and screen-cleaning kit keeps my tech smudge-free, and it costs $8

The Koala cleaning kit with a pair of glasses. Kayla Solino/ZDNET I've been wearing prescription glasses since I was 18 months old, so trust me when I tell you I know a lot about keeping lenses clean and protected -- I've had over 20 years of practice. While it may seem like you can clean your sunglasses or glasses with any old "glass cleaner," or something as simple as soap and water, I am here to tell you that it can be a huge (and costly) mistake. Most glass cleaning products (even dish soa

Show HN: XR2000: A science fiction programming challenge

Challenge: XR2000 August 10, 2025 Today I’m releasing the XR2000: A programming challenge with extensive science fiction backstory. This is a project I’ve long wanted to make, and it has slowly come to life in the last few years. I love a good puzzle or game that involves programming. Over the years I found a couple of these games that were particularly fun. These really inspired me to start the XR2000. Before explaining more about my new challenge, I want to mention (and recommend) these game

Show HN: Real-time privacy protection for smart glasses

Privacy Infrastructure for Smart Glasses Build smart glasses apps without privacy concerns. Smart glasses apps face privacy hurdles. This real-time privacy filter sits between the camera and the app, automatically ensuring compliance. How it works: Replace your raw camera feed with our filtered stream. The filter processes live video, applies privacy protections, and outputs a compliant stream in real time. Use this processed stream for AI apps, social apps, or anything else. Features: Anon

Best Organic Mattresses (2025): Birch, Avocado, Naturepedic, More

After years of testing, the Avocado Green hybrid mattress remains one of the best organic mattresses I've slept on. It's the only mattress my wife and I can agree on. She likes a soft mattress, and I prefer a firm one. This model somehow manages to be both without being too much of either. It's also good for combination sleepers like myself, who spend time in just about every position in the course of a night. After nearly three years of sleeping on this Avocado, it's proven its durability—there

Best Side-Sleeper Mattress 2025: Picked by a Sleep Science Coach

If you are looking for the best side-sleeper mattresses, welcome. You’re in good company, as many of the WIRED Reviews team are also side sleepers. So are most Americans. The numbers vary across studies and depend on how rigidly you define “side sleeper,” but between half and three-quarters of people sleep on their side for at least part of the night. If you're a side sleeper, you know how crucial it is that your bed keeps your back aligned while the hips and shoulders get some cushioning. Othe

Best Side Sleeper Mattress 2025: Picked By a Sleep Science Coach

If you are looking for the best side-sleeper mattresses, welcome. You’re in good company, as many of the WIRED Reviews team are also side sleepers. So are most Americans. The numbers vary across studies and depend on how rigidly you define “side sleeper,” but between half and three-quarters of people sleep on their side for at least part of the night. If you're a side sleeper, you know how crucial it is that your bed keeps your back aligned while the hips and shoulders get some cushioning. Othe

Cassette brings VHS nostalgia to your iPhone’s camera roll

Developer Devin Davies is out with a new app today that can add a nostalgic twist to videos saved on your iPhone. Cassette, which is available on the App Store today, is described as a “VHS player for your home videos.” Cassette pulls in videos from the Photos app on your iPhone, grouping them by year and album and presenting them as separate VHS tapes. You can choose to browse through your library of videos manually, or you can tap the “Take Me Somewhere” button at the bottom to watch a random

The Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 is the world's first 500Hz OLED gaming monitor

Previously, if you wanted a monitor for competitive gaming, you had to choose between an IPS or VA panel to get something with a super high refresh rate or opt for a slower OLED display with richer colors and better contrast. But today, Samsung is changing that with the Odyssey OLED G6, which is the first 500Hz OLED gaming monitor in the world. Available for $1,000, the Odyssey OLED G6 (G60SF) only comes in one size (27 inches) and features a QHD resolution (2,560 x 1440) with a 16:9 aspect rat

United Now Offers Complete Seasons of Apple TV Plus Shows

United has a new offering for passengers looking to fight in-flight boredom: full seasons of Apple TV Plus original shows. United on Tuesday announced Apple TV Plus is now included at no cost on the airline's more than 130,000 seatback screens and in the United app. The entire first seasons of Severance, Shrinking, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses and Silo are among the select titles available. Passengers will also get access to The Morning Show and Bad Sisters in September. An Apple TV Plus subscriptio

Ford Bets Big on EVs, $30,000 Electric Pickup Coming in 2027

Ford Motor Company announced this morning that it is making a $5 billion bet on its electric vehicle future. The payout is a $30,000 midsize electric pickup truck arriving as soon as 2027. The investment involves overhauling its Kentucky and Michigan assembly and battery plants, reinventing the assembly line and developing a new Ford Universal EV Platform that will underpin the next generation of affordable electric vehicles of all shapes, sizes and scales. The $30K electric truck Let's start

Get Your Heart Rate Up With These HIIT Workout Programs

CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review products and services. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Cardio is more enjoyable when you can take a run in a beautiful location or take your time riding your bike around. However, that's not always an option. This is why high-intensity interval training workouts exist. These are fast-paced, quick workouts in a short amount of time, such as 30 seconds at a time with 30 seconds of rest

I tested Meta's new Oakley smart glasses in the studio - my take as a content creator

Jason Howell/ZDNET When I saw that Oakley and Meta's collaboration on the HSTN Limited Edition smart glasses with improved 3K video for $499, I was excited they might be the perfect pair of POV glasses for the studio. Oakley's sport-forward design isn't my favorite, but I could easily overlook any aesthetic shortcomings if they nailed my primary use case of easy, hands-free recording for my smartphone reviews and how-to content. Also: I spent a weekend with Meta's new Oakley smart glasses - t

FTC: Older adults lost record $700 million to scammers in 2024

Americans aged 60 and older lost a staggering $700 million to online scams in 2024, marking a sharp rise in fraud targeting seniors, according to the Federal Trade Commission. This figure, presented in the agency's latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight, represents an increase over all three categories of loss compared to previous years. Most notably, the amount of losses for those who lost over $100k recorded an eightfold jump compared to 2020. Below is an analysis of the amounts: Losses

Why insurers worry the world could soon become uninsurable

A firefighting helicopter flies near as a home burns from the Mountain Fire on November 6, 2024 in Camarillo, California. David Mcnew | Getty Images News | Getty Images Top insurers fear the climate crisis could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable. Günther Thallinger, a board member at Allianz , one of the world's biggest insurers, recently outlined how the world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will n

This is the Android 17 codename, and it’s not what you guessed

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority For most of Android’s history, Google publicly referred to each release by a version number and a codename. Traditionally, the codename was a dessert like Marshmallow, Jelly Bean, or Froyo. With the release of Android 10 in 2019, however, Google ended this public practice to make its branding more globally accessible. Internally, though, the company’s developers kept the sweet tradition alive. Following that tradition, Google’s developers have recently decided

9 Best WIRED-Tested Cooling Mattresses (2025)

BedJet BedJet Other Cooling Options There are a ton of mattresses and related on the market that claim to have cooling benefits. Here are a few others we tested and liked, but not as much as the options above. BedJet 3 for $387: WIRED reviewer Christopher Null liked this climate-control device a lot because it allowed him to sleep cool without having to buy a whole new mattress. This device uses a large blower under your bed to blast hot or cool air beneath your covers. If you like your exist

Scientists Fed One Group of People Ultraprocessed Foods and Another Group Whole Foods, and the Difference in What Happened to Them Was Wild

As the industrial food system pushes ultraprocessed foods to every corner of the globe, new research shows that even seemingly healthy packaged meals may fall short of the benefits offered by whole, minimally processed foods. A fascinating new study published in Nature Medicine dove into the real-world effects ultraprocessed foods have on the human body. Following a six-month clinical trial involving 55 volunteers, researchers at the University College London found that eating minimally process

Wear OS users are spotting a new kind of Google Wallet pass (Update: More confirmation)

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Some Wear OS watches are starting to show Google Wallet photo passes with patterns like QR codes or barcodes. Standard photo-only passes still don’t appear, based on our testing. This may be an early test of limited support for scannable custom passes on smartwatches. Update: August 8, 2025 (2:15 PM ET): More confirmation of this change is coming in from the Android Authority team. Rita El Khoury shared the photos of a custom photo pass on her Pixel W

FTC: older adults lost record $700 million to scammers in 2024

Americans aged 60 and older lost a staggering $700 million to online scams in 2024, marking a sharp rise in fraud targeting seniors, according to the Federal Trade Commission. This figure, presented in the agency's latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight, represents an increase over all three categories of loss compared to previous years. Most notably, the amount of losses for those who lost over $100k recorded an eightfold jump compared to 2020. Below is an analysis of the amounts: Losses

Meta Says ‘Big Wearable’ News Is Coming, but There’s Only One Thing I Want to Know

Meta has been on a pretty serious campaign to prove it’s at the cutting edge of consumer tech, and AI isn’t the only target on the board. AR/XR has also clearly been a priority if the last few weeks are any indication (see this paper in Nature about its wristband tech and drips on groundbreaking VR research for proof), and its vision on that front is starting to actually take shape. According to Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, the company’s annual Connect conference in September, where it showcases t

Wear OS users are starting to see a new kind of Google Wallet pass on their wrists

Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority TL;DR Some Wear OS watches are starting to show Google Wallet photo passes with patterns like QR codes or barcodes. Standard photo-only passes still don’t appear, based on our testing. This may be an early test of limited support for scannable custom passes on smartwatches. You’ve been able to add photo-based passes to Google Wallet on your phone for a while now, but none of these types of passes appeared on Wear OS smartwatches when you open the app. Howe

Honesty Boxes in Scotland (2024)

Honesty Boxes in Scotland Dotted around the Scottish countryside, honesty boxes are a heartwarming tradition reflecting the trust and community spirit of rural life. These unstaffed stands offer all sorts; from fresh eggs and home-baked goods to seasonal fruits and vegetables, and even handmade crafts. This practice not only supports local farmers and artisans but also fosters a sense of integrity and mutual respect among residents and travellers. Here is a selection of the unique things you ca