When visually impaired music producer Jason Dasent decided to buy a collection of instrument plugins from Arturia about four years ago, he did so despite his suspicion that the company’s tools wouldn’t be accessible. He was right. “At that point I couldn’t browse and use the software,” he said. “I pretty much couldn’t do anything.” He had spent some $500 on Arturia’s V Collection 5, a set of virtual instruments that included recreations of some vintage synths he wanted to use. It was cheaper than spending hundreds of thousands on actual synths, he told himself.

But because Arturia’s preset manager Analog Lab wasn’t built to accommodate the visually impaired at the time, Dasent had to drop even more cash. “I would have to hire someone to come in for maybe three days to save these presets,” he said. For between $500 and $1,000, this person would export the presets to a format that would work in Avid’s Pro Tools, which had the accessibility features Dasent needed. It was a tedious and expensive process, he said, but even after that he could only choose presets. He couldn’t tweak cutoffs, envelopes, parameters or adjust the brightness. “I had no choice but to just stick with the presets,” he added.

In 2019, Dasent presented at the Audio Developers Conference (ADC) in London, where he was approached by Arturia’s then director of software development, Kevin Molcard. Moldcard wanted to make Analog Lab accessible, and asked for Dasent’s help. After the company set him up with the V Collection 7 and a key lab, Dasent started playing around. Eventually, Dasent was introduced to Arturia product manager Pierre Pfister, who wanted to learn more about what Analog Lab was missing.

Two months later, Dasent said, he got a call from Pfister. “I have something to show you.” What Pfister then shared with Dasent was an early version of a new accessibility toolset in Analog Lab V. “It’s as if my eyes are now open,” he gushed. That kicked off a months-long back-and-forth between Dasent, Pfister and the Arturia as they worked on the prototype, culminating in the launch of a new update today. The company is announcing a new accessibility mode to Analog Lab V, which will enable all users to turn on auditory feedback and screen reading. It also brings various “ergonomic improvements and bug fixes.”

With this new accessibility mode, the company's Keylab controllers now communicate with the Analog Lab software and a computer's text-to-speech engine. "Basically, as I press a button on Keylab, or I turn a dial or change a value, it sends notifications out to the system voice, allowing me to know exactly what's on the keyboard," Dasent said in a video describing the update. Now, when he tweaks faders and encoders on the keyboard, "I can know exactly what the values are as I tweak the parameters." As he turns a knob on the controller to scroll through a list of instruments, a voice reads out the name of each item he lands on. 

Since Dasent is familiar with Arturia's devices, he has the layout of buttons and dials memorized. But he added that "the layout of the keyboard is very well thought out, so it makes learning where everything is very easy." 

The most challenging part of getting the software accessible for visually impaired users, according to Pfister, wasn’t necessarily implementation or programming — it was figuring out how best to communicate with the system’s text-to-speech. Since a lot of music software (and many creative products in general) aren’t designed with accessibility in mind, there aren’t many best practices to pull from. Arturia almost had to start from scratch. “The hardest part was knowing what we should do and how we should make a product accessible,” Pfister said.

Once they figured it out and showed Dasent the first prototype though, the results were gratifying. “His reaction made everything worth it.”

Arturia

Pfister and his team know there’s more work that needs to be done. He acknowledged that Arturia is a small company and there’s “a lot of things we don’t know.” The plan for now is to continue listening to and soliciting feedback to “identify what most of our users would like to be able to do.” Whether that means getting all of the Analog Lab program fully accessible or to make all its individual instruments accessible, Pfister said the goal is to continue improving what it’s done with Analog Lab.

Like most of the tech industry, music software developers have, until now, largely overlooked the needs of people with disabilities. In a 2019 blog post for competing music company Native Instruments, UK technologist Chris Ankin said: “Historically, music software offered poor accessibility with existing screen readers.”

Even the leading digital audio workstation (DAW) Pro Tools struggled with keeping its software accessible through years of updates in the 2000s. At the time, in an effort to keep up with the latest versions of Apple’s desktop software, Avid offered newer plug-ins and features in its OS X version that those using older editions of Pro Tools did not get. The problem is, while the pre-existing Pro Tools HD (which launched in 2002) was “almost entirely accessible,” according to audio engineer Slau Hatlyn in an article on Avid’s website, the software for OS X wasn’t usable even after Apple introduced its VoiceOver screen reader in 10.4 Tiger in 2005. The only thing Hatlyn could access was the menu bar. “No other windows were readable.”

It took until Pro Tools version 8’s launch in 2008 for the software to regain accessibility, a long time considering “the previous accessible version was 5.3,” according to Hatlyn. Even so, the conversation continued, with Hatlyn calling out changes that broke accessibility between versions 10 and 11.

Arturia

And this is one of the industry’s most widely used DAWs. While Apple’s Logic is lauded as accessible, other music software companies that build assistive technology into their products are a rarity. Brands like Ableton and Image Line don’t appear to have comprehensive tools for the visually impaired in their products Ableton Live and FL Studios, at least based on the comments ontheir forums. A spokesperson for Ableton highlighted a Zoom Display feature, as well as recent updates to improve contrast, reduce automatic colors and adjust grid intensity as tools in Live for visually impaired users. The spokesperson added “We’re aware that there is much more to be done here.” Image Line has yet to respond to our request for comment.

Will Butler, the vice president of company whose app, Be My Eyes, connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers, wrote a LinkedIn post about the accessibility of music software. In it, Butler asked blind music producer Byron Harden to anecdotally rank the accessibility of popular music software. While Harden placed GarageBand, Pro Tools, Audacity and Logic in the top four, awarding them passing scores out of ten, Ableton Live and FL Studio came in near the bottom with one point each.

Butler also highlighted Native Instruments for its efforts. In 2019, the company expanded support for Mac’s VoiceOver, as well as Narrator and the Speech API in Windows. Prior to that, Native Instruments had made keyboards with touch-sensitive rotary encoders and buttons with auditory feedback. With those, its software “can detect when the user’s fingers are resting on them, then give auditory feedback – synthesized speech – of the current value, and do so continuously as it’s adjusted.”

That auditory feedback is one of the features Arturia is bringing to Analog Lab V that Dasent is most grateful for. “One thing they got right: quality of feedback,” he said. Say for example you load a preset. When you hit the load button in Analog Lab V, it will say “Loaded” and read out the name of the pack. Dasent said that software can sometimes offer too much feedback or use overly lengthy sentences and phrases to communicate. It would be like a sighted person having to read 20 lines of text to get one little piece of information that a single sentence could have conveyed. 

As Pfister recalled his first call with Dasent, he was amazed and shocked by the amount of effort Dasent was willing to expend to use Arturia’s instruments. “If they are willing to put in that much effort, why don’t we do a little bit to make their life so much easier?”

Indeed, while there are frontrunners in making music software more accessible for people with disabilities, the industry as a whole could benefit from a published set of best practices. This way, they could be disseminated to smaller companies entering the space and make it easier for them to build accessible products. Ultimately, as with the development of most assistive technologies, that would benefit all users regardless of able-bodiedness.

Windows 365, announced today at the Microsoft Inspire conference, is a version of the OS that lives in the cloud. It's an easy-to-use virtual machine that lets you hop into your own Windows 10 (and eventually Windows 11) installation on any device, whether that’s a Mac, iPad, Linux device or Android tablet.

Microsoft

This isn’t an entirely new premise for Microsoft, with its Azure efforts offering virtual machines for businesses for a while. This, however, should make the entire process of managing a Windows installation on a far-off server far simpler. You just need to head to Windows365.com when it launches on August 2nd (it isn't yet live), choose a virtual machine configuration and you'll be up and running. That is, of course, once we know what it costs. Final pricing will be revealed the day before the service launches.

— Mat Smith

Apple gives the people what they want: their old Safari tab design back

The latest macOS and iOS betas address a common complaint about the new Safari.

The third developer betas for iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey started rolling out today, and key among the changes is a set of updates to Apple's browser. One of the changes in the macOS Monterey beta we didn't like was the removal of the tabs bar, which made sorting through your tabs messy and tedious. With today's beta release, though, Apple's brought back the standalone tab bar, which will be enabled by default. Continue reading.

The Vive Focus 3 is the best standalone VR headset

But not, you shouldn't buy it.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

While Oculus has played to mainstream consumers, especially with last year’s Quest 2, HTC’s Vive targeted businesses and the tech-savvy. That strategy hasn't always worked in Vive's favor — see the disappointing Cosmos headset.

So here’s a $1,300 standalone headset that's really only meant for businesses. Because it costs $1,000 more than the Oculus Quest 2, the Focus 3 unsurprisingly offers better, well, almost everything. Apart from software. The Focus 3 has a far more limited software library than the Oculus Quest. While Oculus has pushed for high-profile exclusives and popular games, like Vader Immortal and Beat Saber, the HTC VivePort store feels rather empty and uninspired. It's almost as if it's not made for you. Continue reading.

LG's rollable OLED R TV costs $100,000 in the US

The price, at least, does not disappoint.

LG

It’s been a long time coming, but finally, LG has priced its fantastical rollable OLED for the US, and it hits six figures: $100,000 according to the company’s US website. In case you forgot — it was announced years ago — the set uses advanced OLED technology to roll itself up into a self-contained box. But hey, at least it makes LG’s very capable static OLEDs look affordable by comparison. The company’s 2021 lineup starts at a much more approachable $1,299. Continue reading.

The best accessories for your new iPad

Make your iPad work harder for you.

Valentina Palladino / Engadget

Ready to up your iPad game? Or at least save that fancy Retina screen from scratches and disaster? Valentina Palladino walks through all the options, testing out keyboards, styli, cases and more. Continue reading.

Twitter removed far more abusive content in the second half of 2020 than ever before

The company says it's due to policy changes it made throughout last year.

Twitter says it’s getting better at moderating its platform. That’s one of the main takeaways from the company’s most recent transparency report, which it shared on Wednesday. Between July 1st and December 31st, 2020, Twitter says it took action against 964,459 accounts for abusive behavior. Compared to the first six months of 2020, that’s a 142 percent increase.

The company’s increased action is apparently due to policy changes enacted last year. Specifically, it says it began taking action on "content that incites fear and/or fearful stereotypes about protected categories." Continue reading.

But wait, there’s more...

Amazon has acquired Facebook's satellite internet team

WhatsApp is testing multi-device sync that doesn't require a phone

'Loki' will return for a second season on Disney+

Delta pilot sues the airline for allegedly stealing an app he designed

Netflix will reportedly offer video games within the next year

Boss's latest guitar has a built-in synth and Bluetooth pedal control

Samsung is catering its SmartThings app updates to our changing lifestyles. During the pandemic, we were glued to the tube, so the Korean company debuted more TV controls. Now, it's introducing a much-needed energy usage tracker as people spend more time indoors than in the past. 

SmartThings Energy can monitor how power hungry your individual or combined Samsung appliances and HVAC products are. The company plans to support other certified partners in the future, including those that specialize in energy management. 

To help you paint a better picture of your home's eco footprint, the update allows you to compare consumption data to your preset targets and monitor monthly usage. The app visualizes this information in the form of color-coded pie and bar charts split across total and select device usage. 

When you exceed your goal or leave an appliance on while you're out, you'll get a notification that alerts you of the rise in energy activity. Samsung will also offer energy saving tips that warn you not to overstock your fridge, for example.

The company has been adding new features to SmartThings throughout the year. Following the new TV controls, Samsung introduced "Unknown Tag Search" in April that can identify if any unknown SmartTags are tracking you. It's also bringing automotive controls for more vehicles to the app in the third quarter.

For years, IK Multimedia has given guitar players the ability to build the rig of their dreams or try their hero's setup without cramming a bunch of gear into their apartments — or emptying their savings account. The company's AmpliTube modeling software offers the ability to use popular effects, amps and cabinets via digital modeling rather than the hardware itself. But the app resides on computer or tablet, so it's not exactly the most convenient thing to take on the road. Today, IK Multimedia is debuting the AmpliTube X-GEAR line: a collection of four guitar pedals equipped with versions of the same effects available on the robust desktop software. 

The AmpliTube X-GEAR pedals offer options for distortion (X-DRIVE), modulation (X-VIBE), delay (X-TIME) and reverb (X-SPACE). All four pedals are loaded with 16 different effects and IK Multimedia developed new algorithms for both reverb and delay. The company says that despite giving users a different set of tools, each of the X-GEAR devices uses the same hardware and digital signal processing (DSP). 

IK Multimedia

Because these are based on powerful software, IK Multimedia says the X-GEAR pedals work well in both the studio and on stage. With the desktop app (AmpliTube SE is included with the pedals), you can make changes and save settings, including up to 300 presets, back to the hardware pedal as needed. Thanks to up to 192kHz internal processing and oversampling, the company says the X-GEAR pedals can give you the same "realism and response" as AmpliTube on the desktop.

Each X-GEAR pedal is housed in an aluminum shell with 24-bit/192kHz converters to keep noise at a minimum and 5Hz–24kHz frequency response. IK Multimedia says the frequency response combined with an analog dry path and selectable true or soft bypass will allow your guitar's tone to come through unfiltered. When it's time to record, the X-GEAR pedals can serve as a USB interface with a digital audio workstation (DAW). You can select between wet or dry signals, use a stereo output for monitoring and employ full MIDI compatibility. On stage, pair any item in the X-GEAR lineup with an expression pedal and you'll get even more control of each of the parameters on board. There are also five cabinet options on each pedal so you can connect them directly to a PA if needed. 

The X-GEAR pedals go on sale in August for $300 each, but you can pre-order them now from the company's website. That price puts IK Multimedia's latest gear just below multi-effects options like Strymon's BlueSky and Mobius pedals. A key difference though is that IK Multimedia is known for mobile audio interfaces, MIDI controllers and software plug-ins while companies like Strymon are well-respected in the guitar world thanks to their established track records. This is really the first time IK Multimedia has built what many would consider "real" effects pedals, so it will be interesting to see if the company successfully leveraged its software expertise for this new hardware. 

A Delta pilot has sued the airline for $1 billion, accusing it of trade secrets theft over a communications app he developed a few years ago. According to Bloomberg, Captain Craig Alexander pitched the QrewLive app, which he reportedly developed with $100,000 of his own money, to the company as a way for crew to easily communicate in case of disrupted flights. However, Delta turned him down and then launched what he says is an identical tool a few years later.

Alexander apparently contacted Delta CEO Ed Bastian back in 2016 after a computer system meltdown put all flights on hold and cost the company over $150 million. He told the CEO that he had a solution for issues like that, which resulted to several meetings with executives who gave him verbal assurances that they were going to acquire his app. 

According to Alexander's complaint, Delta ended up telling him that his technology didn't fit its needs and ultimately launched its own Flight Family Communications app in 2018. He called the official Delta app a "carbon copy, knock-off of the role-based text messaging component of [his] proprietary QrewLive communications platform." As for how he decided to seek $1 billion in damages, he said it's "based solely upon operational cost savings to Delta, [which] conservatively exceeds $1 billion."

The plaintiff has been with the airline for 11 years and still currently works with the company. Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant told Bloomberg in a statement: "While we take the allegations specified in Mr. Alexander's complaint seriously, they are not an accurate or fair description of Delta's development of its internal crew messaging platform."

If you’re an Apple user with a 2020 Toshiba or Insignia 4K UHD Smart Fire TV, you’ll want to look out for the latest software update for your television set as it adds support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. AirPlay 2 allows you to stream audio and video content from your iPhone, iPad or Mac to a compatible device. It’s also possible to mirror the screen on your iOS device. With HomeKit, meanwhile, you can control your TV using Siri or the Home app on iOS and macOS. Using voice commands, it’s possible to turn the TV on and off, as well as adjust the volume and control playback.

To take advantage of that latter functionality, you’ll need to dig into the settings menu on your TV, navigate to the “Display and Sounds” section and select “AirPlay and HomeKit.” From there, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup process. If all you want to do is use AirPlay, you don’t have to do anything special; the feature is enabled by default after installing the new software.

Although WhatsApp users can use the messaging service across several platforms, they still need to be connected to a smartphone, largely because of the way WhatsApp handles end-to-end encryption (E2EE). That's about to change, and eventually you'll no longer need to have a phone nearby to use WhatsApp on the web, macOS, Windows or Portal.

Starting today, WhatsApp will invite users to try its multi-device beta. You'll be able to use the service on your phone and up to four other devices (as long as they also aren't phones). WhatsApp will try the multi-device approach with a small group of people from its beta program. They'll be able to opt out of the beta later. With the help of those users, WhatsApp will optimize the multi-device experience and add some more features before rolling it out more broadly.

Although many users have been requesting multi-device support, it's taken WhatsApp some time to make that happen. It has built a system that retains end-to-end encryption while letting people sync data like contact names, archives and starred messages across devices.

Until now, the WhatsApp smartphone app has been an essential conduit for the service. Other platforms like the web and desktop apps maintain a consistent, secure link to the phone app and mirror the content. But if your phone battery dies or there's an issue with the smartphone app, you can't use WhatsApp on other platforms.

Through the multi-device beta, each device will have its own identity key. Currently, users have a single identity key (i.e. the one on their phone) to handle encrypted messages. WhatsApp has developed systems it says will keep out eavesdroppers who try to add devices to a user's account and to minimize the number of times people need to confirm their identity across devices. You'll also have control over connected devices and see which ones are linked to your account.

Along with messages, WhatsApp will have E2EE support for voice and video calls as part of the multi-device beta. There won't be any impact on the way WhatsApp handles cloud backups. 

Solving the issue of supporting E2EE across a user's devices can be tricky given that only devices that messages are sent to and from are supposed to be able to decrypt them. Apple seems to have found an answer — iMessage supports E2EE across Apple devices. Although Telegram works on multiple devices, its E2EE approach (Secret Chats) does not currently do so. Like WhatsApp's current setup, Signal's desktop app also needs to connect to a smartphone to send and receive messages.

Clubhouse, the oftcloned invite-only audio chat platform that recently expanded to Android, has since its inception lacked a seemingly fundamental feature present on virtually every other social media app: the ability to directly message other users. But no longer! On Wednesday, the company announced that the Clubhouse app will now support DMs in the form of the new Backchannel messaging feature.

Backchannel will function as both a private messaging system for both 1:1 interactions and group chats. With it, Clubhouse envisions users employing it to coordinate privately among a channel's co-hosts, take sensitive questions or privately thank participants outside of the general group discussion, or just audibly shoot the breeze with your buddies. 

Google is ready to add more features to the public preview of its upcoming platform as it gets closer to being ready for its proper launch. The company announced that it's pushing out the third beta of Android 12 today, and it brings features like scrolling screenshots, enhanced auto-rotate and more. For developers, Google said this is the "last beta release before the Platform Stability milestone," which means they can begin to test their apps for the next platform. Beta 3 will also include the final Android 12 APIs and official SDK. 

Those may not seem obviously impactful for the average user. What will feel more immediately useful are scrolling screenshots, which Google said will work "out-of-the-box for most apps." With Beta 3, when you snap an image of your screen, you'll see a new "Capture more" button. Tap that, and you'll extend the boundaries of your screenshot to get all the content available, after which you can adjust the crop. Google said it's "continuing to iterate on scrolling screenshots" and "also working to provide support for a wider variety of content (such as web content)," so it's possible this version isn't what you'll see when Android 12 officially launches.

Google

Beta 3 also brings enhanced auto-rotate, which will use your phone's front camera to detect your face and tell when you've flipped the device. As opposed to relying only on accelerometers/gyroscopes to detect the orientation of your phone, this can make auto-rotate more responsive. It's "especially helpful for people who are using their devices while lying down on a couch or in bed, for example," Google said. If you don't like the idea of your camera being used to see how you're holding up your phone, it may help to know that the company said the feature lives in its Private Compute Core and the "images are never stored or sent off the device." Enhanced auto-rotate will be available on the Pixel 4 and newer Pixel devices.

If you're on an older or non-Pixel phone, you'll also see some improvements. Google said it "optimized the animation and redrawing and added an ML-driven gesture-detection algorithm" that's reduced the base auto-rotate feature's latency by 25 percent. 

Another new feature on Beta 3 is platform support for Google's on-device search engine called AppSearch. It'll allow developers to offer better search tools in their apps, and also offer them the option of participating in a central index "that's maintained for the entire system in Android 12 (and later releases)." Those who opt-in to the central index will enable Google to show data from their apps in overall system searches. Developers can also choose to "securely share data with other apps, allowing them to search your app's data as well as their own." That means one day, if they decide to enable it, apps like Tinder and Spotify could search data within your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram apps, for example. 

Google

That function is not here yet since it requires developer participation. Many other features on Beta 3 are also behind-the-scenes, like the new ability for enterprises to set camera and mic restrictions on devices they manage. Android 12's Game Mode APIs will let developers respond appropriately to different profiles selected by the player, "like better battery life for a long commute, or performance mode to get peak frame rates," for example. These will be part of an "upcoming game dashboard which provides an overlay experience with quick access to key utilities during gameplay" that will be available on select devices later this year.

We're still eagerly awaiting the addition of the Material You design scheme that Google unveiled at I/O earlier this year, but as Android 12 approaches platform stability and a final release, it looks like most of the features we were expecting are here. If you're eager to test out this preview and can't wait for the official launch, you can enroll in Google's beta program. As always, we must caution that preview software is not guaranteed to be stable and you should back up your data before installing the beta. Whether you check out this early build or wait for a little longer, it does seem like a meaty update is coming for Android users that could be worth the anticipation.

After the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive launched in 2016, bringing virtual reality into homes for the first time, the two companies have gone in very different directions. While Oculus leaned more toward mainstream consumers, especially with last year’s Quest 2, the Vive targeted businesses and the tech savvy. That strategy hasn't always worked out in Vive's favor — the long-awaited Cosmos headset was a disappointment — but it probably makes more sense than competing with Facebook's practically limitless resources head-on.

Enter the Vive Focus 3, a $1,300 standalone headset that's really only meant for businesses. Because it costs $1,000 more than the Oculus Quest 2, the Focus 3 unsurprisingly offers better hardware, ergonomics and build quality than Oculus's headset. It's the difference between building a device that's meant to be used throughout the day in professional settings, and something you may use once in a while for gaming. The Vive Focus 3 is meant to get shit done.

At first glance, the Focus 3 certainly looks more like a premium VR workhorse than the Quest 2. While the Oculus headset has flimsy cloth straps and a minimalist goggle design, the Focus 3 looks like an expensive pair of ski goggles fashioned into a VR device. Its magnesium alloy frame is still technically plastic, but it feels sturdier than the Quest's flimsy case (HTC Vive claims it’s 20 percent lighter and five times stronger than traditional plastic). As much as I liked the Quest 2, you can instantly feel how much Oculus skimped on its materials to reach that low $299 price.

While Oculus leaned into the sleek and curvy Apple gadget aesthetic, HTC Vive went for sharper lines and a more elaborate design. The Focus 3's headstrap, for example, looks far more involved with a plastic frame, tons of cushioning and a rear dial to tighten everything up. It's also angled around the sides so it never touches your ears, which goes a long way toward making the VR experience feel more comfortable. The rear part of the strap may look chunky, but that's because it also houses the Focus 3's battery pack. Putting a bit more junk in the trunk helps to balance its weight, so it's not leaning down on your nose uncomfortably like some earlier VR headsets. (The Quest 2's Elite Strap and rear battery pack offers a similarly balanced feel, so the Focus 3's design isn't completely innovative.)

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The Focus 3's battery pack is removable, which allows businesses to keep a single headset running continuously throughout the day. One downside to this unique battery design is that the Focus 3 charges via a proprietary AC adapter, despite having a USB-C port. As a concession, the company includes a dual USB-C cable that connects to the headset and can charge both controllers simultaneously. Your desk may end up looking like a sea of cables, but at least you can make sure all your VR gear is charged.

While its design shows just how much HTC Vive has learned over the years, it's what's under the hood that makes the Focus 3 special. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR 2 chip, similar to the Quest 2, but it's also running at a higher clock speed. (To get faster and more consistent performance, HTC Vive also squeezed in a heat pipe and cooling fan at the front of the headset.) The Focus 3's displays offer 5K resolution (4,896 by 2,448 pixels), a smooth 90Hz refresh rate and a wide 120-degree field of view. In comparison, the Quest 2's screen is close to 4K and has an estimated 90- to 100-degree field of view (depending on where you position the lenses). Both headsets offer LCDs with RGB sub-pixels, which offers a boost in sharpness and clarity compared to PenTile OLED screens from earlier models.

As far as VR technology goes, the Focus 3 has just about everything you'd want in a modern headset. But there are simple, less technical upgrades that I appreciated too, like its support for large 150mm-wide glasses. It usually takes a bit of effort for me to squeeze a headset over my frames, and they inevitably get yanked out whenever I step out of VR. But I never had to deal with that on the Focus 3, thanks to its roomy interior. There's also an IPD adjustment dial to help you fine-tune exactly how its lenses hit your eyes; the Quest 2 only gives you a few options to adjust IPD. The elaborate padding around the front and rear also goes a long way toward making you forget you're even wearing a VR headset.

Even the Focus 3's controllers are better than anything we've seen from HTC Vive before. They look similar to Oculus's, with a round tracking ring, face buttons, as well as the standard grip and trigger buttons. Clearly, they're light years beyond the enormous controllers that the original HTC Vive came with. Still, Oculus has the edge when it comes to overall ergonomics. The Quest 2's gamepads are contoured to better fit your hands, especially during fast-paced games. Holding the Focus 3's controllers, meanwhile, feels more awkward during lengthy VR sessions.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Thankfully, though, the headset itself is comfortable to wear for hours at a time, and it delivers the most immersive standalone virtual reality experiences I've seen yet. I wandered the Louvre in Mona Lisa Beyond the Glass, which let me get inches away from several classic da Vinci paintings. If I tried to do that in real life, I'm sure some security guards would swiftly kick me out. But in VR, I could admire the detail in every work of art. I was also surprised just how great everything looked in the Focus 3. There was more detail than in any Quest 2 experience I've seen, and the large field of view genuinely made me feel like I was walking through the Louvre's ornate halls, instead of just peering in through a pair of VR binoculars.

Similarly, I had a genuine sense of walking through meadows and tropical beaches in the Nature Treks VR experience. The Focus 3's sharp display once again shined when I peered at statues and wildlife up close, but the detail was limited by its mobile hardware. 360-degree YouTube videos also looked fantastic when I fired them up in Firefox VR, but the experience can be hit or miss depending on the quality of the source. And even though the headset doesn't have beefy near-field speakers like the Valve Index and HP Reverb G2 .

I was surprised that the Focus 3 didn't include any sort of built-in multimedia app for watching VR videos, but that really underscores one of its biggest problems: The Focus 3 has a far more limited software library than the Quest. While Oculus has pushed for high-profile exclusives and popular games, like Vader Immortal and Beat Saber, the HTC VivePort store feel practically anemic. There are a handful of shared titles across both platforms, like Last Labyrinth and Tokyo Chronos, but it's clear they aren't a big focus for HTC Vive.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

At this point, even installing new experiences is more of a pain on the Focus 3, since you need to take off the headset to purchase apps and games from your web browser. Meanwhile, the Quest and Quest 2 let you buy things from within the headset and a mobile app. But I suppose that's not a huge problem for HTC Vive, since the Focus 3 isn't meant for consumers at all. Instead, IT departments will likely preload the software their workers actually need. (There's also going to be a Vive Business App Store eventually, though it's unclear if that will offer a better purchasing experience.)

That's one reason why we're not scoring this review. This $1,300 headset isn't meant to be consumer friendly. And honestly, I couldn't even test some of the more popular business apps, like Vive Sync's virtual collaboration tool and Engage's event app. HTC Vive's previous Focus headsets also gained a reputation for being easy ways to train employees using apps like Virti. And while that app certainly looks cool in the Focus 3, I can't exactly tell if it's offering effective training or not.

There are also features I haven't been able to effectively test out. The Focus 3 offers Vive Business Streaming, which lets you connect the headset to a VR PC over a USB 3.2 cable or Wi-Fi. But it's apparently very picky, as none of the USB cables I used were even recognized by the software (and some would just throw an error saying they weren't USB 3.0 capable, even though I knew they were). You can also stream PC VR over Wi-Fi, but that only works if your computer is connected directly to your router over Ethernet, and if you have a strong wireless connection with the headset. That just wasn't possible in my basement office. I'm hoping HTC Vive works out its connection requirements, especially since Oculus Link on the Quest is far less demanding when it comes to cables.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

No matter how you cut it, the Quest 2 is still the standalone VR headset most consumers should buy. But the Focus 3 is perfect for businesses looking for something a bit more sturdy and powerful. For them, a $1,300 device makes more sense than investing tens of thousands on more elaborate training tools.