Latest articles by Michael L Hicks
Meta's leaked 'Avalanche' could bring back Oculus Rift games, but I want more
Good old days of VR A long-rumored cloud gaming app was briefly leaked on the Quest Store. We suspect it'll arrive on Quest 3 soon, but used in a safe way — and we'd love to see something more ambitious.
Best smartwatches for students 2025
Student-friendly Need a portable calendar, workout tracker for your club, or a way to stay atop messages without disrupting class? These smartwatches may help you.
Smartwatches and rings make health a game; the challenge is being ready to lose
Sunday Runday Smartwatches and smart rings do a pretty good job of monitoring your health metrics, but you should also be mindful of how you feel.
Google Pixel 8a vs. Pixel 8: Every key difference
Pixel vs. pixel The Pixel 8a is barely a compromise compared to last year's Pixel 8, but there are a few downgrades in exchange for the $200 off the price tag.
Qualcomm VP discusses its 'next' chip for Wear OS watches
Wear OS Weekly I spoke with Qualcomm VP of Wearables Dino Bekis about the future of Wear OS watches, including the next Snapdragon SoC coming "next year."
Google Pixel Watch 3 review: Our favorite smartwatch
Running towards the goal The Google Pixel Watch 3 fixes most of the Watch 2's shortcomings with improved battery life, two enlarged displays, and improved running tools. It's imperfect, but trending in the right direction.
Qualcomm has intense AI plans for your next car with Cockpit Elite, and not just self-driving tech
Qualcomm Summit 2024 Cockpit Elite's Oryon CPU, 12X-boosted NPU, and ray-tracing graphics bring flagship mobile specs to "software-defined vehicles."
'The equation has changed': Qualcomm explains why the Snapdragon 8 Elite doesn't need efficiency cores
RIP efficiency cores I interviewed several Qualcomm product managers to figure out why efficiency cores aren't needed to make CPUs more efficient.
How long does the Meta Quest 3S battery life last?
Wireless compromise As part of our initial Quest 3S testing, we checked how long the Quest 3S will last. Thankfully, it appears Meta was honest when it gave its battery life estimate.
Snapdragon 8 Elite offers a dramatic power boost for 2025 flagship Android phones
Flagship power Qualcomm's new 3nm chip offers "Elite" performance growth over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Only one smart ring's workout HR is reliable — and probably not the one you'd expect
Sunday Runday After the Oura Ring 4 launched with a major fitness focus, we decided to test it and other smart rings to determine how well they do for heart rate accuracy. Here's what we discovered.
New Kindle Scribe fixes my biggest complaint with the last one
Scribbling time Amazon's engineers acknowledged that the whole point of a Kindle Scribe should be to write all over ebooks via Active Canvas.
Wear OS 5 blocks one of the best watch apps and it's high time Google fixes things
Wear OS Weekly Watch Face Format helps the Galaxy Watch 7 and Pixel Watch 3 last longer, but it also makes Facer obsolete and their watch faces distressingly basic.
Comcast's network suffers short-lived but major outage in pockets across the United States
Internet woes The Xfinity internet service by Comcast is currently experiencing a major outage. Here's what we know about where it is and when it'll end.
Which finger should you wear the Oura Ring 4 on?
Find your perfect fit Finding the right Oura Ring 4 finger can be tricky. Oura claims it "works on all fingers" and "on either hand," but some fingers are better than others.
Garmin could beat Apple and Samsung to the MicroLED watch finish line with its leaked 'prototype'
Leaks about a "Garmin fenix 8 MicroLED" suggest Garmin wants to put this expensive, tricky tech in a watch before anyone else.
Last-minute Garmin Prime Day deals — save hundreds on Venu, Epix, Fenix and Forerunner before they run out
The deals await Garmin is one of our favorite brands for fitness-based wearables, so we decided it would only be right to create a list of all the best Garmin discounts, just in time for Amazon Big Deal Days.
My fiancée stole my Kindle Scribe, so I'm buying one during Prime Day for 25% off
My favorite Kindle If you don't have a partner to rob for their massive Kindle Scribe, Prime Day 2024 is selling them for $85 off.
Garmin dilemma: Buy the Epix Gen 2 for an all-time low $500 off or shell out for the Fenix 8?
An Epic(x) deal The Garmin Epix Gen 2 has plummeted to $399, its lowest price ever, as Garmin clears out stock to focus on the Fenix 8.
Best tablet for students 2025
Education tools Getting the school year started can be a little intimidating, but the best tablets for students can help ease this process more successfully.
MediaTek announces Dimensity 9400 flagship, an 'enabler of AI' with a 35% power boost
Flagship power The MediaTek Dimensity 9400 has a new Cortex-X925 main core clocked at 3.62GHz, ready to handle 2025 flagship phones.
This Quest 3 128GB deal is sold out almost everywhere — but I've found the remaining few
Going, going, gone! Why buy the Meta Quest 3S when you can snag the Quest 3 and all its upgrades for $70 off — before it's gone for good?
I review smartwatches across every brand — these are the 5 Prime Day watch deals I'd personally buy
Save time & money Prime Day 2024 has some excellent smartwatch deals...and some I'd skip and wait for a better one on Black Friday. These are the watches I've tested and would recommend NOW.
