23 Target Products That Clean And Organize For You
Promising review: "Huge fan of this product. We have a marble pebble shower floor with lighter grout, and the grout had to be cleaned (scrubbed) all the time due to discoloration. I use this product twice per week, and no more problems. It smells great and works, and all you do is spray it on and walk away. Since we have a large shower, I use a 56-ounce pump sprayer, which makes it a breeze to apply." —GJPPrice: $3.39+ (available in two sizes)
A Roomba robot vacuum and mop that literally does your chores while you nap, watch Netflix, or contemplate cleaning without doing it. It even empties itself. We stan a self-sufficient queen.
Easily convert from an all-floor vacuum to a hard floor vacuum and mop with the simple switch of a bin. It even cleans up after itself, emptying its vacuum bin into an enclosed bag that holds up to 60 days of debris, which means two whole months of not thinking about vacuuming.Promising review: "I've had the Roomba Combo i5+ for several months now, and it's been a total game-changer. It vacuums and mops simultaneously, saving me time and effort. The self-emptying feature is a standout — it empties itself into the Clean Base so I don't have to think about it for up to 60 days. I was so impressed that I bought one for my mom. She loves it too — especially the Smart Mapping, which lets us customize cleaning schedules and zones through the iRobot Home App. It's been a huge help for both of us in keeping our homes clean with minimal effort." —TheReviewerPrice: $549.99
A hair tool organizer with hidden magnets to catch bobby pins before they mysteriously disappear into the void.
Promising review: "Perfect holder for hair hot tools like a blow-dryer and straightener, with room for other things like hair sprays, brushes, etc. in the front. Looks more expensive than it was. Highly recommend!" —LucyMKPrice: $30
A five-pack of toilet cleaning tablets you just plop in and walk away from. Your toilet gets cleaner every time it flushes, and you didn't even lift a scrub brush.
Promising review: "I love these tablets — they are the only ones I will use. I like that they make the water blue, and once the water turns clear, I know it's time to drop a new one in. It helps keep the toilet clean longer and of course, they last through a lot of flushes compared to other brands I have used before." —Yas3179Price: $5.79
A Dyson V8 stick vacuum that's lightweight, cordless, and basically fun to use — which is the highest compliment a vacuum can get. It's my absolute favorite bug-catcher too.
Promising review: "Works amazing! I am able to do my entire house (three beds, one bath) on a single charge. Picks up all the dog hair that my two bulldogs leave around the house! Doesn't work well on big items as they can plug it up. I just used it on my wood floors, tile, area rugs, and carpet with no problems. Love that it is cordless and I can use it on my car! Attachment is great for cleaning ceiling fans! Love that it's lightweight and can be easily used on my stairwell leading to downstairs! My last Dyson that is a V7 (still have it) lasted me 7–8 years and is still going strong. Actually stuck it in the camper so I don't have to bring a vacuum back and forth between the camper and house." —HarlyandmePrice: $299.99 (originally $429.99)
A honeycomb drawer organizer to make sure your socks don't keep ghosting you. No more digging, they're right where they should be.
Promising review: "It's true. I LOVE these. I got two to organize my socks and undies. It's been great not to scrounge around my drawer forever looking for a match that I thought existed until a week ago (it doesn't...when did that happen?) 10 stars. No. A MILLION stars." —txgirlPrice: $10
A simple, but effective domed drain cover that quietly collects every last hair in your shower before it becomes a horror story in your pipes. No gloves. No snake. No trauma.
Promising review: "This is the second one I have purchased. I have very long hair, and this works great to catch it and avoid clogs. I clean it after every shower. My only complaint has been that it doesn't grip in place, but generally not an issue, and it works much better than other hair catchers I've tried. It works best if you clean it after every shower and take out the drain stop if you have one — otherwise it might not drain well." —SamPrice: $11.99
Or if you're already past the point of prevention, some Drano cleaner gel to cut through hair clogs like a hot knife through butter. Seven minutes later? Flow restored, stress eliminated.
Between my long hair and bathing my dogs too, this stuff has saved me more than once (and yes, I finally invested in a drain cover, LOL), so I can confirm it's very easy to use and efficient. Even with a drain protector, it's so good to keep on hand!Promising review: "I never write reviews, but holy cow did this work! Normally, I must pull out the sink stopper and dig out the gunk with a butter knife…gross, I know. But this worked so well that I didn't have to do any follow-up 'cleaning!' I would highly recommend!!!" —HappilySurprisedPrice: $6.89
A clear can organizer that keeps your LaCroix from rolling around like you're in a grocery store simulator. Stack and grab = done.
Promising review: "I'm quite the organized person, and the same goes for my fridge. Everything has a place, and these are fantastic. Expensive at first if you're buying to organize your whole fridge, but it's well worth it in the long run. Can also use in the pantry if you don't want cold sodas. I have one that I use for canned soups!" —BerryHonestPrice: $14
A pack of three vacuum bags so your comforters and off-season coats magically shrink into flat little pancakes. Bonus: No folding required.
Promising review: "These work great to seal in pillows, bedding, and clothes. Even if you don't vacuum out the air, you can get it pretty compact by rolling the bag." —AlliePrice: $20 for L, XL, and jumbo vacuum bags
A washable liner that catches oven and grill messes before they turn into burnt-on regrets. Just lift it out, rinse it off, and bask in the joy of not having to scrape crusty cheese off the bottom of your oven.
Promising review: "These last forever. I live in an apartment building where an alarm goes off summoning the fire department if too much smoke develops when food drips onto the oven floor. I give these to new tenants." —Penelope GodwinPrice: $17.99+ (originally $19.99+, available in a two pack or four pack)
A pack of 10 Keurig cleaning pods so you can keep your emotional support coffee machine clean without lifting more than a finger. Just pop one in, press start, and voilà — no descaling drama required.
Promising review: "This product does the job to clean out the needle and the nozzle where the beverage comes out. I use a rinse pod at least once a week, especially before drinking tea when the Keurig has been used for coffee." —RonTheITGuyPrice: $8.79
A three-tier under sink organizer that turns your chaotic abyss of bottles and cords into a tidy little tower of accessibility.
Promising review: "I've purchased a few cheaper versions of these before, and you really do get what you pay for. This one is so much sturdier, a better height, and I love that it's three drawers instead of two! It helped me organize the disaster under my sink, and it holds a ton! I love that I can set things on top of it, too." —SarahPrice: $35 (available in five colors)
A pack of stainless steel cleaning wipes so your fridge, oven, and dishwasher don't show every fingerprint from the last decade. Just swipe, toss, and admire that shiny finish.
This is my favorite invention and I always use them before I have guests over. It is SO satisfying to wipe away fingerprints and make stainless steal appliances *literally* sparkle.Promising review: "I've tried a few different stainless steel cleaners and by far...this one, Weiman, is top of the mark! I even use it on my sink when it's wet, and it always dries to a beautiful shine. it is the best for cleaning stainless steel and kitchen appliances!" —KatzPrice: $4.69 for 30 wipes (also available in a spray bottle)
A spice system with jars, labels, and a place for everything. It practically organizes itself — and maybe even inspires dinner.
It includes 28 glass spice jars and 386 labels.Promising review: "I like the looks of this spice rack with square jars so much that I am trying to find a place other than a drawer to display it! The metal racks are each about 12.75 inches wide. When I ordered it, I didn't realize that it also comes with 11 pages of round spice labels — 340 are pre-printed, and 46 are blank for you to personalize with with the included pen. This spice rack fits all the needs and wants!!" —TdMPrice: $34.99 (originally $89.99)
An extendable brush so you can clean your shower without crawling inside it like you're in a Navy SEAL training course.
Promising review: "I wish I bought this sooner!! I love, love, love this. It works incredibly well, no more back bending and dreading cleaning my shower/tub. This is amazing!" —BoymomPrice: $15.99
A sink strainer to catch rogue food bits before they pull a disappearing act down your drain and come back as a gross smell. Especially clutch if you're disposal-less and love avoiding gross hand-in-the-drain situations.
Promising review: "This catches everything, and the water drains perfectly. You can flip it inside out to clean it out into a trash bag or just scoop out food debris with a napkin. Good product. 5/5." —JoSaPrice: $9.99
A set of eight tiny bins so you can finally conquer that cursed junk drawer. Everything has a place now. Even the seven random screws you're weirdly attached to.
Promising review: "THESE ARE GREAT!! Because they lock together, it's not a huge deal if they don't fit your drawer perfectly...it's not like you will have one tray sliding all over the place because it will all move together. Very audible click to know when they are locked and you need to use enough force to get them to pop together that you know they won't randomly come apart. Would totally buy this set again (probably will)!" —Scrubs_RN1209Price: $12
A pack of washing-machine cleaning tablets to give your machine a deep clean without scrubbing a single thing. You throw it in, run a cycle, and let it freshen things up like magic.
Promising review: "Washer repairman said to get these because they have citric acid, which is needed when doing a wash tub cycle. Works great and makes my drum smell clean." —SoCalMomPrice: $11.29 for a five-pack
A stackable wire storage basket so your pantry can stop feeling like a blackhole of crushed snacks and mystery items. Plus, it'll keep your produce from rolling into the abyss and turning into a mysterious science experiment (looking at you, onions and potatoes).
Promising review: "I organized my kitchen pantry with bins and needed two big bins for the top shelf that was open in front and had side handles to store tall pasta bags and related items. These bins fit the needs perfectly! Now, I can reach into the bin to grab the dry spaghetti without everything falling onto my head. And the bins pull out easily when I want to grab a back item. An added plus is their super attractive, functional, and top quality. The white finish on the steel is lovely, and the wood handles add farmhouse charm. The bin and handles are very sturdy and strong, and the price is excellent for the usefulness, size, and quality of the bin. I am purchasing another bin today for the pantry floor to hold oils and vinegar." —CocoPrice: $20
A stove top cleaner that makes your glass cooktop sparkle like you've never made a mess in your life — even if you scorched spaghetti sauce there yesterday.
Promising review: "Been using this the whole year to clean my cooktop — I always spill things and this makes it a breeze to remove any debris." —ShopperAlexPrice: $5.29
An over-the-door storage rack — it creates space out of literally thin air. Hang it, fill it, forget it — now you're a storage genius.
Promising review: "Since my son's first apartment lacks storage space, this was the perfect solution for him to store food/toiletries, etc. Very easy to put together and secure to the back of his closet door. Well-made and a great product." —emjay58Price: $40
A pot lid holder to prevent that mini avalanche every time you open a cabinet. This one adds a layer of peace to your kitchen chaos.
Promising review: "Who says wire storage lid organizers are just for the kitchen? They're the perfect way to keep my makeup palettes organized! They look awesome and very practical. Of course, I will be buying some more." —AbbyPrice: $14
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Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pocket FM gives its writers an AI tool to transform narratives, write cliffhangers, and more
India-based audio series platform maker Pocket FM aims to be the Netflix of audio. That is, the company intends to match its audio series with hundreds of episodes to its users' tastes. For that to work, it needs to release content rapidly — something it's now turning to AI to help with. The Lightspeed-backed startup is giving its writers an AI tool set that can do things like suggest better endings to an episode or make the narrative more engaging. The hope is that the tools will speed up the story-writing process. Pocket FM already uses some AI tools like ElevenLabs to generate voices for audio series. It also tested AI tools for writing and adaptation assistance internally. Rohan Nayak, Pocket FM's founder, said it's rolling out the AI tools to all writers, so it will take them less time to finish their episodes. The writing tool, dubbed CoPilot, can be used to help any writer create a story. CoPilot can transform narrative-based writing into dialog-based writing for a specific segment. It can also do 'beat analysis' to shape the writing in a way to makes it more engaging for an audio series of a particular genre. The tool additionally has basic chatbot-style writing features such as 'shorten,' 'expand,' and the ability to generate text via a prompt. To build CoPilot, the company examined thousands of hours of data points to understand what makes users engage more with a particular storyline in a specific genre. Based on that, it added writing suggestion features designed to increase conflict between characters and recommend endings for an episode to make it more exciting. AI can also suggest tags for background effects that can be used while producing the audio. The tool can automatically generate bios of characters, their relationships, and summarize plot points of different episodes, allowing creators to refer back to these details while writing. CoPilot also has a review tool, which checks for plot points, grammar, and leaves qualitative feedback through comments on an episode. Under the hood, Pocket FM is training smaller models to maintain context for a story for character arcs and relations, along with narrative consistency. Plus, utilizing signals from users, the startup is nudging AI to add more drama to the story. International expansion and localization plans Alongside the arrival of the AI tools, Pocket FM launched adaptation tools for various markets that not only translate the text from one language to another but also change names and phrases that are more suited to that region's culture. The company first debuted this tool as a part of the CoPilot suite in Germany earlier this year to convert stories from other regions after reportedly struggling to engage users in the European country last year. Nayak said the company saw great results from this trial, with a constant increase in monthly in-app revenue, which crossed $700,000 in June. 'When we started expanding into new regions, it used to take us 12-18 months to meaningfully exist in that market. You have to have at least 1,000 hours of content to start acquiring users and scaling the market. Now we can do this in less than three months,' Nayak said. The tool increased writer productivity by up to 50% for the German market in terms of show output. Plus, the tool helped the company create more error-free drafts of the shows that resulted in higher user retention for audio series. In the U.S., series created with the help of these new AI tools are now contributing 10% of playtime. Plus, these shows have generated $7 million in revenue in the last 12 months while reducing the cost of production by 2-3 times. Building tech to scale content generation As a result of adopting different AI features internally, Pocket FM has been able to scale the content quickly. The startup said it launches close to 1,000 pilots per month. And just the sheer volume of content results in a few of them becoming hits. But the audio show is just one part. The company is already working on tools to convert stories into comic strips with its Pocket Toons platform. Plus, Nayak said video is a possible format the company could explore, too. The startup, which has raised over $196 million in funding across rounds, is experimenting with a micro drama app as well. By next year, Pocket FM wants to release its own singular large language model (LLM), which will be based on data collected from its shows and incorporate different tools like writing assistance, adoption, dramatization, and story context retention. The company said that when it switches to its own LLM, it won't need to train a ton of small models for separate features. AI's potential downsides Adopting AI has had its side effects. Pocket FM has already laid off people who were employees or contractors across multiple rounds in the last 12 months. There have also been reports of writers seeing diminished returns over time. And the company is facing lawsuits in California over employment and wage issues. 'Like most content-led industries, we work with a diverse network of writers, voice artists, and production partners on a project basis, tailoring resources to each market. AI has had minimal impact on our core creative community; instead, it has opened new avenues to expand reach and output,' a company rep said, in response to these layoffs. There are questions around quality, as well. The company measures quality by the retention numbers of a show. The base argument is that the new AI tools act as a writers' room even for solo creators, so they will be able to produce more content at a rapid rate. Plus, based on the numbers, writers can quickly edit the story with the help of AI. However, these tools can very well induce 'AI slop' — or low-quality, AI-generated content — into the platform and could impact a user's recommendations, making it difficult for them to discover good stories. Pocket FM argues that stories that have a solid structure will gain popularity, despite AI helping them. The company noted that every piece of content is reviewed by its AI-powered moderation framework to ensure quality and originality. It also claims its AI moderation checks for things like duplication, copyright issues, content health, and other quality measures before approving audio to go live. Each show receives an equal push, and user engagement ultimately determines a show's ranking. Another concern is that writers could become overly dependent on AI over time. In Germany, AI is writing more content than humans per show for select titles. With Pocket FM's plans to roll out more AI tools, the amount of AI-written content could increase. And with that, the expectation of churning out more shows could rise, too. Unless user adoption also rises rapidly, average returns could drop. The company didn't directly address TechCrunch's questions about returns, but said that its AI tools can speed up a writer's work and help them edit an episode based on numbers and audience feedback. That is they could make targeted improvements, instead of doing a full rewrite. 'This way, faster content creation doesn't necessarily dilute quality or relevance; it just shifts the writer's role towards editing, refining, and steering more productive output,' a spokesperson said in a statement. 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TechCrunch
12 hours ago
- TechCrunch
Pocket FM gives its writers an AI tool to transform narratives, write cliffhangers, and more
India-based audio series platform maker Pocket FM aims to be the Netflix of audio. That is, the company intends to match its audio series with hundreds of episodes to its users' tastes. For that to work, it needs to release content rapidly — something it's now turning to AI to help with. The Lightspeed-backed startup is giving its writers an AI tool set that can do things like suggest better endings to an episode or make the narrative more engaging. The hope is that the tools will speed up the storywriting process. Pocket FM already uses some AI tools like ElevenLabs to generate voices for audio series. It also tested AI tools for writing and adaptation assistance internally. Rohan Nayak, Pocket FM's founder, said it's rolling out the AI tools to all writers, so it will take them less time to finish their episodes. Image Credits: Pocket FM The writing tool, dubbed CoPilot, can be used to help any writer create a story. CoPilot can transform narrative-based writing into dialog-based writing for a specific segment. It can also do 'beat analysis' to shape the writing in a way to makes it more engaging for an audio series of a particular genre. The tool additionally has basic chatbot-style writing features such as 'shorten,' 'expand,' and the ability to generate text via a prompt. To build CoPilot, the company examined thousands of hours of data points to understand what makes users engage more with a particular storyline in a specific genre. Based on that, it added writing suggestion features designed to increase conflict between characters and recommend endings for an episode to make it more exciting. AI can also suggest tags for background effects that can be used while producing the audio. The tool can automatically generate bios of characters, their relationships, and summarize plot points of different episodes, allowing creators to refer back to these details while writing. CoPilot also has a review tool, which checks for plot points, grammar, and leaves qualitative feedback through comments on an episode. Under the hood, Pocket FM is training smaller models to maintain context for a story for character arcs and relations, along with narrative consistency. Plus, utilizing signals from users, the startup is nudging AI to add more drama to the story. International expansion and localization plans Alongside the arrival of the AI tools, Pocket FM launched adaptation tools for various markets that not only translate the text from one language to another but also change names and phrases that are more suited to that region's culture. The company first debuted this tool as a part of the CoPilot suite in Germany earlier this year to convert stories from other regions after reportedly struggling to engage users in the European country last year. Nayak said the company saw great results from this trial, with a constant increase in monthly in-app revenue, which crossed $700,000 in June. Image Credits: Pocket FM 'When we started expanding into new regions, it used to take us 12-18 months to meaningfully exist in that market. You have to have at least 1,000 hours of content to start acquiring users and scaling the market. Now we can do this in less than three months,' Nayak said. The tool increased writer productivity by up to 50% for the German market in terms of show output. Plus, the tool helped the company create more error-free drafts of the shows that resulted in higher user retention for audio series. In the U.S, series created with the help of these new AI tools are now contributing 10% of playtime. Plus, these shows have generated $7 million in revenue in the last 12 months while reducing the cost of production by 2-3 times. Building tech to scale content generation As a result of adopting different AI features internally, Pocket FM has been able to scale the content quickly. The startup said it launches close to 1,000 pilots per month. And just the sheer volume of content results in a few of them becoming hits. But the audio show is just one part. The company is already working on tools to convert stories into comic strips with its Pocket Toons platform. Plus, Nayak said video is a possible format the company could explore, too. The startup, which has raised over $196 million in funding across rounds, is experimenting with a micro drama app as well. Image Credits: Screenshot by TechCrunch By next year, Pocket FM wants to release its own singular large language model (LLM), which will be based on data collected from its shows and incorporate different tools like writing assistance, adoption, dramatization, and story context retention. The company said that when it switches to its own LLM, it won't need to train a ton of small models for separate features. AI's potential downsides Adopting AI has had its side effects. Pocket FM has already laid off people who were employees or contractors across multiple rounds in the last 12 months. There have also been reports of writers seeing diminished returns over time. And the company is facing lawsuits in California over employment and wage issues. 'Like most content-led industries, we work with a diverse network of writers, voice artists, and production partners on a project basis, tailoring resources to each market. AI has had minimal impact on our core creative community; instead, it has opened new avenues to expand reach and output,' a company rep said, in response to these layoffs. There are questions around quality, as well. The company measures quality by the retention numbers of a show. The base argument is that the new AI tools act as a writers' room even for solo creators, so they will be able to produce more content at a rapid rate. Plus, based on the numbers, writers can quickly edit the story with the help of AI. However, these tools can very well induce 'AI slop' — or low-quality, AI-generated content — into the platform and could impact a user's recommendations, making it difficult for them to discover good stories. Pocket FM argues that stories that have a solid structure will gain popularity, despite AI helping them. The company noted that every piece of content is reviewed by its AI-powered moderation framework to ensure quality and originality. It also claims its AI moderation checks for things like duplication, copyright issues, content health, and other quality measures before approving audio to go live. Each show receives and equal push, and user engagement ultimately determines a show's ranking. Another concern is that writers could become overly dependent on AI over time. In Germany, AI is writing more content than humans per show for select titles. With Pocket FM's plans to roll out more AI tools, the amount of AI-written content could increase. And with that, the expectation of churning out more shows could rise, too. Unless user adoption also rises rapidly, average returns could drop. The company didn't directly address TechCrunch's questions about returns, but said that its AI tools can speed up a writer's work and help them edit an episode based on numbers and audience feedback. That is they could make targeted improvements, instead of doing a full rewrite. 'This way, faster content creation doesn't necessarily dilute quality or relevance; it just shifts the writer's role towards editing, refining, and steering more productive output,' a spokesperson said in a statement.
Tom's Guide
14 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
I used a Meta Quest 3 for work so you don't have to — and there's one huge problem nobody talks about
If you're looking to jump on the VR bandwagon and explore all the ways you can work, game and watch shows in virtual reality, look no further than our list of the best VR headsets. Plus, you'll find more than just Meta Quest headsets on there. Making the most of my Meta Quest 3 has opened my eyes to the possibilities mixed reality (MR) presents — features that go well beyond punching, shooting or dancing your way through the best VR games. Thanks to the Quest 3's MR capabilities, I've cooked up a storm in the kitchen while streaming shows on Netflix, given my room a makeover by visualizing furniture and measurements in the Layout app, and even started learning to draw thanks to the Pencil app. More importantly, these have worked fairly flawlessly. So, why not put this VR headset to work? Meta strived to make its Meta Quest Pro the office machine replacement, and the Apple Vision Pro has also tried its hand at this. But, as you can guess, those ventures didn't catch on (and price wasn't the only major fault). However, thanks to Microsoft's Mixed Reality Link for Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S, using these VR headsets as an extension to your PC has become significantly more accessible, affordable, and, yes, actually usable. Well, for the most part. It offers the huge benefit of being able to utilize up to three virtual monitors, which you can resize and place wherever you want in mixed reality. This can easily act as a handy, affordable replacement for the best monitors, there's still one issue that stops me from using my Meta Quest 3 for work — and it all has to do with its video passthrough. Since linking my Meta Quest headset to a Windows 11 PC, I've been boasting a three-monitor setup without actually having physical displays crowding my desk. The Mixed Reality Link feature has been a treat, even though it still has some wrinkles to iron out (namely, video calls not working properly and some minor audio connection issues). Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Being able to add three virtual monitors anywhere in my field of view while wearing the VR headset makes for an incredibly versatile setup — one that all types of workers would appreciate. They can be stacked on top of one another, placed side by side, reshaped to be used vertically and even offer the massive, ultra-wide treatment. This adjustability is a boon, and moving and resizing these virtual screens is as simple as dragging and placing them via the Meta Quest 3's hand-tracking feature or Touch Plus controller. Sure, I may boast a 32-inch 4K monitor for my usual desk setup, but for scrolling through websites while watching a YouTube video or show on Netflix, all while playing games like Doom: The Dark Ages on Xbox Game Pass? That's a setup that's hard to beat — even if I have to wear a whole VR headset to make it happen. Now, here's the thing: despite its advantages, and still being able to see the real space around you through the Meta Quest 3's full-colour passthrough for mixed reality visuals, I'd find it hard to actually put this setup to good use while working. With the thousands of words I write each week as per my job here at Tom's Guide, a keyboard is easily my biggest asset. I need to be able to type with ease without any interruptions or irritations, and that makes it hard with a Meta Quest VR headset on my head. I've been impressed with the Quest 3S and Quest 3's full-color passthrough, which allows for an overall clear view of my immediate environment while using apps or watching shows. However, there's no way to get a detailed look at real-world objects — and that includes my keyboard. The Meta Quest 3's passthrough view is too grainy and struggles when lighting conditions aren't right for more precise motions. While that's fine for general tasks like picking up a glass, typing can be a struggle when you need to look down at keys every once in a while. I know, touch typists probably won't have a problem with this, but as someone who looks down at their keyboard sometimes to find the right flow or enter a shortcut, I can't for the life of me get a clear view of my keyboard when I've got my headset on. It leads to typos, stalling to find the right key and general discomfort every time I have to look down with a clunky headset on my head — it doesn't feel nearly as natural as it would without being in MR. Additionally, if there isn't enough light in the room, it's challenging to find anything via passthrough. It's too damn dark! Oh, and as another red flag, sipping on a hot cup of coffee with a VR headset on is not recommended — so says my now-stained shirt. This is all to say that wearing a full-blown VR headset for work and other productivity needs isn't ideal when there's a noticeably weighty device wrapped around your head with blurry video passthrough. However, I still believe this is an incredibly efficient way to work. And that's exactly what the best AR glasses today aim to offer. First off, they're far more subtle than a VR headset, but still offer the versatility of a virtual monitor setup, like the Viture Luma Pro's massive 152-inch virtual screen with a 1200p resolution. Our own Anthony Spadafora even tested this out by ditching his laptop for a mini PC and AR glasses, and it worked like a charm when working on the go. Plus, we've seen how AR glasses used with a laptop can beat the dreaded "tech neck." However, more importantly for me and my fellow typists who prefer to see their surroundings in clear detail, AR glasses still offer a real-world view of the environment, making it far easier to glance at my keyboard, pick up cups of coffee, and handle objects. Although it's still a niche market, working in mixed reality settings offers numerous benefits — some of which are also cost-saving. I'll still be using my Meta Quest 3 with the Mixed Reality Link feature to give my Windows PC an extra set of easily adjustable monitors, but I'll use it primarily for play rather than work. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
