Meta Platforms has two headset prototypes that caused a stir at SIGGRAPH 2025 last week in Vancouver. Boba 3 features an ultrawide 180- degree horizontal by 120-degree vertical field of view, with 4K LCDs achieving 30 pixels per degree (PPD). Human vision is approximately 200×135 degrees, while the Quest 3 offers less than 110×96. The other device, Tiramisu, touts 90 PPD — 3.6x the pixel density of the Meta Quest 3 — and aims for “a new milestone for realism in VR.” The prototypes are the latest steps on Meta Reality Labs’ “mission to pass the visual Turing test” by creating “virtual experiences that are indistinguishable from the physical world.” Read more

Comcast NBCUniversal continues to lay the groundwork to spin most of its cable television assets off into a new publicly traded entity called Versant, announcing Monday that MSNBC will by year’s end be rebranded as MS NOW — short for “My Source for News Opinion and the World.” The channel’s new logo will no longer include the iconic Peacock, which remains part of the parent company’s NBC branding. The plans were shared in an internal memo from Mark Lazarus, the NBCUniversal Media Group chairman who has been chosen to run Versant as founding CEO. Read more

Hisense Channels is a new FAST service launched by TV manufacturer Hisense and Xumo, the streaming joint venture between Charter Communications and Comcast. Boasting in excess of 200 premium channels from content providers including Scripps, Stingray and Radial Entertainment, Hisense Channels is debuting on Hisense smart TVs, where viewers can access it from the TV’s homepage screen — no need for a subscription or download. The move is an expansion of the existing partnership between Xumo and Hisense, which is interested in simplifying content discovery with built-in streaming access. Read more

Claude Opus 4 and 4.1 now have the discrete ability to end “abusive” or “harmful” conversations in consumer chat interfaces. Anthropic says the feature was developed as part of its exploratory work on the protection and well-being of its AI models. The company also envisions broader safety uses, although it does point out that having a model defensively terminate a chat is an extreme measure, intended for use in rare cases. “We’re working to identify and implement low-cost interventions to mitigate risks to model welfare,” Anthropic explains, qualifying it is unsure “such welfare is possible.” Read more

Netflix says it has more than doubled overall Upfront ad sales commitments, with year-over-year growth across all categories including retail, CPG, telco, health and wellness, entertainment and tech. It marks a strong showing for the streaming company, which launched its ad-supported tier in November 2022. For the 2025-2026 season, Netflix has once again sold out its Christmas Day NFL double-header, including sponsorships with Accenture, FanDuel, Google and Verizon for in-game and broadcast inventory. Netflix also reports robust response to the final season of “Stranger Things” and returning series “Bridgerton” and “Emily in Paris.” Read more