Reality, Dialed In: From VR Worlds to Better Color, Sound and Soy Sauce | Vol. 42

A headset needs a better long-term purpose than making visitors say “whoa” once. The Meta Quest 3S has a useful answer: access to thousands of apps and games, including Quest 3 and 3S exclusives. The spectacle gets your attention; software is what gives you a reason to put it back on.

Mixed reality is the central idea here: digital experiences can share your view with your physical surroundings rather than always replacing them. That offers a different kind of interaction from watching another screen. Your room becomes part of the premise, which is a fairly ambitious promotion for a space normally used to watch television.

Meta describes the Quest 3S as offering the same mixed-reality capabilities and fast performance as Quest 3. The important buying implication is its access to that software ecosystem, not an assumption that the two headsets are identical in every respect. Compatibility with Quest 3 and 3S exclusives gives this model relevance beyond older experiences.

This version has 128 GB of storage. Think of that as room for a chosen library, not a promise that thousands of compatible titles can all move in together. The sensible starting point is a shortlist of experiences you actually want, rather than the abstract appeal of a very large catalog.

The physical commitment matters, too. At 515 g, this is something you wear, not merely hold. If head-worn weight already bothers you, that deserves more attention than another enticing game trailer.

We’d choose the Quest 3S for someone with genuine curiosity about mixed reality and specific software to explore. It has a convincing reason to exist beyond the demonstration. Just make sure your interest lasts longer than your guests’ applause.

A pool is a fairly decisive way to discover the limits of wireless headphones. The Shokz OpenSwim Pro addresses that problem by giving music somewhere else to live: inside the headphones. Its defining feature isn’t Bluetooth alone or onboard storage alone, but the ability to use each where it makes sense. Stream on land, play stored files underwater, and keep the same open-ear headphone for both.

That makes this a more interesting choice for a swimmer who also runs, walks or trains outside the pool than for someone simply shopping for everyday audio. The bone-conduction design leaves the ear canals open rather than putting speakers inside them. That’s a distinct alternative to in-ear headphones, though it shouldn’t be mistaken for a guarantee of awareness or safety. The appeal is the format and the two listening modes, not a promise that one headphone can erase every compromise.

Underwater listening is strictly a local-files affair. Bluetooth does not function underwater, so the phone can’t keep feeding your soundtrack from the side of the pool. You need compatible audio loaded onto the OpenSwim Pro beforehand. A streaming subscription is not, by itself, a collection of transferable music files. If your entire listening life consists of tapping a playlist in an app, this is the part of the purchase that deserves more attention than the product photos.

The storage side is reasonably accommodating. There’s 32GB built in, with somewhat less potentially available after system files and data management, and support extends beyond MP3 to FLAC, WAV, AAC, M4A, APE and WMA. That gives owners of an existing audio library several routes in without making MP3 conversion an automatic prerequisite. The mildly retro business of choosing files in advance also has a useful consequence: once you’re swimming, the playlist decision is already made. The next track doesn’t require a committee meeting at the wall.

Battery expectations should follow the mode you’ll actually use. Shokz lists up to nine hours over Bluetooth but up to six hours in MP3 mode, so swimmers should plan around the latter. A full charge takes approximately 90 minutes; the listed three hours of listening from a 10-minute quick charge is a useful fallback when the headphones missed their appointment with the charger. Charging uses the included 4-pin magnetic cable, which is worth keeping somewhere memorable.

The OpenSwim Pro earns its place by connecting two genuinely different listening situations. It’s a convincing choice for someone who wants audio during laps and ordinary Bluetooth convenience afterward. It’s a much less convincing purchase for a streaming-only listener unwilling to manage files. Buy it for the pool-to-land versatility, with your playlist logistics settled before you get wet.

A suitcase can be neatly packed and still waste space. Ordinary packing cubes address the first problem; Thule’s Small Compression Packing Cube takes a second pass at the other one. Once the clothes are inside, a compression zipper draws the package down, removing excess air between garments. It is a modest intervention, but a useful one when your underwear has somehow claimed the territory of a sweater.

The appeal is not simply squeezing in more. Grouping small clothing into a compact unit gives it a defined place in your luggage. Socks, underwear, and T-shirts are Thule’s suggested contents, and they make sense for this format: things you want together, rather than individually distributed through whatever gaps remain. This is the small Soft Green version, not an entire packing system. Its capacity suits those compact essentials rather than bulky garments, making it a focused addition for someone whose suitcase mostly works already.

The listed dimensions move from 26 × 18 × 11 cm expanded to 25 × 18 × 3 cm compressed. Those figures describe the cube’s two configurations, not a guaranteed reduction for whatever you put inside. How much space you reclaim depends on the contents and the air between them. Nor does reducing volume reduce weight. If the goal is to bring more clothes, remember that the airline’s scale is notably unmoved by tidy presentation.

The fabric is a particularly useful part of the design. Thule uses bluesign-approved 100D ripstop nylon that is semi-transparent, so you can get a sense of what is inside without displaying every belonging in full detail. That is a better balance for clothing than either complete opacity or an organizer that turns your suitcase into a retail display. Thule also describes the fabric as water-repellent, a modest protective feature rather than a reason to put wet toiletries beside it.

YKK zippers handle the closures, while a webbing handle gives you a straightforward way to grab the cube or hang it at your destination. The latter matters because a packing organizer should remain useful once the packing is over. You can lift out a category of clothing instead of repeatedly excavating the suitcase. At 0.08 kg, the cube itself adds a small, but not nonexistent, amount of weight.

The small footprint also leaves room to build an arrangement around your actual clothes. Thule says most carry-ons accommodate four small cubes, or two small and one medium; treat that as layout guidance rather than a universal suitcase floor plan. Our judgment is that this cube earns its place through the combination of compression, discreet visibility, and easy handling. Choose it when you want a clothing category to stay together from packing to the hotel room, with less space surrendered to the air around it.

Soy sauce often gets treated as a background ingredient: add a splash, put the bottle away, move on. YAMASAN KYOTO UJI's double-brewed version makes more sense when that splash is part of the meal's main event. Sushi and sashimi—the manufacturer's recommended uses—give you a straightforward reason to pay attention to the condiment rather than bury it under six other ingredients.

The defining detail is what goes into the second brewing. Instead of salt and water, YAMASAN uses naturally brewed Koikuchi soy sauce. In other words, the starting point is already soy sauce, not just the usual brewing liquid. That's a more meaningful distinction than an elaborate label suggesting the bottle has achieved enlightenment.

YAMASAN also says the sauce is naturally and slowly brewed for more than 1,000 days. The time commitment makes this an interesting bottle for someone curious about fermentation, but a calendar isn't a tasting note. Neither the extended brewing nor the second brew alone establishes exactly how sweet, salty, thick, or intense it will taste. The reason to choose it is the specific process and intended use, not an automatic assumption that older means better.

The formulation offers another point of appeal: the manufacturer says there are no additives and identifies the soybeans and wheat as non-GMO. Those are useful purchasing distinctions if they matter to you, rather than reasons to declare every other bottle in the cupboard morally compromised.

Our take: consider this a deliberate choice for the table, especially if sushi night is already a regular occurrence. It gives a curious eater a particular brewing method to explore in a setting where the sauce won't be lost. If your soy sauce mostly disappears into marinades and busy stir-fry sauces, there's less reason to make this process the deciding factor.

“Match the wall” sounds like a straightforward instruction until you realize the wall has no label and your memory recognizes approximately fourteen different shades as “probably that one.” The Nix Mini 3 gives that problem a dedicated tool: a portable sensor that measures a physical surface, then works with the Nix Toolkit app to find paint matches or report digital color values.

Its strongest argument is the connection between things you encounter and colors you can actually specify. A decorator can use a scan to look for paint candidates. A designer can pull RGB, HEX, or CMYK values from a physical reference. Those are distinct tasks, and having both in one device makes this more interesting than a tool brought out solely when the living room needs repainting. It is for people whose inspiration regularly arrives without a product code.

The Mini 3 is a three-channel colorimeter, and the practical interaction matters more than the terminology: place it firmly and flat against the surface being scanned. That makes it a deliberate measuring tool, not a camera you wave vaguely toward something attractive. The manufacturer advertises access to more than 200,000 brand-name paint colors through the app. That gives the paint-matching function considerable scope, although available brands and libraries depend on your selected country, and premium color systems require a subscription. Do not assume every specialist palette is included.

There is an important boundary around what you should ask it to measure. Solid, opaque, flat surfaces are its preferred subjects. Texture, patterns, extreme gloss, and softness can reduce accuracy. A smooth painted panel is therefore a more suitable assignment than a plush, patterned cushion with an ambitious personality. If upholstery and fabric are the main reason you want a color sensor, this is not the easy answer it might initially appear to be. And a suggested paint match remains a candidate to assess in the room, not a command to repaint it sight unseen.

The phone is part of the tool, not an optional convenience. The Mini 3 requires the Nix Toolkit app and wireless connectivity, and the setup guide calls for location services to be enabled. Buyers hoping for a self-contained device with its own readout should look elsewhere. For everyone else, the app is where the physical measurement becomes useful information.

Ownership also involves a little instrument care. Keep the lens free of lint and smudges, use the included Diagnostics Tile for periodic app-based testing and validation, and charge through USB-C. Nix recommends monthly charging during storage—a useful calendar reminder for something that might otherwise spend months waiting for your next decorating decision. IPX4 splash resistance is welcome, but it does not make the sensor waterproof.

The Mini 3 earns its place by doing something unusually concrete: turning an elusive visual reference into searchable paint options and usable digital values. It makes the most sense when that need recurs. For the occasional vague disagreement over beige, it is a very specialized referee.