AllYouCanTech

It makes you think: did sufficient people overlook using it differently?

The debut of the MacBook Neo has significantly disrupted the budget laptop market, prompting some sellers to cut prices on various popular Chromebooks.

The Lenovo Chromebook, arguably the top Chromebook available today, has just received a $100 price cut during Best Buy’s TechFest sale, bringing the cost down to $649.

This adaptable laptop has undergone rigorous testing by our team, featuring an exceptionally lightweight design and impressive battery life right out of the box. Historically, discounts on the Lenovo Chromebook Plus have been quite infrequent, making a $100 reduction during Best Buy’s TechFest a pleasantly surprising event.

The Lenovo Plus 14 was the pioneer Chromebook to employ the efficient Kompanio Ultra 910 processor, ensuring swift performance whether you’re gaming, binge-watching your favorite series, or engaging in a video conference. The laptop is also equipped with a stunning 14-inch OLED touchscreen display, 16GB of RAM, and numerous onboard AI capabilities.

The battery life can easily extend up to 17 hours on a single charge, and it offers premium features like a fingerprint scanner and a backlit keyboard. All of this is packed into a laptop that weighs just under three pounds? Count me in.

Now, for the burning question: how does the Lenovo Chromebook Plus stack up against the new MacBook Neo? Well, it’s a nuanced comparison. If, like me, you spend the majority of your day using Google applications, sticking with a Chromebook is a clear choice.

This variant of the Lenovo laptop also comes with more RAM and a larger OLED display than the $599 Neo, not to mention a backlit keyboard and a touchscreen, features that the MacBook doesn’t have. Both laptops fall short in the port category, offering only two USB-C slots.

Naturally, MacBooks are unquestionably excellent devices supported by Apple’s strong reputation, and it’s likely that the Neo will continue to impact the Chromebook market in the coming years. However, when evaluated on a specifications basis, you might be surprised at how well-equipped this Lenovo Chromebook is in comparison. You really can’t go wrong with either choice.

This week, Meta unveiled the newest development in its Metaverse approach, and although it’s not entirely unforeseen, it is nonetheless somewhat surprising. Horizon Worlds, Meta’s Metaverse platform akin to Roblox for Meta Quest headsets, is officially being discontinued on Meta’s VR system, with services ceasing on June 15, 2026. This was outlined in a message sent to Meta Quest account holders:

“Beginning June 15, 2026, you will no longer have the ability to create, publish, or update VR worlds. Additionally, access to Meta Horizon Worlds on Meta Quest headsets will no longer be available. After this date, you can still enjoy worlds on the Meta Horizon mobile application.”

Meta dedicated much of 2024 and 2025 to deeply embedding Horizon Worlds into the Meta Quest experience, even going so far as to rename the Meta Quest’s operating system to Horizon OS and featuring Horizon Worlds as the initial interface in the headset and on the companion mobile app. Meta has recently declared that the Horizon feed would be retired, and now it is completely shutting down everything related to the Horizon Central social hub and the Horizon Worlds app.

In essence, the Meta Quest experience is reverting to the golden era of 2022 when it was primarily a gaming platform. This is a decision many (myself included) have been advocating for years, and it demonstrates that Meta is indeed clearing out the clutter and returning to fundamental principles with the Quest.

What ‘gaming-focused’ truly signifies

Back in December, I discussed how Meta was “eliminating the excess” and returning to basics. Based on my understanding, that indicated a shift away from an integrated Metaverse towards producing major games to draw in large numbers of players. Regrettably, I misjudged the latter part of that assessment. Meta is not becoming the next Nintendo or Sony, which is disappointing given the quality of the games produced by its first-party studios over the past decade.

Instead, Meta will concentrate exclusively on funding external games and studios; however, even then, it will not operate as the “lucrative opportunity” it has been in recent years. Meta announced that Oculus Publishing delivered over 140 games in 2025 and has numerous more slated for release this year, suggesting that while blank checks may cease, the company still seems committed to funding game development.

Regrettably, the modifications being made to Horizon Worlds also imply that several promising projects will be abandoned. In November, Meta introduced social Hyperscape worlds utilizing the upgraded Horizon engine, enabling users to engage in hyper-realistic social settings. This service will be shut down alongside Horizon Worlds, but at least the scanning and construction of Hyperscape environments within the original application will remain.

While it’s unfortunate to lose some of these elements, the truth is that they must be eliminated to preserve the remainder of the ecosystem. Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has frequently stated that Meta “is a large company and has the capacity to work on multiple initiatives concurrently,” but users have limited time and attention, and it is evident that Meta’s focus on a Metaverse-centered platform has not been what is attracting gamers to the platform.

The gamers have made their voices heard

To illustrate that the Quest is a gaming-centered platform, Chris Pruett, Director of Games at Meta, spoke at GDC about the state of the Quest ecosystem. “Quest usage has been rising year over year, and in 2025, we reached our highest ever unique user numbers in our history.” That’s not indicative of a failing platform — quite the opposite.

In 2025, “more than 100 titles generated over $1M in gross revenue,” and Pruett clarified that “premium app sales remain the primary revenue source for our ecosystem, but IAP saw significant growth in 2025, exceeding 10%.” This is excellent news for gaming, and notably, Pruett does not mention Horizon Worlds revenue even once. Meta is no longer attempting to justify financing a feature that lacks user interest.

Therefore, rather than seeing subpar free content shoved in your face as soon as you power on the headset, Meta appears to be returning to the promotion of actual games that consumers are willing to spend significant amounts of real money on.

To support this, Meta will keep expanding its Meta Horizon+ gaming subscription, which grants players access to over 100 games for merely $8 monthly. To enhance matters, Pruett mentioned that Meta provided over $20 million to developers who took part in the program in 2025, demonstrating that there is indeed profit to be earned for developers via the service.

Meta continues to assert that its promotion of Horizon Worlds had a minimal negative effect on game sales, but the data contradicts what developers have communicated to me and other outlets. Pruett indicated that despite the low impact, featuring Horizon Worlds prominently “was universally

Google has revealed a notable modification concerning side-loading on Android devices, which is set to be implemented this summer. In contrast to earlier intentions to eliminate side-loading, Google will keep this function but introduce a new “advanced flow” system for advanced users. This adjustment follows user input opposing the removal of side-loading.

To side-load applications, users must activate developer mode and undergo a sequence of confirmations and verifications to confirm the action is deliberate. This procedure involves verifying that the user is not under duress and restarting the device. Google’s objective is to bolster security, as studies indicate a significant prevalence of scams impacting users.

The advanced flow is a one-time configuration, necessitating biometric or PIN authentication, after which users can side-load applications from reliable developers. This change will be accessible in August, together with new developer verification criteria and restricted distribution accounts for students and hobbyists.

Google’s choice demonstrates a compromise between sustaining Android’s accessibility and improving user safety. While this adjustment may raise apprehensions among side-loading advocates, it mainly targets power users and does not impact those who exclusively use the Play Store.