Wear this for office bliss

Hi, it’s Drake in New York. Something like the Apple headset could spruce up your sad office space. But first...Three things you need to kno [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi, it’s Drake in New York. Something like the Apple headset could spruce up your sad office space. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Microsoft is set to talk with the UK about the [about the Activision deal]( • Longtime Nvidia investor trimmed holdings as [AI rally overheats]( • Laptop makers bet on [better display tech to rekindle sales]( Noise-canceling eyephones It would probably be an exaggeration to say that the headset Apple Inc. will unveil Monday has been hotly anticipated. The mixed-reality device — a hybrid between virtual reality goggles and, basically, goggles — arrives at a time when the attention of the tech world has moved from VR and the metaverse to artificial intelligence. As Bloomberg has revealed, Apple’s new device has [doubters in the upper ranks]( of the company itself. But Apple has a long, proud record of getting us to need things we’ve happily lived without, and just a few days ago, Meta Platforms Inc. [unveiled its newest VR headset](, too, to help people spend more of their lives in the world the company is now named after. So, at least for a day, let’s take these things seriously. While a big part of the metaverse-VR pitch is gaming, the promise that Mark Zuckerberg and others made was that this was just the beginning, that Zoom meetings and Slacks were one step toward a future where not just play but meaningful social interaction and work happened in largely virtual environments. Meta’s own experience with this proposition has been mixed, at best. As Bloomberg reported in this newsletter, Meta workers who have experimented with using Quest headsets for virtual meetings have had weird, glitchy and even potentially nauseating experiences. [Many have abandoned it](. At the same time, Meta, like most of its tech competitors, has been telling its employees that, metaverse or no metaverse, they need to bring their flesh-and-blood bodies back into the office and park them there while they work. This raises a question. VR headsets aren’t perfect, but, honestly, neither are the offices that, so far, technology has failed to render obsolete. With the [Covid-19 health emergency officially over]( in the US, many of us are expected — like employees at Meta — to be in the office more often than not. These places are now reassuringly full of people but often extremely distracting and sometimes a bit much. My imperfect solution right now is a pair of noise-canceling headphones. But maybe something more immersive would be better. With the right programming, a mixed-reality headset could situate you between tumbling waterfalls or weeping willows rather than between a copy machine and the door to the bathroom. It could even turn the loud guy in the next cubicle into a trilling songbird. The random papers crowding your few square feet of desk space could become a virtually indexed database. The still-vacant storefronts across the street would bustle with artificial shoppers or maybe just be virtually plastered with your to-do list. The gluey burrito I consume at my desk could … well, there’s probably nothing to do about that. It would be creepy, yes, and dystopian, but the fact is that the office is the place where many people feel the least in control of their environment (that and the subway). I’d welcome the opportunity to augment it. Headsets might not be able to meaningfully connect us yet, but sometimes we need virtual isolation, too. —[Drake Bennett](mailto:dbennett35@bloomberg.net) The big story Amazon has been talking with wireless carriers about offering low-cost or possibly [free nationwide mobile phone service to Prime subscribers,]( negotiating with Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish to get the lowest possible wholesale prices. That would let it offer Prime members wireless plans for $10 a month or possibly for free and bolster loyalty among its biggest spending customers. One to watch [Watch the Bloomberg Technology TV interview]( with Mar Hershenson, founding managing partner at Pear VC. Get fully charged Want the inside scoop on Apple? Make sure you’re signed up for [Mark Gurman’s Power On]( newsletter to get the inside scoop on Apple’s WWDC. [Bloomberg.com subscribers]( will receive an exclusive extra edition wrapping up everything you need to know. Jemele Hill is leaving Spotify as the company reverses many of its [biggest investments in original audio](. A Bloomberg TV anchor cloned himself (sort of). Then he had a chat with his AI-powered twin. [See how far AI has progressed](. Malaysia will remain a free market and allow mobile-phone carriers to decide whether to work with [Chinese equipment makers including Huawei](. Here’s what to watch on Apple’s [most significant product launch event]( in nearly a decade on Monday. 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