Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 1

Premium and high-end Virtual Reality headset maker Pimax was one of the first companies to deliver a 4K VR headset, and later this year, it's set to launch one of the most impressive PCVR headsets to date.

With a per-eye resolution of 3840 x 3840 (which is more than 4K!) and a wide 150-degree field of view with a whopping 29.5 million pixels across its QLED displays, the Pimax Crystal Super is shaping up to be a beast of a VR headset. It has been designed primarily for PCVR, and its pixel counts are higher than those of the Apple Vision Pro (23 million) and the Meta Quest 3 (9.1 million). It's considerably lighter than the existing Pimax Crystal headset without standalone VR hardware.

Pimax announced the new flagship during its recent Frontiers 2024 event, where it also announced the more affordable Pimax Crystal Light, which removes the XR2 chip to present the popular Pimax Crystal headset in lightweight standalone PCVR form.

The Apple Vision Pro has only been on sale since February this year, which means that it's now only a couple of months old. But that hasn't stopped Apple from forging ahead with new software updates and the company has today released another update to the public in the form of visionOS 1.1.2.

This visionOS 1.1.2 update arrives just a month after Apple released the visionOS 1.1 software to the public, although this release isn't one that appears to bring with it any big new features. Instead, Apple's release notes simply say that the update brings with it bug fixes and that it is recommended for all Apple Vision Pro owners.

This update comes as Apple continues to test the visionOS 1.2 software with developers. They can install the update if they are signed into their Apple ID although the headset will need to be restarted and taken off in order for the update to be completed. The headset will also display the current progress on the external EyeSight display so users will know when it's finished.

The Apple Vision Pro is the hottest ticket in town right now, but it isn't the only headset that people are talking about. The Meta Quest Pro is a solid mixed reality headset while the Meta Quest 3 is more about that VR experience. All three are impressive in their own rights, and it's always interesting to know what they look like on the inside. What makes them tick. And now we know after Lumafield put all three headsets through a CT scanner to get a non-intrusive look at their innards.

The video that you can see below shows off all of the headsets in their various glories and most attention will no doubt be on the Apple Vision Pro. The headset is a minimalist design on the outside, but things definitely get serious on the inside.

The Apple Vision Pro makes the most of its internal space by using a flexible PCB ribbon and moving all of the various electronics around so that they are positioned at various angles so every last inch of space is used to its fullest. Notably, the Meta headsets chose to stack the elements instead, an approach that is more akin to phones, tablets, and laptops.

The Apple Vision Pro has been on sale for a couple of months now and the visionOS App Store has plenty for you to download and try. But there could always be more apps, and a new report suggests that Apple's own policies are getting in the way.

The concept of the App Store rules getting in the way of app developers building the products that they want isn't something that's new to Apple, but this latest report suggests that it's the company's focus on privacy that is getting in the way here. The report claims that developers are not able to build all the apps they want to because Apple won't offer access to the cameras that are on the outside of the Apple Vision Pro.

According to the report Apple is concerned about falling into the trap that befell the Google Glass smartglasses. While undoubtedly ahead of their time, the glasses proved to be an issue because people didn't like that they could be recording at all times. That is thought to be partly behind Apple's refusal to give developers access to raw camera data.

Those who are lucky enough to own the Apple Vision Pro spatial computer can look forward to some new content to enjoy on it after Apple announced a new episode of its Prehistoric Planet Immersive series.

The new episode, which will be Immersive Video for viewing on the Apple Vision Pro alone, will be available in the Apple TV app starting April 19, although those who are hoping for anything feature-length are going to be left wanting. It's instead going to last for just six minutes.

On a more positive note, the new episode will give viewers a new look inside Triceratops Forest where a baby triceratops will learn about family bonds, according to the blurb.

When Apple announced the Apple Vision Pro during the WWDC event in June last year one of the big features it showed off was the spatial video feature that allows people to capture videos and then watch them in 3D on the headset. Later in September, it was confirmed that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max would be able to capture the videos, as well as the headset itself. However, there was a limitation.

Apple's Camera app does indeed support capturing spatial videos but only at 1080p and 30fps. The limitation was a disappointing one, and with the videos only playing in standard 2D on everything other than the Apple Vision Pro it led some to have to choose which videos to capture in 3D and which to record in the standard 2D but a higher resolution and frame rate. Now, that decision is easier.

The Spatialify app was already capable of recording spatial videos like the official Camera app, but now it's gained additional functionality with a version 1.3 update.

The Apple Vision Pro went on sale in February but only in the United States. We're expecting the company to unveil the headset in new countries later this year and Apple's own website has confirmed that it intends to take the spatial computer global in 2024. However, it hasn't been more specific than that and we still don't know for sure which countries Apple has in mind. However, we have seen various hints.

Recent indications have suggested that Apple has a few countries that it is leaning towards including Australia, Canada, the UK, Japan, and others. Now, there is more indication that Apple is going to launch the Apple Vision Pro in France sooner rather than later.

That's after a WatchGeneration report noted that Apple has been inviting employees from its retail stores in France to a special Apple Vision Pro training program this summer.

Sony's PlayStation VR2, currently exclusive to the PlayStation 5 console, will soon add official PC support. In an official PlayStation Blog post, Sony announced it was "currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC." Progress looks like it's well underway, with iVRy posting on X that the latest PSVR 2 firmware update adds support for NVIDIA GeForce hardware - previously limited to AMD and Radeon GPUs.

iVRy is a platform that enables non-PC VR headsets and devices to be used with Steam. After cracking PSVR 2 hardware authentication, it made an adapter available to those wanting to use the headset on a PC - specifically SteamVR. The PSVR 2 headset is impressive; for $549 USD, you get a 4K OLED display with a per-eye resolution of 2000 x 2040 pixels, up to 120 Hz support, and a wide field-of-view (FOV) of 110 degrees.

Official PC support will undoubtedly increase the device's sales; however, recent reports indicate that Sony has halted PSVR 2 production due to lackluster sales.

The Apple Vision Pro is currently only available to buy in the United States but the Apple website says that it intends to launch the headset in new countries before the end of the year. So far the company hasn't said which countries, but we now know that China will definitely be among them.

That's the news after Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed as much to China's state media during a recent visit to the country. Cook was in China to celebrate the opening of a new Apple Store in Shanghai as well as to speak with local officials and supply chain partners. According to a Reuters report, Cook was asked about the Apple Vision Pro and when it would arrive in the country. The report says that the Apple Vision Pro will go on sale in China this year.

There is currently no firm information on when that will happen but previous reports had suggested that Apple could launch the Apple Vision Pro in new countries before the June WWDC event. other countries are also expected to be part of the 2024 lineup but as yet Apple has not confirmed which ones will be included.

The Apple Vision Pro has been on sale for a couple of months at this point but a new report claims that there could already be a big change in the works, and it might arrive sooner rather than later. If the report is true, Apple is already testing a way to use the Apple Pencil with the Apple Vision Pro, but quite how that will work is yet to be confirmed.

The report comes via unnamed sources speaking with MacRumors and it's said that Apple has already tested a new Apple Pencil with visionOS support. It's thought that the new support would allow people to use an Apple Pencil with artistic and creative apps like Freeform and Pixelmator software, it's thought.

In terms of how that will work, it's been suggested that users will be able to draw or write using an Apple Pencil on a desk or similarly flat surface and then have the strokes appear in an app running on the Apple Vision Pro. The move could make it easier to write notes and whatnot, much like what can be done on an iPad, but while using an Apple Vision Pro instead.