Extended Reality (XR) - Page 12

Apple is still expected to announce the Reality Pro mixed reality headset during the WWDC23 event on June 5, according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple is still on track to announce the new headset despite previous reports suggesting that the launch could be pushed back.

It was thought that Apple employees were concerned that the headset could suffer a false start thanks to a high price - around $3,000 - and technical specification challenges including just two hours of battery life and heavy construction. But Gurman says that Apple is still good to go.

Apple had been expected to announce its first AR/VR headset during the WWDC event that will take place in June. But a new report now suggests that might not happen after all.

The headset, dubbed Reality Pro by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, has been heavily rumored for months with some suggesting that Apple could unveil it at the Worldwide Developers Conference so as to give developers a chance to take a look at what they'll be building apps for. It was never clear whether the device would go on sale at the same time, or if it would launch months later as Apple previously did with the Apple Watch.

However, a new report by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now suggests that might not happen. In a post to Twitter, Kuo said that Apple "isn't very optimistic" about its product, adding that it might instead choose to delay the announcement.

VR is one of those things where immersion doesn't end with putting on a headset. Touch controllers, room-scale tracking, tactile interactivity, and software and games tap into all that.

With the Meta Quest 2 and the recently released PlayStation VR2, there's a definite market for what VR brings to immersive digital spaces, and it's one of those things where after you try it, you're likely to become a convert.

This makes the debut of the Omni One, which is now shipping units to its investor community with a planned launch slated for later this year, a very cool proposition. It's an all-in-one VR solution with an omnidirectional treadmill that allows complete movement in VR games and software.

Meta is reportedly readying its subscription service for virtual reality games called Meta Quest Pass.

Meta may create its own Quest Pass subscription for VR apps and games. Twitter user Shiny Quagsire spilled the beans with a recent discovery of Project Apollo, which is the codename for the Quest Pass subscription.

The service would function similar to PlayStation Plus Essential and Xbox LIVE by giving out two free VR games/apps every month. Users would also have to keep their subscription active in order to access and play the games they have unlocked. Meta Quest Pass is very different from the competing Viveport VR games subscription which offers all-you-can-play access to a pool of games, similar to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

The metaverse is still a strange concept to wrap your head around, but in terms of working in an office, devices like the Meta Quest 2 and Meta's application suite point to a potential scenario where meetings and even design sessions can happen in a virtual space.

A new report by Slate featuring first-hand accounts from people working at tech-consulting firm Accenture outlines some of the issues and frustrations born from working virtual and in the metaverse.

"I am totally immersed in the metaverse, have a big headset on, and then I need to take off the Oculus, look on my phone for the two-factor authentication code that's been sent to my phone, then memorize the number, put my headset back on, and try to key it in," an anonymous spokesperson said. And when the headset goes into sleep mode when it's taken off, that adds another wrinkle to the process.

Apple has been working on a mixed-reality VR/AR headset for many years, and reports are emerging that it will finally be released sometime in 2023. The word is that it will support both VR and AR and be able to toggle between the two modes, the former being a sort of extended display for Mac - and even a virtual big-screen cinema that will pair with Apple TV+.

The headset will be a familiar experience for those in the Apple ecosystem, with a UI and presentation described as "IOS-like," with a home screen and app icons similar to what's found on an iPhone and iPad.

Unlike other VR headsets, it won't ship with a controller but instead use a mix of eye and hand-tracking (via external cameras) alongside supporting traditional mouse and keyboard input on the Mac. With eye tracking, you'll be able to look at something on-screen and then use a gesture to interact with it. The headset can switch between augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), so the former will overlay virtual objects onto the wearer's surroundings.

Like looking at a dream of playing 16-bit SNES games back in the 1990s come true, Super Nintendo World is officially opening its doors and warp pipes at Universal Studios Hollywood on February 17.

And the main attraction will be Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, a recreation of the classic Mario Kart using physical vehicles and augmented reality (AR) helmets that riders will put on. The track will feature several moving pieces but adding AR will push the immersion to the next level.

As a real-world version of Mario Kart, "the creative use and integration of head-mounted AR goggles" does sound like riders will be able to collect and use items and interact with the course. Very cool.

The Oculus Quest launched in May 2019 alongside the Oculus Rift S and was a game-changer for consumer-grade VR. An all-in-one headset that didn't require a PC, with inside-out tracking and some great software support.

When it launched, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "This is it. This is the all-in-one VR experience that we have been waiting for. It's wireless, it's got hand presence, six degrees of freedom, and it runs Rift-quality experiences."

But, a recent email sent to users outlined that support for the original Oculus Quest (or Meta Quest) is wrapping up. The email notes that they'll still be able to use their Quest but won't be able to use social features. And presumably, the unit will no longer fall under the minimum spec requirements for upcoming games.

Apple is reportedly set to unveil its first mixed reality headset, the Reality Pro, in the coming months ahead of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

The device is expected to be a high-end, premium device with a price tag of up to $3,000, making it more than twice the price of Meta's competing Quest Pro mixed reality headset, which when combined with the available software, was ill-received by users. Apple's headset will feature a hybrid of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology, giving it its 'mixed reality' label, and is said to be using a new operating called xrOS.

Reports indicate that third-party developers are already building apps for the device, which may be released later this year alongside new iPhones and other refreshed Apple devices. The Reality Pro will be a standalone device, with its own dedicated operating capable of overlaying digital imagery on users' views and handle immersive VR experiences that will range from games to productivity, communication, and much more.

Thanks to chip shrinkage, more affordable processing power, and panels improving year-on-year, wearable display technology has seen continued advances. That said, getting all of that tech into something the size of everyday glasses isn't easy. And even in 2023, augmented reality (AR) smart glasses still carry the air of oversized joke glasses. This is where TCL's new RayNeo X2 comes in.

Smart glasses that might be a tad chunky but they're relatively small and stylish, with some impressive tech under the hood. We're talking full-color binocular Micro-LED optical waveguide displays that feature a high-contrast ratio (CR) of 100,000:1 with a peak brightness of up to 1,000 nits. These are high-end TV numbers, and with the glasses themselves actually looking like something you'd wear out and about they might just live up to the promise of Google Glasses from all those years ago.

With Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 processing power some of the day-to-day usages include a smart GPS that supports gesture recognition and can seamlessly showcase nearby landmarks. Keeping things in the travel wheelhouse, TCL has even developed a way for the glasses to recognize languages and offer up real-time subtitles and captions. Very cool. All of this sits alongside the usual smart glasses stuff like on-screen notifications for calls and messages and upcoming meetings.

Apple was expected to unveil its game-changing AR/MR (augmented reality/mixed reality) headset at its own big media reveal event in January, but one of the biggest analysts in the business has said that the Apple MR headset has now been delayed.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has tweeted out some new details on Apple's new MR headset, saying that it has been delayed until the second half of 2023... according to unknown "software-related issues". Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted that their latest survey indicates the mass shipment schedule of Apple's new MR headset may be delayed through to the second half of 2023 "because of software-related issues". The previous shipping estimate was aiming for Q2 2023.

The tweets continued, with Kuo explaining that the mass shipment of components is still penciled in for 1H 2023 or Q2 2023, but due to the postponed mass shipment schedule of the end product, Apple's new MR headset shipment forecast for 2023 should be less than 500,000 units... down from the market consensus of 800,000 to 1.2 million units throughout 2023.

Sony has revealed the final details of its PlayStation VR2 headset, including price, launch date, and available games.

The new PlayStation VR2 headset will cost more than an actual PS5, Sony has announced. The PSVR2 headset will retail for $549.99 / €599.99 / £529.99 / ¥74,980, roughly $50 more than the disc-based PS5 model in North America. For comparison's sake, the original PSVR launched at $399, the same price of a retail PS4 model. The price reflects the headset's significant upgrades, chief of which is removing the snake's mess of cords from the original PSVR--this upgraded model uses a single USB-C cord to connect directly to the PlayStation 5.

The PSVR2 will release on February 23, 2023 but pre-orders will begin later this month on PlayStation's direct storefront. Users can now register for a chance to be invited to pre-order the headset.

German automaker BMW plans to take its Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) car, the BMW M Hybrid V8, to the iRacing driving simulation platform. Race fans will have the chance to get behind the wheel - only digitally, of course - and see what they can do on the same Le Mans tracks the drivers use.

BMW and iRacing have a relationship that has developed over a few years, as the German automaker must trust its technology partner. The company is currently sharing technical car details, such as CAD data and simulator/racetrack results, with iRacing. This additional information should allow for a significantly more realistic virtual driving experience for motorsports fans.

Both companies have teamed up to take cars like the M8 GTE, M4 GT4, and M4 GT3 from the real-world into the virtual world. Direct support from automakers helps create an even more realistic experience with the immersion of cars identical to the ones we watch race around the track on TV.

The founder of Oculus, which was bought by Facebook several years ago, has voiced his thoughts on what Mark Zuckerberg has created with his virtual reality technology.

Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus, which was acquired by Facebook back in 2014 for $2 billion, spoke at The Wall Street Journal conference Tech Live where he discussed his thoughts on what Zuckerberg is creating at Meta, formerly Facebook, specifically Meta's core virtual reality product Horizon Worlds. Luckey said, "I don't think it's a good product", and further explained that it's currently "not good" or "fun". Adding, "most people on the team would agree it's not a good product".

Despite Luckey's criticisms of Meta's metaverse project in its current form, the Oculus founder does want to see Zuckerberg succeed and believes he is in the best position out of anyone in the world to create a viable metaverse that attracts millions of users. Luckey explains that Zuckerberg is the "number one virtual reality fan in the world" and that he is and will "put the money in to do it. They're in the best position of anyone to win in the long run."

It's no mystery that some deaf people struggle to hold fluent conversations with people who don't know how to sign, especially if that deaf person or individual that's hard of hearing isn't able to read lips or sign themselves.

Luckily, technology is being developed that may very well change the game for the hearing impaired as new software joined with smart glasses converts conversations into subtitles in real-time, allowing the user to read and participate in the discussion on-the-fly. XRAI Glass has created software that, when hooked up to an Android device and Nreal's AR glasses, allows the user to see the conversation in subtitles as it appears in their field of view (when wearing the glasses).

So, how does this work? The XRAI Glass software simply picks up the conversations happening around the user by using the microphone on the smartphone. Notably, the company hasn't specifically stated how well the software works when in extremely noisy environments, such as a party with lots of music or multiple individuals talking, but it has released a promotional video that shows the software being used in various settings.

Mark Zuckerberg's multi-billion project called Horizon Worlds is facing some real problems as internal documents leaked online have revealed its seemingly failing in slow motion.

The leaked internal documents on Horizon Worlds were obtained by The Wall Street Journal and revealed that Meta put forward a goal of getting as many as 500,000 monthly active users within its metaverse by the end of 2022. However, that goal has fallen incredibly short, with the company now reining back its goal to just 280,000 monthly active users. The only problem is that Horizon Worlds is still yet to hit 200,000 active users, with one of the documents even describing the experience within Meta's metaverse as an "empty world".

It was only recently that Zuckerberg outlined that Horizon Worlds will be designed in such a way that creators can build their own worlds and profit from the experiences they provide players via services, merchandise, etc. However, these player-built worlds require visitors for this to be a worthwhile prospect, and according to the leaked documents majority of player-built worlds didn't pass more than 50 users. This point on relying on online purchases for profit was further illustrated by Zuckerberg when he explained that Meta would be breaking-even on the initial sales of its flagship VR headset, the Meta Quest Pro.

Meetings will soon be converted to holograms, according to Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The Meta CEO recently appeared on a podcast interview with Stratechery's Ben Thompson, where he explained that meetings such as the podcast that they were currently conducting would eventually be done in augmented reality via augmented reality glasses, enabling new ways of online communication such as handing 3D-rendered objects to each other. Zuckerberg said that "there is nothing that I think would stop us" from getting there just five years from now.

The Meta CEO explained that hologram meetings would mean that Thompson, who is located in Taiwan, would appear as a hologram within Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California, United States. The Facebook founder said that having a hologram meeting such as a podcast will mean it's much more than just a binary video call where two or more people can see each other and that augmented reality users will actually be able to interact with each other and things together.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has recently defended his decision to price the Meta Quest Pro at just $1,500.

The Meta CEO and Facebook founder recently appeared on a podcast with Stratechery's Ben Thompson, where he sat down to discuss various topics such as Meta's upcoming projects and how he believes the metaverse will be the next big thing that people adopt. When asked about the pricing of Meta's products, in particular, the Meta Quest Pro, Zuckerberg took the opportunity to subtly throw shade at Apple through a comparison between his company's pricing and Apple's.

Zuckerberg went on to say that companies typically build hardware and attempt to make a profit off the initial sale of that hardware, but in Apple's case, according to Zuckerberg, "you charge as much as you can for it". As you might've already expected, Zuckerberg explains that Meta is taking a different approach to hardware sales by only trying to "break even".

Meta stuns the still-emerging mixed-reality market with a $1,500 headset aimed at pioneering productivity in the metaverse.

Meta's new Quest Pro VR headset isn't just for gaming. The new $1,500 wearable is Meta's first real push into productivity and aims to provide virtual access to a workspace full of apps. The Quest Pro is something out of science fiction; put on the headset and you're transported to a digital world where a simple empty desk turns into a multi-screen workspace.

The Quest Pro has a hefty boost in power, too. The headset is the first to use the new Snapdragon XR2+ and runs at 50% more power. The controllers have self-tracking sensors complete with haptic feedback and built-in Snapdragon processors.

Apple is expected to release its next truly revolutionary product with its upcoming AR glasses, but now we're hearing that the price could be $2500+ and that it "may be the next revolutionary consumer electronics product after the iPhone".

In a new post by industry insider Ming-Chi Kuo, we get an idea of what to expect in terms of new products in 2023 which obviously we know will be the AR/MR headsets. Kuo has expectations of Apple shipping less than 1.5 million units of its AR/MR headset, but said it's expected that Apple will release its new AR/MR headset "as soon as January 2023".

Apple is expected to price its AR/MR headset at $2000 to $2500 or more, which Kuo says will "affect shipments" but notes that the high price will "verify the existence of market demand, rather than price/shipment. If the market demand is verified to exist, under the improvement of production, technology and cost, the price will be gradually reduced in the future, which will facilitate the rapid growth of shipments".