Extended Reality (XR) - Page 17

The Oculus Quest 2 is less than a year old, but already it seems like Facebook is getting ready to phase out the smaller version for a slightly larger capacity headset. Facebook may soon replace the Quest 2 64GB with a 128GB option.

Currently, Facebook offers two models of the Quest 2 standalone VR headset. Both versions have the exact performance specifications and features, aside from the storage capacity. The entry model includes 64GB of storage, which is not a lot for a system with games that range from 1GB to 10GB in size. The larger 256GB option carries a $100 higher price tag, making it less accessible and less attractive to new buyers.

A series of leaked images may indicate that Facebook is attempting to sweeten the deal a little bit. Multiple images of a 128GB Quest 2 headset have surfaced online. A pair of pictures on Imgur shows what appears to be new retail packaging for the larger headset. UploadVR noticed a French game news website called GAMERGEN found a retail listing for the 128GB version, which carried the same price as the current 64GB model.

Valve published the second quarter Steam survey results, and the numbers reveal that Facebook is still gaining ground in the VR headset market. More than 60% of SteamVR users have Oculus headsets.

Facebook can thank the popularity of the Quest platform and its Quest Link technology for its recent dominance in the PCVR space. The Oculus Rift and the Rift S account for a sizeable chunk, with 5.4% of users running an original Rift and 18.48% have Rift S headsets.

Oculus didn't sell many Quest headsets (5.23% of SteamVR users), but it has sold a tremendous number of Quest 2 devices in the 9-months that it has been available. Quest 2 users account for an astounding 31.07% of SteamVR users. To put that into perspective, HTC and Valve combined account for 31.9% of all SteamVR headsets.

The global VR headset market is starting to heat up a little bit. Recently, a Russian state corporation called Roscosmos revealed a high-end VR headset with specs that would rival the best on the market.

According to Holographic.space, a Russian tech news website, Roscosmos announced its plans to make a VR headset in February. In June, the company brought its first prototype to the Startup Village conference in Skolkovo, Russia. It also announced its plans for a second device.

The first headset, the Roscosmos XR-1, is intended as a test platform for Roscosmos' technology. The headset's specifications include dual 1440x1444 displays that operate at 90Hz or 120Hz with a 105-degree FoV.

DecaGear revealed that it hit a temporary setback in its production progress. The last component required to build the DecaMove input devices was delayed and set the production back by roughly two weeks.

DecaGear opened pre-orders for the DecaMove controller earlier this year, and the company promised that its first backers would receive their order in June. Unfortunately, due to a delay from one of its component suppliers, DecaMove fell short of that promise.

Fortunately, the delay appears to be a short one, and DecaGear posted in its Discord channel that it expects to have all June and July orders fulfilled before mid-July.

Magic Leap is preparing to launch its second-generation headset, presumably called Magic leap Two, near the end of the year. The company's new CEO has gone on record saying the headset would be smaller, lighter, faster, and cheaper than the outgoing device.

Peggy Jonhson, Magic Leap's new CEO, spoke with Venture Beat recently, and in the interview, she stated multiple times that the next Magic Leap headset would be half the size and 20% lighter than the old headset. The Chief Executive noted that all-day wearability was a goal in the development of the device.

Varjo today revealed Varjo Reality Cloud, an ambitious attempt at creating the foundation of the future metaverse. The company is leveraging the Lidar capabilities of its XR3 headset to enable real-time photorealistic virtual teleportation. This is Varjo's vision for the future of collaboration.

With Varjo Reality Cloud, not only can you collaborate virtually with people around the world, you can bring others into your space, making it feel like you're sharing the same physical environment. With the Lidar scanners embedded on the Varjo XR-3 headset, users can capture a true-to-life 3D scan of their location, complete with full-color photorealistic texturing and share that with other people with Varjo headsets. Eventually, you'll be able to tap into the Varjo Reality Cloud with any device, including other VR headsets, computers, smartphones, and tablets.

In a bizarre move, Facebook has removed the ability for Oculus Quest users to cast their gameplay experience directly to-checks notes-Facebook from the headset. You now require a computer to stream your Quest.

Facebook started rolling out the v30 update for Oculus Quest and Quest 2 users last week. The new update brings a handful of new features, including multitasking in Infinite Office and tools for people who have trouble seeing specific colours. But, strangely, the update also removed the button to cast your gameplay directly to your Facebook feed.

A Facebook representative provided a statement to UploadVR that confirms the change but doesn't adequately explain the reason. Facebook said that its users prefer to use local casting tools, so it is increasing its focus on local casting tools.

Cyan Worlds today announced the PC VR release window for the total overhaul of its classic puzzle mystery game, Myst. Unfortunately, we don't have an exact date, but we know it's coming in the next three months.

Cyan released the remake of Myst on the Oculus Questlate last year, and since then, the company has been quiet about when we might expect a PC VR version. Of course, we knew it would eventually be available, but until now, we had no idea when. Now we know the game will be available in Q3 2021.

The PC version is currently listed on Steam, and you can put it on your wishlist today to make sure you don't miss the launch. The Steam version of the game will be playable in both 2D and VR modes. There will also be a Mac version that doesn't support VR because Apple doesn't currently support VR headsets on its computers.

Last week, Facebook announced a plan to introduce advertisements in VR content. The idea was presented as a way for small developers to increase revenues to help reach profitability. As you might expect, the announcement drew immediate ire from VR fans which prompted the only developer involved in the plan to back out.

Facebook said it would implement a small-scale pilot with a select few developers to test its in-game advertising system. Multiple studios are said to be involved in the pilot, but Facebook named only one game, Blaston, in the announcement, and that didn't go well for the developer. Within a day of the announcement, Blaston's user rating got blasted with a review bomb. As a result, Resolution Games did an about-face and backed out of the plan to advertise in Blaston.

HP's Reverb G2 is one of the highest resolution VR headsets on the market today. The headset usually sells for $599, but Walmart is currently offering a hefty $200 discount on the headset, so it's a great time to buy one if you were thinking about it.

HP's Reverb G2 VR headset boasts dual 2160 x 2160 RGB LCD panels, translating to one of the best visual experiences in a VR headset. The Reverb G2 also includes a pair of off-ear headphones, like those that come equipped on the Valve Index headset.

When HP released the Reverb G2 late last year, the headset received mixed reviews. While the visual experience was just about as good as it gets, the tracking quality didn't get such glorious praise. The Reverb G2 is a Windows Mixed Reality device, which means it gets its tracking from cameras on the headset instead of base stations like SteamVR-based headsets do. HP's inside-out tracking leaves blind spots where it loses the controller tracking at times.

Sony recently revealed that it is in the process of developing the next-generation PSVR headset. Sony hasn't said much about the new headset except that it will get fancy new controllers, although some details have begun to leak about the upcoming device. The most recent leak comes courtesy of Bloomberg.

In a new report about Japan Display Inc., which is making a pivot from manufacturing iPhone displays to building LCD panels for the VR market, Bloomberg noted that Sony Group Corp remains as "one important holdout" from adopting LCDs for its VR headset. Citing "people with knowledge of the matter," Bloomberg stated that Sony's upcoming PSVR2 would feature OLED panels from Samsung.

This new information about Sony opting for OLED panels follows a series of recent information leaks. In May, we learned that the PSVR 2 may include haptic feedback for your face and that the headset would likely include dual screens that offer 2K resolution per eye. The headset is also supposed to come with eye-tracking cameras to enable foveated rendering and lifelike interactions with virtual characters.

Oculus started rolling out update v30 to Quest and Quest 2 today. The latest platform update brings new accessibility features, multitasking in Infinite Office, and expands Air Link support to the original Quest.

Oculus added a new color correction system, which allows you to change the system-level color settings. The company said the update would "increase legibility of color that art commonly difficult to differentiate." The color correction option gives you three color presets; Deuteranomaly (green-red), Protanomoly (red-green), and Tritanoomaly (blue-yellow).

The new update also includes a new feature called Raise View, which allows you to adjust the height of your vantage point by up to 16-inches, enabling you to play standing games from a seated position.

Pimax revealed to its Kickstarter backers and community members that it is nearing the production of the Pimax Sword motion controllers. The company is in the last stage before final production starts.

Pimax has been working on its VR motion controllers for years now. The company first revealed plans to make Pimax-branded SteamVR-tracked motion controllers during its Kickstarter campaign in 2017. The controllers were meant to be a component of the Pimax 8K or 5K full package. And when the campaign reached $4 million in funding, Pimax said it would sell two varieties; one with a trackpad and one with a thumbstick. Kickstarter backers who opted for the full kit have since received Valve Index controller to fulfil their purchase, but the Pimax controllers are still coming.

The Pimax controllers have undergone several redesigns and iterations since the 2017 campaign. In 2019, Pimax revealed the controller's name, dubbed Sword, and showed an early rendering of what they would look like. Finally, it appears Pimax is getting ready to bring the Sword controllers to the market.

Facebook has gobbled up yet another top-tier VR developer. This time, BigBox VR, the studio behind the increasingly popular VR shooter, Population: One, was the subject of Zuckerberg's sights. The studio is now part of the Oculus brand.

Population: One launched just nine months ago, but in that short period the studio has captured the hearts of many VR gamers. The studio has continued to pour resources into the game's development, and it regularly adds new content for its continuously returning player base. Evidently, Facebook's executives took notice and liked what they saw. On Friday, BigBox VR gave up its independence to become part of Facebook's team.

With Facebook's resources behind the game, Population: One is sure to continue to grow and likely in ways that wouldn't have been possible independently. With the resources of Facebook and Oculus Studios behind them, BigBox VR should be able to pour gas on the fire and accelerate the growth path for the game.

Schell Games revealed the sequel to I Expect You To Die with more elaborate puzzles and even more sticky situations to get yourself out of. The next edition is coming out this summer.

I Expect You To Die is one of the oldest VR games on the market, and to this day, it remains an excellent source of entertainment. If you like puzzles, especially of the escape room variety, I Expect You To Die, and its upcoming sequel I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar, are sure to tickle your fancy.

I Expect You Tu Die 2 adds new missions in new locations but keeps all the danger. One wrong move, and as the name suggests, you're not going to make it. Every puzzle in this game has fatal consequences for every mistake.

Aldin dropped a surprise announcement about its flagship game, Waltz of the Wizard, over the weekend. The game's next expansion, Natural Magic, brings more than just new spells to learn. The developer has added "hours of entertainment" to Waltz of the Wizard, giving you new locations to explore, and enemies to put your new skills to the test.

Waltz of the Wizard is one of the most successful VR titles, with over 400,000 unique players. Aldin has created a unique interactive experience in Waltz of the Wizard, that lets you experiment with spell craft and magic casting. The new expansion, Natural Magic, takes you out of the wizard's quarters and into the world where you must put your magic powers to practice.

The new expansion includes an exterior courtyard where you can explore the new "natural magic" skills the expansion brings to the table. Once you've learned the basics, you can put your new magic powers to the test against magical enemies in a mysterious hidden fortress.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities who monitors Apple's supply chain, predicted that at least three new XR devices from top tech companies would hit the market in 2022. Kuo derived his opinion from his knowledge of the lens industry.

Ming-Chi Kuo recently released a research report which analyses orders for lenses that Taiwanese lens manufacturer Yujingguang (also known as Genius Electronic Optical) expects to deliver this year and next year. According to Android Central, Kuo's report states that Yujingguang will build the lenses for a future Oculus Quest headset and Sony's upcoming PSVR2. Based on the order details, Kuo expects the headsets to land next year.

Kuo's report also suggested that the lenses for these new devices would be more expensive than current generation lenses. However, they should provide an increased field of view and improved image clarity. Yujingguang currently builds 50% of the lenses for Facebook's Quest 2 headset, and the company expects to continue that rate next year, with an expected supply of 22 million units delivered. The company also anticipates supplying 50% of Sony's PSVR lenses but provided no sales estimates.

According to a report from UploadVR, the next Oculus Quest update will introduce a 50% increase to the maximum area that you can set the guardian bounds.

The Oculus Guardian gives you a virtual boundary to prevent you from walking into a wall or your TV. Currently, the Oculus Quest can address up to 10m x 10m of useable place space, which is a lot more space than most people have available. However, there must be at least a subset of users who desire more trackable space because Oculus is reportedly going to increase the maximum to 15 meters square when version 30 of the Oculus Quest OS rolls out later this year.

Oculus told UploadVR that it expects the increased size to "benefit a variety of apps." Which apps need more space remains to be seen. We would imagine it would mostly be custom applications for location-based entertainment facilities and training solutions for businesses that would most benefit from the increased tracking space.

Vertigo Games is getting ready to release its next VR game, After The Fall, and the development team is starting the stir up the hype. A new preview real explains a bit more about the backstory and the enemies you face.

After The Fall is a 4-player co-operative multiplayer VR shooter set in a fictional post-apocalyptic world that collapsed decades ago, and it is now overrun by terrifying zombies.

"The difference between After The Fall and other VR zombie shooters is that you can play it together with your friends. So it's all focused on 4-player co-op," said Richard Stitselaar, Vertigo Games Studio Director. "It's crucial for any team member to work together by healing each other, sharing ammo, sharing weapons. This is the only way you can survive in After The Fall."

During a live AMA session on Instagram Wednesday evening, a viewer asked Zuckerberg what Facebook is doing to lower the barriers to emerging technologies like augmented reality. Zuckerberg's response was surprisingly candid and it revealed highlighted why Oculus will remain a dominant brand in the XR space for years to come.

Zuckerberg is on a mission to put as many people as possible in XR devices in the next 10 years, and he's ready to lose money to make it happen. Like the console market has historically done, Facebook will forgo up-front profits on hardware sales, and may even sell devices at a loss, with the expectation of coming out ahead through software sales.

Zuckerberg said he believes that making XR devices accessible requires two things: A high-quality wire-free experience, and a cost that consumers can afford. There may always be tethered headsets, but Zuckerberg thinks those devices will remain niche products.