This will be a newsletter written on the road: I’ve prepared the material in Italy, I’m currently writing these words from the Frankfurt airport (Germany), I will keep writing on the plane across the ocean and I will finalize everything in Sunnyvale (California, USA). I’m traveling to the US to attend AWE, but this is not stopping me from telling you what are the most relevant XR news of the week!
So let’s dig into them. But before, please read (and share around) my latest article which is about a crazy experiment I did with mixed reality and generative AI… I’m sure you will love it!
Top news of the week
Bloomberg got a preview of the Quest 3
Last week I predicted that Meta could have given us a glimpse of the Quest 3 during the Gaming Showcase on June, 1st, so that to create attention around its device before the announcement of the Apple headset. For once, my prediction was correct, I only imagined the wrong context.
The preview of the Quest 3 has not happened during the gaming showcase: Meta has instead given Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman an exclusive hands-on with the current prototype of the Quest 3. Yes, Mark Gurman, exactly the guy who is giving us leaks and rumors about the Apple headset every week. Meta really wants to fight Apple on his own territory.
I’m afraid Mark was not the most suitable person for this hands-on: with much respect for his ability as a journalist, he has not years of experience on XR like Ben Lang or Ian Hamilton, so his description of the device sounds a bit vague to us of the field. But anyway provides us with some interesting hints about how it will be.
Mr Gurman describes a headset that is very similar to the leak that Brad Lynch published a few months ago. The device is smaller than the Quest 2, is whiteish, and presents on its front face three pill-shaped black spots. The two lateral “pills” are for passthrough mixed reality: every “pill” contains a tracking camera and an RGB camera, to offer unprecedented mixed reality. The central pill is instead for the depth sensor, which will finally land on a Meta Quest device after it has been removed from the Quest Pro.
From Gurman’s description, it seems that this device will in fact revolve all around mixed reality. Many things sound like small improvements: for instance, he claims the screen resolution may be a bit better than the Quest 2. There is IPD adjustment. There is no face or eye tracking. But the mixed reality is gorgeous, he said he was even able to use his phone with the headset on. For comparison, when I look at my phone with the Quest Pro on my head, I just see a blob of colors. Pair this with the scene understanding that the depth sensor is going to give to this device, and you obtain an affordable device for mixed reality.
Quest 3 is running on the second generation of Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset, so it is much more performant than Quest 2. Gurman reported seeing a speed improvement in the starting times of the applications, for instance. When the headset launches, this would mean having games with much better graphics than we have now on Quest.
But the thing that surprised me the most in Gurman’s description is the controllers. Controllers do have not the tracking ring like the ones of Quest 2 and have not onboard cameras like the ones of Quest Pro (I guess they would have been too expensive). Mark Gurman does not say how they work, so we of the industry are speculating they are just handles like the ones of Quest Pro, but with IR-LEDs on the top and maybe on the handle. Since I’m not totally convinced that just a few LEDs in that position may alone offer realiable tracking, I would also speculate that maybe either data from the depth sensor or some hand-tracking data is involved in the sensor fusion to arrive at the final controller pose. But that’s just a speculation of mine.
The cost is going to be more than the Quest 2, but not much more so that this device can still appeal to the masses. Apple is going to cover the high-tier of MR devices, and Meta the low-tier. In the end, most probably, at least for now, they won’t be direct competitor, But I guess this situation is not going to last for long… the “war” has just begun.
Other relevant news
Apple invited XR journalists to WWDC
For the first time ever, Apple has explicitly invited the main editors of the most important XR magazines to the WWDC. Ben Lang from Road To VR and Ian Hamilton from Upload VR will be able to attend the event in person. Unless Apple is preparing the greatest trolling moment of the last years, they are being invited to be able to cover the announcement of the headset, and probably go hands-on with it.
Apple knows that it needs journalists that have years of experience with XR to express a positive opinion about its headset to be fully endorsed by the XR community, and so it made this very smart choice of inviting them.
I’m very happy for Ben and Ian, they totally deserve it. Of course, I’m also a bit envious (I’ve not been invited), but I’m mostly happy for them and I can’t wait to read their impressions about the headset.
In the meanwhile, the rumors about the headset continue. We now know that there will be more attention to gaming regarding the content that will be developed for this headset. This makes sense considering that gaming is a very successful category of XR content. This rumor fits well with the hint that Hello Games left on Twitter about it doing something for Apple: is No Man’s Sky coming to the new Apple headset?
We also got to know that Apple registered many trademarks regarding its upcoming operating system, but xrOS still feels the one that will be employed with the highest probability.
More info (Apple invited Road To VR to WWDC)
More info (Apple invited Upload VR to WWDC)
More info (Apple headset to have a strong gaming component)
More info (No Man’s Sky may land on some Apple device)
More info (xrOS and the other rumored names for the headset)
Sony has sold 600K PSVR 2 in the first 6 weeks after the launch
Sony has been until now the only company releasing clear figures about the sales of its headsets. And luckily, it is continuing this tradition: during an investor presentation event, the company announced that in the first month after launch, PSVR 2 had sold 450K units, which became 600K after two more weeks.
This announcement is important because it refutes completely the story told by IDC some weeks ago. IDC claimed that PSVR 2 had sold only 200K units after launch, and called the launch a failure. The real figures are instead 3x times more: the PSVR 2 has sold in the first month 8% more than the successful PSVR 1. This shows that while the headset is not selling as well as Quest 2, it still had a very solid launch, which poses well for the future of the device.
This story teaches us once more that we should take the numbers said by the so-called “analysts” always with a grain of salt. More often than not, their reports are not exact, and we should take them only as a guess of how things may be.
More info (PSVR 2 sales — Road To VR)
More info (PSVR 2 sales — Upload VR)
Sony announces many new pieces of content at its Gaming Showcase
A few days ago, Sony held its Gaming Showcase event, where it announced some cool pieces of content arriving for PSVR 2. Some highlights are:
- Resident Evil 4 Remake (with its amazing graphics, much better than the Quest version)
- Arizona Sunshine 2, the sequel to the popular zombie shooting game
- Five Nights At Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2, another sequel to the popular game
- Synapse, a new game by nDreams, that evolves some concepts developed for Fracked
In parallel, Beat Saber has finally landed on the PSVR 2 store, together with a Queen music pack. And Cosmodread, a popular VR horror game, has been stealth-launched on PSVR 2, too.
The content announced at this event hasn’t been stellar: there is no “Half-Life: Alyx” type of game that can attract the masses. But it has been good anyway and it shows the commitment by Sony to constantly investing to have high-quality games for its PSVR 2 headset, which is very good.
Together with the games, Sony Interactive Entertainment also announced some Bluetooth earbuds for PS5. These earbuds are perfect to be paired with PSVR 2, so the user doesn’t have to wear two headsets on the head at the same time. I’m curious to see how successful they will be with the PSVR community.
More info (Resident Evil 4 Remake)
More info (Resident Evil 4 Remake VR to feature full story)
More info (Arizona Sunshine 2)
More info (Five Nights At Freddy’s)
More info (Beat Saber)
More info (Synapse)
More info (Cosmodread)
More info (PS5 Earbuds)
In this newsletter I like to highlight all the biggest innovations of the XR technology, all the highest peaks that the tech can reach. But this piece of news is not here for its technological value, but because of its human value.
Zainab is a girl with just 3 weeks to live. She has the dream of becoming a mermaid, and VR Therapies called the community to work hard to provide XR content to make sure that on the day of her birthday, she could have a party where she could feel like a mermaid. The VR community answered, and she got a few XR mermaid-themed experiences. The last dream of a girl has come true thanks to virtual reality, especially thanks to the big hearts of the people of the XR community.
I read the story, and it moved me a lot. Sometimes a simple VR mermaid experience can have more value than the launch of the Apple headset.
News worth a mention
IVAS project and his last stand for survival
The troubled life of the IVAS, the modified HoloLens 2 to be used by the US Army, continues. The Army has now 5,000 units, but it can’t deploy them until the budget is approved. In the meanwhile, Microsoft is working on a 1.1 version featuring a new low-light camera, and a 1.2 version with a bigger redesign to make the glasses completely attached to the helmet. But the plan can go on only if there will be a budget, and especially if the tests of the 5,000 units on the field will prove to be successful. 2023 and 2024 are crucial for this project, which may be shut down if soldiers won’t find benefit in the use of the device.
Just a final curiosity about the IVAS: I’ve read that if “IVAS 1.1 testing is a success, the service anticipates spending $62,000 for each unit”. These glasses are damn expensive (because they are rugged and customized).
Microsoft adds Mesh features to Teams
At the annual Build event, Microsoft has not announced any stellar XR- or metaverse-related news. But still, there have been some interesting announcements about Microsoft Mesh.
The integration with Microsoft Teams has finally started: now on Teams you can use Mesh avatars during meetings (I tried it, it’s cringe), and soon you will be able to meet with people in virtual 3D spaces with your avatars, instead of having a video call.
But the Mesh framework has not been released yet, and Microsoft still invites developers and companies to register for a private beta preview.
Of course the star of the event has been AI, and Microsoft has even announced an AI copilot for Windows 11…
More info (Microsoft Mesh with Teams)
More info (Windows 11 AI-powered copilot)
Nreal rebrands as XREAL
Chinese AR glasses manufacturer Nreal has just rebranded to XREAL to avoid confusion with other brands, like Unreal. It has also announced a new feature for its XREAL Air glasses called Spatial Display, which will introduce 3DOF tracking to media consumption, and XREAL Beam to connect XREAL glasses to any electronic device.
More info
VITURE launches VITURE One XR glasses
VITURE has launched the VITURE One XR glasses, which are meant for media consumption or to play comfortably your favorite console games (PS5 or XBOX) in streaming while lying down on the couch. They are available at the promotional launch price of $439. (It typically retails for $549).
Mozilla introduces Hubs Starter Plan
Last November, Mozilla launched an Early Access subscription service for its Mozilla Hubs opensource social VR system, a robust solution that was simpler and more cost-effective than a standard Hubs Cloud instance. It was a paid service, but this week, a Starter Plan, which is completely free, has been introduced! This means that you can start experimenting with Mozilla Hubs for free, and then pay only if you find it useful for your company.
Somnium Space invests in Hypervision
Somnium Space has just become an investor in Hypervision, the Israeli company that is building an optical technology to make high-FOV headsets possible. It’s interesting to see how Somnium is strategically investing in many hardware companies like Vrgineers, Lynx, and now Hypervision. I wonder what is the final vision of this tech ecosystem that this company is building.
Neuralink gets FDA approval for in-human clinical studies
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s company which is working to build a brain-computer interface device, has got FDA approval to start testing its technology on humans. This is a remarkable result for a company in this field because installing these devices means drilling the skulls of people. The tests should aim at helping disabled people to be able to communicate again, for instance, by typing on computers.
Discover VRTO and Fivars awards
VRTO is one of the most relevant events in our space, and this year is going to be held on July 19th and 20th in Toronto at a beautiful modern waterfront location.
Some of the organizers of VRTO are also the ones of the FIVARS Awards, which celebrate the immersive narrative landscape, and that happened a few days ago. You can still replay the awards ceremony on Youtube, though.
More info (VRTO)
More info (FIVARS Awards)
Some content announcements
- Pixel Ripped 1978 is launching on June, 15th on all major platforms
- Cards & Tankards, a free-to-play social collectible card game set in a fantasy tavern, has been launched
- Co-op survival horror game Paranormal Hunter is now in Early Access for PC VR
- Pistol Whip is getting a mod tool released on June 14th
- Everslaught Invasion is now on the Meta Quest Store, priced at $25
- Yupitergrad 2: The Lost Station has been released on Pico as a timed exclusive
- Home Detective turns your living room into a mixed reality crime scene, and it’s out now on Quest
- Paint Fiesta wants to be the Microsoft Paint of mixed reality and is out on Kickstarter
More info (Pixel Ripped 1978)
More info (Cards And Tankards)
More info (Paranormal Hunter)
More info (Pistol Whip)
More info (Everslaught: Invasion)
More info (Yupitergrad 2)
More info (Home Detective)
More info (Paint Fiesta)
Some content reviews
All the reviews of this week come from Upload VR:
- Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue on Quest delivers a great sense of fear, but it has some glitches
- F1 23 provides great immersion in virtual reality, but the PC VR version still shows glitches and crashes
- Everslaught Invasion brings intense two-player co-op to Quest 2, but it becomes repetitive when you play it for too long time
- Crimen — Mercenary Tales underdelivers its promises, offering an experience that has almost no variation, plus has bugs here and there
More info (Hello Neighbor: Search And Rescue)
More info (F1 23)
More info (Everslaught: Invasion)
More info (Crimen: Mercenary Tales)
Other news
Most of the most popular experiences on Quest Store are now available also on the Pico Store
Meta is carrying on its latest round of layoffs
Pimax has finally started to ship its Crystal headset, but some features (like the ability to run as a standalone device) are not available yet
LivingCities has published a long article to explain its pivot from connecting the virtual and the real versions of a place to “scan and play” experiences in indoor environments
Skyworth announces a Pro version of its Pancake 1 headset
Fast Travel Games is offering a bundle with a 33% discount on 5 games
News from partners (and friends)
Flipside Studio introduces AI Set creator
XR animation studio Flipside Studio is the n-th app to add AI functionalities. Its new AI Set Creator will let you create easily the set in which to record your animations thanks to the powers of generative AI.
Learn more
Volograms launches Vologram Messages
Volograms, the company that aims at giving people an affordable way of recording pseudo-volumetric-videos of them, has just announced a new service called Messages. With Vologram Messages, you can record a short volumetric video of yourself saying something, and then you can send it to people or publish it on your website. And people won’t have to download any app to see it, but they just need to scan a QR Code and then they can see it directly from the browser of their phone. Cool, isn’t it?
Learn more
Neodori Infinity launches for Quest
Retro-car-racing game Neodori Infinity has just been launched for Quest. From the trailer, it looks like a nice arcade retro-inspired car racing game, and I can’t wait to discover more about it.
Learn more
Some XR fun
Let’s use ChatGPT to substitute a lawyer. What could go wrong?
Funny link
The real reason why Ian Hamilton and Ben Lang have been invited to WWDC. Sorry guys.
Funny link
I like the 16:9 Cover Image
Funny link
On June, 6th, everyone will be an Apple XR expert on Linkedin, I guess…
Funny link
Donate for good
Like last week, also this week in this final paragraph I won’t ask you to donate for my blog, but to the poor people that in Ukraine are facing the consequences of the war and the ones that in Italy have been victims of the flood. I will leave you the link to donate for these two causes below.
Let me take a moment before to thank anyway all my Patreon donors for the support they give to me:
- Alex Gonzalez VR
- DeoVR
- GenVR
- Eduardo Siman
- Jonn Fredericks
- Jean-Marc Duyckaerts
- Reynaldo T Zabala
- Richard Penny
- Terry xR. Schussler
- Ilias Kapouranis
- Paolo Leoncini
- Immersive.international
- Nikk Mitchell and the great FXG team
- Jake Rubin
- Alexis Huille
- Raghu Bathina
- Chris Koomen
- Cognitive3D
- Wisear (Yacine Achiakh)
- Jennifer Granger
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- Julio Cesar Bolivar
- Jan Schroeder
- Kai Curtis
- Francesco Strada
- Sikaar Keita
- Ramin Assadollahi
- Juan Sotelo
- Andrew Sheldon
- Chris Madsen
- Horacio Torrendell
- Andrew Deutsch
- Fabien Benetou
- Tatiana Kartashova
- Marco “BeyondTheCastle” Arena
- Eloi Gerard
- Adam Boyd
- Jeremy Dalton
- Joel Ward
- Alex P
- Lynn Eades
- Donald P
- Casie Lane
- Catherine Henry
- Qcreator
- Ristband (Anne McKinnon & Roman Rappak)
- Stephen Robnett
- KaihatsuJai
- Sb
- Enrico Poli
- Vooiage Technologies
- Caroline
- Liam James O’Malley
- Hillary Charnas
- Wil Stevens
- Brian Peiris
- Francesco Salizzoni
- Dimo Pepelyashev
- Alan Smithson
- Steve R
- Brentwahn
- Pieter Siekerman
- Matt Cool
- Simplex
- Gregory F Gorsuch
- Matias Nassi
And now here you are the link to donate:
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
Support the populations affected by the flood in Italy
(Header image by Brad Lynch)
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