The XR Week Peek (2021.01.18): CES brings XR news, Boz says we have to trust Facebook, and more!
It’s that time of the week when you can read the best news about AR and VR! So let’s dig immediately into them…
Top news of the week
CES 2021 brought some interesting AR/VR news
This year the CES has been held in a digital edition, and it has been far less cool than usual. We of the XR communities can also be disappointed by the fact that there has been no disruptive announcement for us, nothing that can change the market in the short term.
But we had nonetheless some cool news about interesting products, like for instance:
- Senseglove Nova, the evolution of Senseglove haptic gloves, that are now easier to wear and to use;
- CREAL and its light field displays that now fit into a standard AR/VR headset;
- Lenovo ThinkReality A3 AR glasses that let you see up to 5 virtual monitors in front of you;
- The cool-looking Panasonic VR glasses, that have evolved with better display, ergonomics, and 6 DOF positional tracking;
- The astonishing VR concert of Madison Beer made by Sony and Verizon. Its visual quality is impressive if compared with other similar performances;
- Reachy, the cute robot by Pollen Robotics that you can control by VR.
All these pieces of news are cool, but they are mostly directed towards the future of AR and VR, and are not changing much of the consumer XR landscape. If you want to go deeper into them, I’ve already written a long and detailed roundup of all the best AR/VR news from CES (so technically, this is a roundup of the roundup) where you can discover them better. Read it by clicking the link here below!
Other relevant news
Facebook talks about privacy, Quest login, and more
This week, Facebook has decided to do an outreach push with two of its most important people: Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, that was interviewed by The Verge and CNet, and John Carmack, that has expressed some opinions on Twitter.
Both expressed one common concept: “Facebook login is going to stay on Quest and we have to trust Facebook about privacy”. It’s not that we had any doubt about it, but they clarified that we should have no hopes about Facebook removing the mandatory Quest login. Bosworth has explained that it is fundamental so that to exploit the big Facebook infrastructure, to guarantee the safety of VR users (so that Facebook knows their real names), and offer better social features. Both Boz and Carmack affirmed that Facebook takes the privacy and safety concerns in VR very seriously, and we have to trust them, and not be fooled by the errors of the past.
Well, if I have to express an opinion, that is in common with other members of the VR communities, it is not that I don’t trust that Facebook won’t protect my data against hackers, it is that I’m sure that Facebook itself will collect a lot of personal data about me so that it can offer targeted advertisement. And I’m not exactly sure about what will be done with this data, with what other companies it will be shared. It will do this because…. well, data harvesting and ad selling is its core business. Answering a question about this exact topic, Boz told that it is more or less true, but a VR world with targeted advertisement is better than one with random ads because at least I see ads about things I’m interested in. Well, I agree with this, but if the price is sharing all my life with a company… I think the price for this improvement is too high.
Regarding the Facebook login, Boz has also explained that VR forced Facebook to change mentality: while on the standard social media, every person must be him/herself (and so have one identity), in VR he/she maybe would like to be another person (e.g. a superhero) and so he/she must be allowed to have multiple identities. This is a big change of perception for the company.
Bosworth also said that Horizon is growing well: he says that the infrastructure is working and the world creation tools are solid, but the social VR is still in closed beta because they don’t think it’s a rich ecosystem yet. There are not many interesting worlds to visit, the ecosystem is not ripe, and so they won’t open its gates, because the risk would be that people go there and after a while, they get bored and go away. Wise decision.
He also hyped people about the upcoming Infinite Office, BCIs, AR glasses… saying for most technologies that “they are coming sooner than people think”. But when the journalist asked about the use of Ctrl+Labs technology, he specified that “sooner than people think” is maybe 5 years. So it is a bit of a confusing statement :D.
Anyway, he confirmed that the first smart glasses that will be released this year won’t have true AR and said that now Oculus wants to expand beyond the gaming ecosystem. FRL has realized that games are cool, but can’t make XR mainstream alone, so now there is a bigger focus on other experiences, and the “Infinite Office” fits in this vision. It will let people start using the Quest for working and is coming a bit later than expected because they are polishing it. I guess that Facebook knows that PC got popular not because of games, but because of e-mail, Word, and Powerpoint (tools that everyone uses every day) and so they are trying to make the Quest a tool that can be used for standard work operations, too.
Regarding these new Quest features, John Carmack has said that now FRL’s goal is to release a new software update for Quest every month, and has invited Quest users to express their feedback on the Oculus User Voice portal so that Facebook knows how to improve the software.
It’s cool to see the Quest updating this often, and it is even cooler thinking about everything Facebook is working on: a virtual work environment, a social hangout place, new facilities for users… the only problem is, well… you know.
More info (Boz speaks with The Verge)
More info (Boz speaks with CNet)
More info (Carmack talks about Facebook login on Quest)
More info (Carmack talks about updates on Quest)
HTC predicts the rise of all-in-two devices
Speaking with Upload VR, HTC VIVE EMEA General Manager Graham Wheeler has predicted for 2021 the rise of all-in-two devices, that is lightweight viewers that are connected to smartphones (or also PCs sometimes).
We didn’t need Graham to tell us this, since we’ve already seen that this form factor was being very successful from other vendors like Panasonic, Huawei, Nreal, and Qualcomm itself has talked about a new wave of what it calls “VR viewers”. But this news is interesting because it shows HTC’s views on the topic.
That is, if HTC sees the rise of all-in-two devices in 2021, it probably means that it will launch an all-in-two device in 2021. And this new device may be the Vive Proton render that it teased one year ago. Having an all-in-two may also be a good way for HTC to exploit its 5G expertise, considering that the headset may be connected to a 5G phone.
It is not clear what HTC’s strategy will be: we had a leak about a new XR2-powered standalone headset by HTC some months ago and now we have this statement about an all-in-two device. So, what will be the HMD that HTC will launch this year? I’m curious…
New data show that the VR market is growing
The XR ecosystem is growing, and new data points exactly in this direction.
Steam has just published an overview of VR in 2020, affirming that:
- There have been 104M SteamVR sessions;
- 1.7M new users have entered VR on Steam;
- There have been 71% more revenues;
- The playtime has increased by a 30% factor.
Road To VR has further analyzed this data and extrapolated that we surpassed the 2M VR users each month on Steam. Another analysis also shows that the growth of VR users has been exponential in the last 5 years and this fills my heart with joy. But some of my readers have reminded me that at the beginning the exponential and the linear growth may be too similar to be sure about what is the right one at the moment. In any case, the fact that there has been constant growth and that this growth has accelerated in the last year, are alone pretty cool news.
Some people have asked me what have been the reasons for this sudden acceleration, and I think they are three:
- The launch of Half-Life: Alyx, that has created hype around VR;
- The marketing around the Quest and the launch of the Quest 2, that has given people the possibility of buying an affordable VR headset;
- The pandemic, that has forced people to stay at home, creating a need for a technology that could give a sense of escapism.
The best VR headsets out there, the Index and the Quest 2, have been out of stock all year, and this is a piece of amazing news. And all these new users have also benefitted game studios: in an interesting interview with Road To VR, Cloudhead Games has explained how it was on the verge of abandoning VR but the boost created by the Quest let it earn enough money that now it can think about living only out of VR for the next years.
Reading a report from IDC, I’ve got to know that VR is growing everywhere, even in China. But in China, since the Quest has never officially arrived there (even if it is possible to buy it on Taobao), the consumer market has never really jumpstarted. Everyone knows about VR, there are TikTok influencers that talk about VR games, but there’s not the right combination of affordable hardware and compelling games that makes people run to buy headsets. In fact, 70% of sold headsets in China are devoted to B2B (enterprise) applications, and this makes you also understand why many Chinese vendors are focused on the enterprise at the moment.
Anyway, the potential of the Chinese market is enormous: even in these conditions, it has reached 6.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, accounting for more than 54.7% of the global market share. Impressive numbers for sure.
(Thanks Tony VRrool for the tip on the Chinese VR market)
More info (Valve’s VR data for 2020 — Road To VR)
More info (Valve’s VR data for 2020 — Upload VR)
More info (Road To VR’s analysis of Steam data)
More info (Cloudhead Games talks about its journey in VR)
More info (IDC’s analysis of Chinese market)
News worth a mention
Quest 2 adds multiusers feature
Finally, next month’s update of the Oculus Quest 2 will bring with it the possibility of using multiple accounts on the same device. You will have to set up a primary (Facebook) account, and up to 3 secondary (Facebook) accounts. The secondary accounts will be able to play the games of the primary account on that device, but the vice-versa won’t hold. In the future, Facebook plans also to add the possibility of using the same Facebook account on up to 3 devices. All these measures are necessary so that to let family members play games on the same devices and enjoy their time in VR together.
More info (Multi-users on Quest — Road To VR)
More info (Multi-users on Quest — Upload VR)
NVIDIA CloudXR SDK v2.0 has been released
NVIDIA has released the v2.0 of its CloudXR solution, the one that lets you stream AR/VR experiences rendered in the cloud to a local XR setup (usually a standalone headset). In this new version, there have been various upgrades to the algorithm, plus has been added support for new devices like the Quest 2 and the HoloLens 2.
I had the pleasure of trying the v1.0 and I can tell you that it worked insanely well. So, I’m very excited about this v2.0 and overall about the convergence of XR and 5G.
Rokid announces new AR glasses
Chinese manufacturer Rokid has announced Rokid Vision 2 AR glasses, a new device featuring a slim design, integrated audio and good visuals. Regarding the last point, the company highlights that the glasses use waveguide optics to provide better augmentations, even if this leads them to have just 40° FOV. Unluckily, we have no info on the price or release date.
Mobile AR will reach 800 million users in 2021
AR Insider has analyzed the augmented reality market and it predicts a big growth of mobile AR for this new year. The expected number of users will be 800 million, with most of them enjoying it through Instagram/Messenger or Snap.
I’ve found very interesting the analysis on WebAR for the next year: it is the technology that has the biggest number of potential users (because it is compatible with many smartphones), but also the one predicted to have the least number of actual users. It means that there is enormous untapped potential on WebAR.
Samsung original controller design gets leaked
Do you remember the VR headset by Samsung that was leaked some months ago? I thought that it had a nice fly-eyes look, while many people said that it had the shape of a butt :D. In any case, while we had no further info about it, a new patent shows how its controllers should have been. The design is pretty original, with the tracking ring that goes around the wrist of the user. I’m sure that they would never be released in that way because the input schema is too different from today’s standard, but I liked to see an original design and not just another copy of Oculus Touch.
How VR is used for soft-skills training
I’ve found a long and detailed post about how virtual reality is used for soft-skills training and assessment. You all know that training is the leading sector for VR in the enterprise, and you had better knowing it is not only used to teach practical stuff, but also soft skills.
Emulating smell is hard
Here you are another interesting deep-dive I want to share with you. This one talks about the emulation of smell, why it is hard, and why so many previous attempts of doing it have failed. It’s a pity there is not much research about smell in virtual reality, because it is one of our most ancient senses and the only one that is directly wired into the brain. Without it, we’ll never have a perfect recreation of our world in VR.
Research on underwater VR has just begun
Assistant Professor, Géraldine Fauville, has presented her findings from the first study on the combined effects of physical immersion in water and visual immersion in a VR activity. She wanted to verify how being in water changed the perception of movement and influenced the motion sickness effect. The results are very preliminary, with many questions still open, but it is interesting that now it has been paved the way for more studies on underwater VR.
Some news on content
- A Russian startup has developed a solution to make people train fencing with an Oculus Quest;
- Synth Riders has launched its DLC containing songs from the Muse and has highlighted how the Quest 2 has caused a spike in its users count;
- Gorn launches on Quest on January, 28th;
- Battlescar is a storytelling piece that has been launched on Quest and PC VR, and it has even got 5 stars on Upload VR! I’m very curious to try it because it’s difficult to get a so high evaluation from Upload…
- VR Controllers support for Flight Simulator is being “worked on”;
- A train simulator has been launched in Japan for PSVR, because… Japan
More info (VR Fencing)
More info (Synth Riders)
More info (Gorn on Quest)
More info (Battlescar)
More info (Flight Simulator)
More info (Train Simulator)
News from partners (and friends)
AiR is an app that has the purpose of letting you create holographic memories, intimate and incredibleyrealistic, just by using your phone, easily as when capturing a video. So instead of just shooting a video selfie of a special moment, you can create a 3D reconstruction of it, and then store it and share it with your friends. An interesting concept for sure.
Learn more (In-action video)
Learn more (App Store link)
Markertown is a digital book for kids that tells the story of all the markers that have been left without a cap by the kids that draw. It is a cute idea and this book is also powered by AR: by framing the pages with the smartphone, the kids can see the characters take life in front of them. The project is now on Kickstarter and you can back it to make it become a reality!
My friend (and super AR influencer) Alan Smithson has just started a new vlog of his on Youtube. Give it a look and subscribe to support him in his new venture 🙂
Some XR fun
People said he couldn’t use the Quest for full-body tracking. But he did it anyway.
VR is a gimmick. Or maybe not.
“Racket Furry” is a game I would like to try
Here you are an exclusive footage of the lightweight all-in-two VR headset by HTC
There is always more evidence that the “motion shitness” is a thing in VR.
Some geniuses have managed to publish on the Oculus Store a VR title with a horrible title, horrible photos and the description “Please no play”… all of this for a price point of $2.00! Trolling at its finest to the Oculus curation system.
Can we stop for a moment and thank my Patrons?
The XR Week Peek is possible thanks to the economical and personal support of my amazing patrons. Let’s stop for a moment and thank them all, one by one!
- DeoVR
- Jonn Fredericks
- Ilias Kapouranis
- Michael Bruce
- Paolo Leoncini
- Immersive.international
- Bob Fine
- Nikk Mitchell and the great FXG team
- Jennifer Granger
- Jason Moore
- Steve Biggs
- Niels Bogerd
- Julio Cesar Bolivar
- Jan Schroeder
- Kai Curtis
- Francesco Strada
- Sikaar Keita
- Ramin Assadollahi
- Jeff Dawson
- Juan Sotelo
- Andrew Sheldon
- Chris Madsen
- Tracey Wong
- Andrew Deutsch
- Tatiana Kartashova
- Sb
- Vooiage Technologies
- Caroline
- Liam James O’Malley
- Paul Reynolds
- Wil Stevens
- Matias Nassi
If you want to join them (please), you can do that by clicking the link here below. Thank you!
(Header image by AVWatch)
Disclaimer: this blog contains advertisement and affiliate links to sustain itself. If you click on an affiliate link, I'll be very happy because I'll earn a small commission on your purchase. You can find my boring full disclosure here.
