Hello everyone from Sunnyvale, California! Here, as the name says, it is sunny… but I’m closed inside my home working. I need to rush out this newsletter episode because otherwise tomorrow Apple launches its headset and no one will read my articles: everyone will be too busy reading “The top 5 features of the Apple headset” or “The 7 reasons why the Apple headset can revolutionize peeling potatoes”.
AWE has finished, and it has been a cool event (you can read some of my articles about it here, here, and here), and now I’m spending a few days here trying to have some relevant meetings. I wanted also to storm the Apple Park doing Naruto runs, but no one agreed to that plan…
Top news of the week
How is Apple going to launch its headset?
Tomorrow, June, 5th, Apple will most probably launch its Apple Reality Pro headset. We are not 100% sure, but there are too many hints, cues, and rumors that I would say we are at 95% chances. Two VR journalists have been invited to the event, the motto of the event has become “Code new worlds”, plus all the Apple “analysts” agree the launch is tomorrow. So I’m almost sure it is going to happen.
My big questions are “how” it is going to happen and “what” is going to happen. Let’s start from the “what”: on the technical side, we have some ideas on how the headset will be: standalone, with a cool design, lightweight with a battery pack attached to it via a cable. It should run on top of an M2 chipset, which is much more powerful than the processing unit of the Quest 2, 4K displays per eye with strong HDR (a rumor talks about a 5000-nits display, about which many are lost in the optical path), a quite nice FOV. The headset should also provide hand tracking, eye tracking and reverse passthrough, so people should be able to see the eye of the wearer.
According to the latest rumors, all this technology in a single package is very hard to manufacture, and Apple is having problems with the production line. That’s why the headset should be available by the end of the year, and my bet is that Apple is trying to have it ready before the holidays.
But the big question is the “how”. How is Apple going to sell this headset? For what purpose? Because if Apple is just going to repeat the same use cases of the HTC Vive and Meta Quest 2, but selling it at $3000, it is just going to fail spectacularly. If people were interested in those, they would have bought a Quest 2 for $300, instead of waiting for a $3000 headset. What Apple should sell is why this headset matters. Because all the technology in the world is useless if it has no purpose. Until now we had some leaks about Facetime and other similar apps, but I don’t think this is a use case for which people are going to rush to buy this device.
The interesting theory of Meta’s Anand Dass (which reminds a lot of the theory by Robert Scoble) is that Meta is not going for the XR headsets market, which is a niche, but it is going to disrupt another huge market, proposing the headset as an alternative. He bets on screens and TVs. A huge QLED TV can cost $2000, so spending $1000 more to have a giant virtual screen in every room of your house may make sense. TVs have an enormous market that Apple can try to enter with this headset. And Apple has the content to show on these virtual TVs (think about Apple TV or the acquisition of NextVR). This giant virtual screen may also be used to extend the screen of your laptop. Of course, this theory has its problems, too: TVs can be watched by many people together… but spending 12,000$ to make a family of 4 people watch TV together seems a bit too much.
For sure the headset won’t be only about games, but Apple is going to propose it as an extension of existing Apple devices. WWDC is important as a moment to launch it because Apple absolutely needs developers to create the use cases. The iPhone is so invaluable because of the million apps you can use on it. Apple needs developers to start playing around with the SDK of this device, create applications, and find uses, so that later it can see what is more popular and adjust accordingly its strategy for the launch of the next model, which should happen next year. My question anyway is: can developers find now for Apple use cases that no one has found in the latest 10 years of VR? I’m not so sure…
I don’t expect huge sales of this device, probably less than 1M units, exactly because it is expensive and without a clear purpose. 1M anyway would represent a $3B revenue for the company, making Apple one of the companies with the biggest revenues from the sales of XR headsets alone. All analysts agree that the growth of XR is going to take time, and a report by Morgan Stanely sees the Apple XR market going to grow significantly in the consumer space around 2030 and later. So let’s not overhype this device, we’ll need more iterations to arrive at mainstream XR.
But anyway, tomorrow will mark a watershed moment for our beloved XR technology. When Apple enters a market, it means that it starts being consumer ready. So this entry is going to validate all the work we did the past years, and will also facilitate our access to grants and investments. Tomorrow is going to be a great day. Let’s have fun.
More info (Apple revenues from the headset may be in the billions)
More info (Morgan Stanley on the market of the Apple headset)
More info (Engadget speculating on what the Apple headset may change for us)
More info (Anand Dass speculates on how the headset could be launched)
More info (Apple headset to increase investments in the field)
More info (Apple displays should be 4K per eye, 5000 nits)
More info (“Code New Worlds” is the motto of this WWDC)
More info (Apple headset having manufacturing issues)
More info (The Information on Apple headset features and manufacturing issues)
Other relevant news
Meta teases the Quest 3
And so it happened. Being afraid of the launch of Apple, Meta has announced its Quest 3 headset, revealing part of its features and inviting the community to the full launch that should happen at the Meta Connect on September, 27th. It was a predictable move, but in my opinion the wrong one: the message that Meta is sending is that it fears Apple. Apple is setting its launch date ignoring what Meta is doing, while Meta is changing its launch strategy because of Apple… after having launched a rushed Pro device, always because of Apple.
The Quest 3 is similar to what Brad Lynch already leaked months ago. 40% smaller than the Quest 2, but 2x more powerful than Quest 2 thanks to the next-gen Snapdragon chipset. FOV and battery duration will be in line with the one of Quest 2. The headset features a depth sensor, and two high-definition 4MP RGB cameras for passthrough mixed reality. The result is “10x more pixels in Passthrough compared to Quest 2”. Zuck has shown the passthrough in use, and it seems very clear. Plus thanks to the features of the Presence Platform and the depth sensor, the headset is going to be able to “transform” the room you are in in a quite convincing way.
Its controllers have no ring and no onboard cameras. They are dubbed “Meta Touch Plus”, and they work (as I predicted last week) by fusing the data of IMU, IR LED tracking, and hand tracking together. I expect them to have less accuracy in the tracking FOV periphery at launch, because when the hands are not in front of the user, hand tracking performances are worse, and most of the IR LED may be occluded. That’s why Quest Touch Pro controllers are better. I expect the tracking of Quest Plus to improve over time thanks to software updates, though. Quest 3 will be compatible with Touch Pro controllers for the ones that need better accuracy.
The launch price is $499 for the 128GB version. Maybe there will be a 256GB version for $599, but this is a speculation of mine. A note for the PC VR fans: Quest Link and Air Link are confirmed to work with Quest 3, too.
But the news has not finished. Because of the launch of Quest 3, Quest 2 price is downgraded to $299. Meta says that Quest 2 is not going to be discontinued soon, but it will become the entry point in the Quest ecosystem for those that can’t afford to spend $499. Quest 2 and Quest Pro are also getting a relevant performance boost (+26% CPU +19% GPU for Quest 2) thanks to a software update. In general, the Quest ecosystem is going to get games with better graphical quality soon.
It seems that Meta is preparing the ground to be the company proposing the entry-point for mixed reality, with a headset that is affordable and offers a good experience. The premium-tier will instead be offered by Apple.
More info (Meta teases Quest 3)
More info (Meta reveals info about Quest 3)
More info (Meta’s new controllers and compatibility with Touch Pro)
More info (Meta’s passthrough video)
More info (Commentary on Meta’s passthrough footage)
More info (Link and Air Link are still supported)
More info (Boz explains during an AMA how the Touch Plus controllers work)
More info (Quest 2 price reduced to $299)
More info (Performance boost for Quest 2 and Quest Pro)
The Quest Gaming Showcase was full of announcements
At the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, Meta announced a shitload of new titles for Quest. There was even a pre-show in which they announced news about existing games. The event has been pretty big, and I’m going to paste below for you the links to all the announcements that I’ve been able to find (they are a lot, you have been warned).
If I have to choose the 5 announcements that excited me the most, I would choose:
- Assassin’s Creed Nexus: Meta announced that Assassin’s Creed Nexus is going to be released this year. They just confirmed the name and the logo, then invited the community to watch the full reveal at the upcoming Ubisoft Forward event on June 12
- Asgard’s Wrath 2: One of the best PCVR games ever is going to get a sequel, this time for Quest. The announced features of the game are amazing: Sanzaru talks about 60 hours of gameplay just for the main campaign without doing much exploration. The team is working hard to squeeze the best graphics possible from Quest and not make this title look like a PS2 game. There will be physics combat and a progression system. There is going to be A LOT. This game will be priced at $60 for a reason: it aims to be the first AAA game for Quest. Anyway this announcement pissed off the PC VR community, because the game is Quest only and the graphical quality has been downgraded for this reason
- Stranger Things VR: Many fans of Stranger Things were waiting for this title developed by the geniuses at Tender Claws, and finally we got the announcement. The launch is expected sometime this fall
- Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is set to launch on Quest 2 and PSVR 2 at some point this fall. This is another much-awaited game by all the fans of the saga. The studio behind it also released a new gameplay video
- Samba De Amigo: This musical arcade game is not my genre at all, but it marks the entrance of SEGA into the VR market, and this is quite exciting.
There have been anyway many other games announced like I Expect You To Die 3 and Arizona Sunshine 2, so I really invite you to dig into all the links I’m sharing here below. It’s been a good event, no news have been mindblowing, but titles like Assassin’s Creed Nexus and Asgard’s Wrath 2 are going to be beneficial for our ecosystem for sure.
More info (Roundup of news from Meta Quest Gaming Showcase)
More info (Samba De Amigo)
More info (I Expect You To Die 3)
More info (Silent Slayer)
More info (Ghostbusters: Rise Of The Ghost Lord)
More info (Underdogs)
More info (Racket Club)
More info (Vampire: The Masquerade — Justice)
More info (Dungeons Of Eternity)
More info (The Seventh Guest)
More info (Stranger Things VR)
More info (Attack On Titan VR)
More info (Bulletstorm VR)
More info (Assassin’s Creed Nexus — Road To VR)
More info (Assassin’s Creed Nexus — Upload VR)
More info (Asgard’s Wrath 2 — Announcement)
More info (Asgard’s Wrath 2 — Developer Walkthrough)
More info (Asgard’s Wrath 2 — All the best features of the game)
More info (Asgard’s Wrath 2 — Comparison with AW 1 trailer)
More info (Arizona Sunshine 2)
More info (NFL Pro Era Next Evolution)
More info (Demeo Battles)
More info (Powerwash Simulator)
More info (Little Cities update)
More info (Ghost Signal update)
Somnium Space reveals more of the Somnium VR1 headset
Somnium Space has revealed more details of the Somnium VR1 headset that is building with the support of VRgineers.
In a dedicated blog post, the company has highlighted some important specifications:
- 125° horizontal and 100° vertical FOV
- 2880 x 2880 (per eye) pixels and a 35 PPD
- 90–120–144Hz refresh rate
- Variable IPD
- Two 12 Mpx cameras for high-definition passthrough AR
- Optional LiDAR module
There will be also attention to manufacturing quality and the comfort of the user. The headset also will be opensourced, so other companies will be able to create accessories out of it.
Somnium plans to put online a web configurator so interested customers can configure which features they want (e.g. LiDAR or not) and buy a headset that fits their needs. Shipping should start in 2023.
Reading all of this makes me think that the Somnium VR1 candidates itself to be one of the best PCVR headsets on the market. It’s interesting how traditional market leaders like Valve and HTC are lagging behind while existing software companies like Bigscreen and Somnium Space are actually working on innovating the PC VR space. Of course, no one has tried this headset, yet, so we should wait before judging it, but on paper, it looks incredibly interesting.
News worth a mention
Ultraleap launches Leap Motion Controller 2
Hand-tracking company Ultraleap has just announced the Leap Motion Controller 2, the evolution of the iconic Leap Motion Controller, which is smaller and more precise than its predecessor. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Android, and costs $140.
Bigscreen Beyond gets a FOV upgrade
Bigscreen has announced that it has been able to provide an upgrade to Bigscreen Beyond regarding the following features:
- Field of view: FOV has been increased from ~93 degrees to 102 degrees. It’s said to beat the FOV of many headsets on the market today, including Meta Quest 2, HP Reverb G2, and Varjo Aero.
- Clarity: it has improved sweet spot, glare, and optical performance. Lens artifacts such as glare have been reduced as well. Pixels per degree is now officially 32 PPD.
- IPD. The headset is now available in 18 different IPD sizes from 55mm to 72mm. The large sweet spot makes it ideal to use even if the IPD is not exactly the one of your eyes.
HTC Vive XR Elite gets an update too
HTC has announced that its Vive XR Elite is getting new functionalities, too:
- Depth Sensor Room Setup: the headset can scan the room and find the floor, walls, and tables automatically
- Improved hand tracking: now hand tracking works also in some conditions where one hand occludes the other
- Marker tracking: the headset can now track Aruco markers, a feature that can be employed for colocation, for instance
- PC Mixed Reality Streaming: you can stream content from a PC (e.g. a 3D model) and see it in mixed reality in the headset
NVIDIA’s Neurangelo converts a 2D video to 3D
NVIDIA has just announced Neurangelo, a new AI technology that is able to take a 2D video of an environment and reconstruct the 3D model of that environment, with all its materials and textures correctly set. This is impressive.
Meta is working on a retina-resolution varifocal display
Meta is going to present at SIGGRAPH this August a headset that has not only retina resolution (meaning that its resolution is the maximum the retina can perceive), but is also varifocal (meaning that the eyes can naturally focus at different depths). It is a research project, but it is a glimpse of the future of XR headsets.
More info (Meta headset — Reddit)
More info (Meta headset — Mixed News)
Watch Privacy Lost
Privacy Lost is a short movie produced by Louis Rosenberg and other people that shows the dangers of MR + AI. In the video, you see a family that is manipulated by the AI to sell them more drinks and food at the restaurant. This is the dystopia we should avoid.
Discover a Reconfigurable Mobile Head-Mounted Display
This is the weirdest research project I’ve seen this week (thanks Ivan Aguilar for the tip). A VR headset with 6 screens, about which you can detach a few to give to other people to collaborate with you. On one side it’s genius, on the other side, is a WTF. A must-watch.
Enjoy the Quest Store Sale
On the occasion of the Quest Gaming Showcase, Meta has organized a sale on the Meta Quest Store. Many games are available at a discounted price, with the most notable offer being Resident Evil 4 VR at 50% of its price.
Horizon Worlds tests its new graphics
Horizon Worlds is going to introduce the possibility of importing 3D Models made with professional applications. This tool is not available to creators, yet, but Meta is launching in preview a game made with them, called Titanborne. I guess the company wants to test the waters, to see if the community likes this kind of content.
Microsoft releases MRTK 3
Notwithstanding the fact that most of the team behind it has been laid off, Microsoft has announced that Microsoft Mixed Reality Toolkit 3 (MRTK3) will reach General Availability (GA) in Q3 of this calendar year. This is great news because MRTK 3 introduces better compatibility with Unity standard tools than its previous version.
I’m just wondering how Microsoft is still supporting the project and if there will be a MRTK 4.
Amid Evil VR is selling more on PC than on Quest
It is common knowledge that VR games sell much more on Quest than on Steam. But it seems that there are exceptions to this rule: the team behind Amid Evil VR revealed that is selling more on Steam than on the Quest Store. And not by little, but by a 10x factor. Maybe these numbers have been helped by the discounted price on PC and the popularity of the flatscreen version, but still, it is an interesting stat to know.
Some news about content
- Pistol Whip is hosting a free weekend on occasion of the launch of the second scene of the season, Nobody Wants You
- The Pirate Queen is a new VR storytelling experience, starring Lucy Liu
- Killer Frequency is a horror game with original mechanics and a good way of creating tension
- We Are One is an original puzzle game where you use temporal loops of actions performed by yourself in different instants of time to reach the results. The puzzles are fun and never frustrating
- No More Rainbows is one of the best VR platformers, according to Upload, because it exploits the physicality of VR
More info (Pistol Whip — New Scene)
More info (The Pirate Queen)
More info (Killer Frequency — Review)
More info (We Are One — Review)
More info (No More Rainbows — Review)
Other news
Mojo Vision announces partnership with DigiLens to use its microLED displays in XR glasses
Ben Lang went hands-on with CREAL at AWE and was excited by its light fields
Emagin shows a display with 15000 nits for Virtual Reality
Senseglove Nova 2 brings haptic feedback on the hand palms of the user
Avi Bar Zeev details what we need to have XR glasses like sunglasses
SideQuest introduces audio in its headset screen mirroring
News from partners (and friends)
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Some XR fun
Last Christmas I gave you my Quest, and the very next day, you break everything away…
Funny link
A simple tutorial on how to covert your Quest 2 into a Quest 3
Funny link
RIP Quest Pro
Funny link
This is the infographic that the VR community didn’t know it needed
Funny link
One of the most beneficial effects of the launch of the Apple headset
Funny link
Very acid comment on the first game announced at the Quest Gaming Showcase
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
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And now here you are the link to donate:
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
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(Header image by Apple, taken from Upload VR)