It’s been a bit of a crazy week for me, and I hope it has been a bit more relaxing for you. I just send you a lot of good vibes, hoping that this summery week will bring you sun, fun, and joy. Let’s leave the summertime sadness to Lana Del Rey…
Top news of the week
Immersed announced Visor headset
The company Immersed is well known in the VR community for its productivity application to have a multi-monitor setup for your computer in virtual reality. It has just announced VISOR, a new high-end headset to be used together with its app. VISOR is a tethered headset optimized for productivity, so it features a very high resolution (4K per eye) to be able to see the virtual screens properly, it is lightweight (it is “lighter than a smartphone”) so it can be worn for long periods of times, it features a custom facemask tailored to the face of the user so that to be more comfortable, it features inside-out tracking and passthrough MR. The ideal use case is letting you sit in front of your laptop, seeing 4–5 virtual screens in front of you, and make you work for 8 hours a day in virtual reality.
Apart from the announcement per se, I’ve found it very interesting to hear the words of the founder Renji Bijoy about it (if you have 10m, watch his interview in the video linked here below). These are the most important points he said, IMHO:
- Immersed, like Bigscreen, is entering the hardware field because there is no ideal headset for the productivity use case, and the major XR manufacturers are not caring enough to produce a device for it, because they have other priorities. So Immersed had to work out on a headset itself, so that to guarantee an optimal experience for people using its software
- Headsets are always becoming more personal (like smartphones), so it starts to make sense to have headsets where the face gasket is custom-built for your face
- Analyzing the market, Immersed understood that a tethered device would have been best. We are talking about a productivity headset, so people ideally should wear it even for 8 hours a day. No standalone headset battery lasts 8 hours, so the people using Immersed would need to tether the device anyway to a power outlet (or battery pack), so it makes sense to tether it to the PC, instead
- Analyzing the usage time, the company noticed that passthrough Mixed Reality increased the average session time of around 1h, so it seems that for this use case, having passthrough is fundamental for customer satisfaction (and in fact the Vision Pro offers this use case and is a passthrough headset)
I’ve found this announcement quite interesting: this is a headset thought with one specific use case in mind. Some skepticals say that they don’t believe this device until they see it, but actually Immersed already announced that it is going to build it together with a major VR hardware manufacturer, so there shouldn’t be the risk of having another DecaGear. In any case, the company has opened up a page for registration for interested users.
More info (Immersed announces Visor — Road To VR)
More info (Immersed announces Visor — Upload VR)
More info (Reji Bijoy talks about the device)
Other relevant news
Ray-Ban Stories’ active users are no more than 30,000
Ray-Ban Stories is an interesting product launched by Meta and Exilor-Luxottica that tries to shrink all the smart electronics that is possible to add inside stylish Ray-Ban glasses. Currently, they are suitable only for taking photos and videos and answering phone calls, but Meta is already working on the next models, which should also integrate AR features.
Ray-Ban Stories have had great visibility in the XR community, and because of their stylish design, some people from our field are not afraid of wearing them often in their daily life. For this reason, I always assumed that they had been a successful device on its niche. It turns out I was wrong.
A report from the Wall Street Journal, which claims to have had access to an internal document from Meta, states that the device has actually sold quite ok, having reached 300,000 shipped units, which is not bad for a new niche product. But the bad news is that the retention rate is only 10%: it is estimated that only 27,000 people use these glasses every month. Having more than 90% of the users abandoning the device is far from being good news.
We always blame the form factor as one of the reasons why XR doesn’t become successful, but in this case, it can’t be the reason, because Ray-Ban glasses are super stylish. The problem is in the functionalities, then: people do not find that valuable to have glasses that just shoot photos and videos, especially with a device that is experimental and so brings with it various technical problems (e.g. battery life, poor user experience, etc…)
The next version of the glasses, according to WSJ, should provide more or less the same features, but with better specifications, so I’m not expecting a much bigger success from them. The third one, which should add AR functionalities, is the one to keep an eye on.
More info (WSJ report on Ray-Ban Stories)
More info (NWN talks about the report)
Roblox had 1M downloads on Quest
When I reviewed Roblox on Meta Quest App Lab last week, I highlighted how it had a very high number of user reviews: 1200 in just 24 hours, which is kind of a record for App Lab. After a few days, we had some more exact figures of the impact this application had on the Quest platform. Roblox CEO revealed that in a few days, the application had more than 1 million downloads just on the Quest platform.
1 MILLION. IN A FEW DAYS. ON APP LAB. Let this sink. It’s a huge result no other VR app ever had. This is because Roblox has 60M daily users, so even just a small percentage of them coming to VR is creating a big tide in the VR market. That’s why for me the news of Roblox on Quest is so huge, and that’s why I’m convinced it is going to help Meta in having great Quest 3 sales these holidays.
More info (1M downloads of Roblox on Quest — Road To VR)
More info (My review of Roblox on Quest)
FCC approvals unveil details about VR devices
This week we had the FCC approving three VR gadgets: the Quest 3 headset, the Touch Plus controllers, and the Pico Neo 3 Link.
The Quest 3 approval unveiled that the headset is compatible with Wi-Fi 6, which can increase the performance of remote streaming when using Virtual Desktop or Air Link. Touch Plus controllers have instead been reported to work on a single AA battery, so they won’t have a rechargeable battery like the controllers of Quest Pro.
The Pico Neo 3 Link approval in the US by FCC is a bit more of a puzzle because the device is not even the latest released device by Pico, which is Pico 4. My bet is that the device has been approved because of Virtuix: Virtuix is going to ship its treadmill with a Pico Neo 3 Link unit, so the headset should be approved for US distribution if the whole kit must be given to customers.
More info (Quest 3 approved by FCC)
More info (Touch Plus approved by FCC)
More info (Pico Neo 3 Link approved by FCC)
Meta shows interesting prototypes at SIGGRAPH
Meta loves to show off some of its R&D work to the community, even if it is related to technologies that may never see the light. This week, at SIGGRAPH, the company is going to present two new interesting prototypes to show its latest research work:
- Butterscotch Varifocal: Last year Meta presented “Butterscotch”, a headset with a small field of view but “retinal resolution”, so the resolution is so high that for the eye the VR images are indistinguishable from real life This year, a variant of the headset is presented, which adds varifocal, that is the ability of the headset to let you focus your eyes at different distances. Butterscotch Varifocal can support from 0 to 4 diopter (i.e. infinity to 25 cm), and it has been made re-using parts of the components of the Half Dome headset
- Flamera: This is a headset that has a special passthrough technology that employs light fields. Long story short, using it, passthrough is not distorted anymore, it has a very high perceived resolution, and of course features all colors. This is a radical technological change with respect to the passthrough we are used to today, but brings with it amazing advances.
Samsung is still on track to deliver its headset
Samsung’s president of mobile experience, TM Roh, has spoken with CNET about the XR strategy of the company.
First of all, he reiterated that the company is still on track with its work (notwithstanding the rumors of delays) and that an announcement should come “not too far away” (which means nothing).
Then he talked about the ecosystem and the fact that Samsung wants to create an open ecosystem around XR where many partners can operate in. He also envisions that a first version of the Samsung MR device will still be made to enhance the smartphone experience, while the visor-based approach, like the one proposed by Apple with the Vision Pro, is more something for the long term.
So it may be that the headset that we are expecting from Samsung will actually be a small visor connected to the phone… but this is just a speculation of mine given the words of TM Roh, and the current work that Qualcomm (one of the partners of the project) is doing.
More info (TM Roh on Samsung’s XR strategy)
More info (ZDNet talks about TM Roh’s interview)
News worth a mention
Meta Connect returns with an in-person experience
Meta Connect will be held on September 27–28 and we already knew this will be the moment where Mark Zuckerberg will launch the Quest 3. What is more of a news is that this year, for the first time after the COVID pandemic, Meta Connect will feature an in-person experience at Meta HQ. It still won’t be a full in-person event, though, but this is a start. Registrations are limited and attendees will have access to demo experiences, networking events, and more.
More info (Meta Connect — Road To VR)
More info (Meta Connect — Upload VR)
Echo VR is no more
Meta kept its idea of shutting down Echo VR, and so what has been probably the first real VR esport, is no more. Echo VR was closed on August, 1st. I really have no words to describe the sadness we all VR people are feeling about this.
More info (Echo VR shuts down — Road To VR)
More info (Echo VR shuts down — Upload VR)
More info (Angry Reddit post about Echo VR shutting down)
More info (Sad Reddit post about Echo VR shutting down)
Lynx R1 headset enters production
Finally, the Lynx R1 headset has entered the production stage. The CEO Stan Larroque has declared “The first units of the Lynx-R1 are currently being produced by Compal — our manufacturer” and so shipping to the backers can start relatively soon. This is great news for all the active community of Lynx supporters, even if the headset is very late with regard to its initial schedule. I think that if Lynx wants to compete with the big names in our market, it should iterate the next version much faster.
DPVR announces upcoming P2 headset
DPVR, which is the 2nd manufacturer of VR headsets in China, has announced its upcoming headset: DPVR P2, which is aimed at the enterprise market. The headset aims to “revolutionize the way businesses, schools, and medical institutions harness the power of immersive technology”, according to the company. DPVR has also thought about a very interesting service for companies: a full customization service about the product, that can encompass everything about it, from hardware to software, not to mention branding.
I think DPVR is growing well, so it’s interesting to keep an eye on what it is doing.
Tim Cook uses the Vision Pro every day
In the most recent Apple earnings call, Tim Cook reiterated how the Vision Pro is a futuristic device that will be beneficial for the whole Apple business. For instance, he underlines how the traffic in Apple Stores will be increased by people that enter because they are curious to try the Vision Pro, leading to more sales of Apple devices.
But the most important part, in my opinion, is when he said this “Everybody that’s been through the demos is blown away, whether you’re talking about press, analysts, or developers. We are now shipping units to the developer community for them to begin working on their apps. And we’re looking forward to shipping early next year. And so we could not be more excited about that. I’m using the product daily.”
Tim Cook stated that he is using Vision Pro daily. Of course, it can be just a marketing stunt to impress the investors, but this made me curious if instead there is some application that is increasing the productivity of the CEO of Apple. I mean, if Apple CEO finds this device useful, I think it’s a hell of an endorsement. But before we all get too excited, let’s remember that of course he’s trying to sell the device, so we can’t rely too much on what he says.
Alliance for Open USD has born
Big tech companies including Apple, Pixar, Adobe, Autodesk, and NVIDIA, announced the formation of the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD), which is dedicated to promoting the standardization and development of USD. USD is a file format to describe 3D scenes that has been invented by Pixar and that lately has been used and promoted a lot also by Apple and NVIDIA. It is seen by some companies like the “HTTP of the metaverse”, the protocol that can be used as an exchange format between different XR tools and platforms.
LensList is organizing a hackathon with Snap
LensList and Snap are organizing a hackathon: creators can submit their best assets (not lenses) for the Asset Library and get a chance to win a share of the $40,000 prize pool. The time to submit your best assets lasts until August 20th.
Some offers in XR
I want to tell you about some interesting offers I found in the XR field:
- Amazon was discounting PSVR 2 in some countries, but now it has mostly gone out of stock
- There is a Humble Bundle bundle with a few racing games, 4 of which are compatible with VR
More info (PSVR 2 on Amazon)
More info (Humble Bundle bundle)
Some news about content
- The creators behind the Richie’s Plank Experience are going to announce a new game at Gamescom
- A new video reveals that Asgard’s Wrath 2 is going to feature an “asynchronously social dungeon-crawling mode”
- I Expected You To Die 3 is set to arrive on Quest Store on August 17th and on SteamVR, on September 28th. The price will be $25
- GRIM is a new VR multiplayer survival game coming from the creators of Ghosts of Tabor
- Inter Solar 83 is a space game with strong retro vibes, set to be released in Q4 2024
- The Riese Project is a game created within Unreal Engine 5 using Nanite and Lumen, and is available now on Steam for $15
- Mirrorscape proposes a new AR platform to play tabletop games like D&D
More info (New game from Richie’s Plank Experience team)
More info (Asgard’s Wrath 2)
More info (I Expect You To Die 3)
More info (GRIM)
More info (Inter Solar 83)
More info (The Reise Project)
More info (Mirrorscape)
Some reviews about content
- I have reviewed the indie sport VR game Space Ball and found it very fun. It is a great mix of Gorilla Tag and Rocket League!
Other news
Shooter game ‘Super Rumble‘ to show the next-generation experiences available on Horizon Worlds
It seems that the rumor about Valve potentially announcing something at Gamescom is not correct
(Thanks Simplex for the notice)
Meta announces Audiocraft, a new AI solution to generate music from a prompt
Karl Guttag heavily criticizes the use of the Apple Vision Pro to have a multi-monitor setup for your laptop
Very particular research shows how to reduce the sensory mismatch when enjoying VR while lying down on a bed and the user avatar is standing on its feet
(Thanks Ivan Aguilar for the tip)
New research could allow for more comfortable EEG sensors to be used inside VR headsets to experiment with brain-computer interfaces
News from partners (and friends)
Compliments to Virtuix
Virtuix has closed its crowdfunding campaign with a big success. It’s raised $4.7 million and plans to ship 1,000 of its Omni One VR treadmills by the end of this year. Initial shippings will be for people that participated to the funding campaign, but then starting from Q2 2024, also the general audience will be able to receive this interesting device. Compliments to the whole team for the obtained results.
Learn more
Some XR fun
This hurts
Funny link
The resemblance is striking
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 are facing the consequences of the war. Please donate to the Red Cross to handle the current humanitarian situation in Ukraine. I will leave you the link to do that 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
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And now here you are the link to donate:
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
(Header image by Meta)