The XR Week Peek (2024.01.16): Apple prepares the launch of Vision Pro, Sony announces MR headset, and much more!

After the announcement of the release date of the Apple Vision Pro, the whole community is just waiting for its preorders to open up this Friday. I actually can’t wait for the release date of February, 2nd, so we will see how much this headset is going to have an impact on the XR market.
 
 While you wait to see what is going to happen, I strongly suggest you read my latest article which is basically a mini-book that gives you many insights into what happens behind the curtains when a social VR platform is being built. You can find it here: https://skarredghost.com/2024/01/15/vrroom-how-built-vr-social-platform/

Top news of the week

Apple is preparing to launch the Vision Pro

The preorder date for the Apple Vision Pro is getting closer and Apple is intensifying its marketing efforts. The company has just launched a small commercial that shows various superheroes in the act of putting a helmet on their head, with the final sequence being a person wearing a Vision Pro. This is a genius marketing move because it tries to make cool the act of putting on a headset, which is usually considered just something for nerds.
 
 The headset will be sold in physical stores and on the Apple website. People will be required to scan their faces with an iPhone to buy a Vision Pro so that Apple can provide them with a headset with all the straps and cushions that fit their faces. In the meanwhile, in physical stores, clerks are preparing to provide demos during the launch weekend of February, 2nd. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple has only 60–80K units available at this time, so most likely they’ll go sold out.
 
 It became pretty viral the news that Apple does not want developers to define their apps as AR, VR, or MR, but just as “spatial” when writing the store definitions. Some people wondered if this would also mean requiring companies to remove VR from the names of their products (e.g. remove VR from VRChat), but I don’t think Apple would make such a stupid move. If VRChat has to change its name just on the Apple Store, its fans wouldn’t find it, so it would make no sense as a requirement.
 
 Some first feedback starts arising from the early adopters, and Cix Liv has published on X that the device shows serious issues, like the fact that its virtual keyboard is hard to use (this does not surprise me… virtual keyboards without any haptics are hard to make). We all know that this is the first version of this headset, and probably Apple will get all the feedback to make a second version that is better (and hopefully cheaper).
 
 Some other news regarding the Vision Pro I read this week are:

• There is already a (terrible) Chinese knockoff of the Vision Pro
• Apple has an AI that is better than OpenAI’s in computer vision tasks, that is in understanding the world around it. This could be interesting when paired with XR glasses
• Apple has removed the functionality of “removing your room ceiling” from Vision Pro
• There is a video showing hand-tracking performances on Vision Pro: tracking is good, and occlusion is good, but the lag is incredibly high.

More info (Apple Vision Pro commercial)
More info (Apple Vision Pro commercial — Road To VR)
More info (Apple providing demos in the stores)
More info (Less than 100K Vision Pro available at launch)
More info (Apple Vision Pro requires face scan)
More info (Apple does not want devs to talk about AR or VR)
More info (Apple Chinese knockoff — Road To VR)
More info (Apple Chinese knockoff — Upload VR)
More info (Apple Chinese knockoff — Upload VR)
More info (All the confirmed games for Apple Vision Pro)
More info (Apple AI)
More info (Cix Liv’s commentary on Vision Pro)
More info (Apple removing the ceiling removal feature)
More info (Hand Tracking performances on Vision Pro)

Other relevant news

Sony announces MR headset for enterprise

At CES, Sony surprisingly announced a mixed reality headset, which is not related at all to Playstation, because it is aimed at the enterprise sector.
 
 The new device, still unnamed, boasts a Qualcomm’s XR2+ Gen 2 processor and is said to include 1.3-inch 4K OLED microdisplays. It is fully standalone, and it features a unique set of controllers: on one hand the user wears a ring (which is controlled by the thumb), while on the other one, he wears a controller that has a very peculiar shape. It has also a flip-up design so that the headset can be flipped up when not needed.
 
 This headset is not meant to play, but it is directed at designers and people who work with CAD files. It should work together with a “spatial content creation” platform for enterprise, made in partnership with Siemens, about which more details will be revealed in the future. It is so directed towards the “enterprise metaverse” that Siemens and NVIDIA love to mention so much.
 
 All of this is very interesting, but it should be clear to everyone that this is an enterprise-oriented device, which is to be sold to the B2B niche and is not going to change much in the overall VR market.

More info (Sony MR headset — Road To VR)
More info (Sony MR headset — Upload VR)

Shiftall reveals MeganeX Superlight

Shiftall (remember to read the f before the t) revealed at CES a new headset: the MeganeX Superlight. The small startup promised in the past a very lightweight and steampunk-styled headset called MeganeX, but it didn’t manage to ship it in a reasonable time, so other competitors like Bigscreen Beyond entered the market with tiny headsets and stole its thunder. Now Shiftall tries to answer with a new device, called MeganeX Superlight, which features dual 2,560 × 2,560 1.3-inch micro-OLED displays running at 120Hz. The name superlight comes from the fact that it is very lightweight (you don’t say) weighing only 200g. The low weight can also be achieved thanks to its all-plastic lenses. The headset works only with SteamVR tracking. It seems also much easier to manufacture than before because it is made with the classical shoebox design of headsets instead of trying to look like steampunk glasses.
 
 My friend Sebastian Ang (MRTV) tried these glasses at CES and praised the quality of the visuals, especially the high resolution and brightness of colors (due to the OLED screens). He also found it very lightweight, as it was promised.
 
 Shiftall claims the headset will be shipped this year. I hope they won’t have huge delays like the ones they had with the original MeganeX.
 
 Together with the new headset, Shiftall also announced new versions of the HaritoraX tracking system and the Mutalk muzzle for humans.

More info (Shiftall MeganeX Superlight — Road To VR)
More info (Shiftall MeganeX Superlight — Upload VR)
More info (MRTV goes hands on with the headset)

HTC announces new face tracking add-on

A few weeks ago I told you in this newsletter that HTC was working on a new face-tracking module for the Vive XR Elite and at CES the Asian company has exactly revealed this new device.
 
 This Face Tracking add-on magnetically attaches to the facial interface of the device, and it adds to it both eye tracking and face tracking. It features two 120Hz eye-tracking cameras and one 60Hz lower face-tracking camera. Eye tracking can be used to move the avatar’s eyes but also for foveated rendering and automatic IPD adjustment. Face tracking tracks up to 38 points on your face in real-time, across the lips, teeth, tongue, cheeks, nose, and chin.
 
 The device costs $200 and it is available starting today.

More info (HTC Face Tracking add-on — Road To VR)
More info (HTC Face Tracking add-on — Upload VR)

Google lays off people in the AR Hardware division

Like many tech companies lately, Google is performing a round of layoffs in its hardware teams. The most affected by this “restructuring operation” is the “1P AR Hardware” team, the one working on augmented reality devices. This comes a few months after the rumor that stated that Google had killed its internal AR hardware project, codenamed Project Iris. If we consider these rumors together, we can see a clear picture of Google abandoning the AR glasses market, at least for now.
 
 This does not mean that Google is not still committed to AR, though. The Big-G is in fact focusing on strategic partnerships like the one with Qualcomm and Samsung to try to impose itself as the provider of the runtime for XR headsets. Think about the domination that Google has in the smartphone sector, where it controls the most used operating system, and imagine that now Google wants to replicate the same in XR. Google wants to build an XR version of Android for VR headsets and AR glasses and make it the most used operating system by XR headsets. Will the Mountain View company succeed in its intent or Meta with its first-mover advantage will be able to keep out the tech giant?

More info (Google shuts down AR hardware division — Road To VR)
More info (Google shuts down AR hardware division — Upload VR)

News worth a mention

Leaked video shows Meta Quest Augments

A video leaked on Twitter shows some of the upcoming Augments for Meta Quest 3. Augments are a sort of 3D widgets that you can add to your room, and the videos show that they can be interactive and have different functionalities. In the leak it is also possible to see that Augments can also be created easily by content creators through Meta Spark, a no-code editor.

More info

The debate on hand tracking continues

The debate about hand tracking being or not being the main input method for XR in the future sparked by an article on Upload VR is still ongoing. Denny Unger, the CEO of Cloudhead Games, has expressed clearly his opinion, stating that every XR input form has its importance and that we can not assume yet that Apple Vision Pro will change the XR landscape forcing everyone to use hand tracking. Devin Reimer, the author of the original post, answered with other valid points, like that if the Vision Pro will be successful, the only input scheme offering input parity between Vision Pro, Quest, and Pico will be hand tracking because the Vision Pro will not have controllers. What an interesting and enriching debate…

More info (Denny Unger on hand tracking)
More info (Devin Reimer answering to Denny’s concerns)

CitraVR brings Nintendo 3DS emulation to Quest

Amanda Watson, the creator behind Quest Air Link at Meta, has just announced CitraVR, an emulator for Nintendo 3DS that runs on Meta Quest. She claims that this solution will add thousands of games overnight to the Meta Quest. Because of some legal issues, the solution is not being released on Meta main store or App Lab, but only on SideQuest and GitHub next week.

More info (CitraVR announcement)
More info (The solution brings thousands of games to VR)

Discover XRMust XR Awards winners

Like every year, XRMust has assigned its own awards to the best immersive storytelling experiences. The one winning the most important prize, Best 2023 Experience, has been Noire by Centre Pompidou.
 
 (Btw I’ve been in the experiences pre-selection jury, and I’m happy to have contributed to these awards!)

More info

A game dropped support for the HTC Vive

“Vampire: The Masquerade — Justice” is a game that is coming to PCVR headsets next month. The game will support all major headsets, with the notable exceptions of WMR headsets, and HTC Vive. The first one does not surprise me, because WMR have always been a niche market and now they have even been deprecated. The second instead is something new: a game is dropping support for HTC Vive Wands because guaranteeing input parity between the wands and the now-standard-controllers is very complicated, and the HTC Vive market share is now small enough that game studios may decide to skip it entirely. It’s the end of an era.

More info

Some news about content

• The Secret Of Retropolis’s long-awaited sequel, called Retropolis 2: Never Say Goodbye, is set to release on Meta Quest App Lab and SteamVR headsets on January 18th. The same studio is also launching a small free mixed-reality experience called Retropolis dot.Line. I’m a fan of the saga and I can’t wait to play these titles
• Mecha-fighting game UNDERDOGS is launching on Quest and SteamVR headsets on January 25th
• Action-figure-based game Crumbling arrives on January 18 for the Meta Quest platform and SteamVR
• Vertigo 2 is out now on PlayStation VR
• Jeff Minter’s psychedelic shooter Akka Arrh is going to land on PSVR 2 this March, published by Atari
• A VR mod for Lethal Company has been developed, and the fan community on Reddit is pretty excited about it
• There is a new gameplay sneak peek of the horror game Madison
• Youtuber Nathie has shared the details of a cute indie game featuring a snowman and that is called VRosty
• Upload has shared its bunch of minor gaming VR news in a small roundup article

More info (Retropolis 2: Never Say Goodbye)
More info (UNDERDOGS)
More info (Crumbling)
More info (Vertigo 2)
More info (Akka Arrh)
More info (Lethal Company VR / 1)
More info (Lethal Company VR / 2)
More info (Madison VR)
More info (VRosty)
More info (Upload VR’s minor gaming news)

Some reviews about content

• Toy Trains well recaptures the childhood nostalgia of playing with model train sets. It seems like a cute game to play

More info

Other news

Rec Room is launching its full-body avatars in beta, starting with its most veteran players

Learn more

Team Beef is in contact with Id Software to evaluate the release of official ports of classical games like Doom

Learn more

Meta restores casting to Chromecast on Quest

Learn more

Samsung showcases at CES transparent micro-LED display

Learn more

Steam allows again games that make use of generative AI, provided that they do not violate any IP

Learn more

Pimax has held private demos of its 12K-EVTθ (Engineering Verification Test Zero) prototype at CES

Learn more

News from partners (and friends)

Discover Sunken Blimp

Sunken Blimp is a Miami-based design studio that creates immersive experiences through Augmented and Virtual Realities and some of them are pretty original. You can see them on its Instagram account which I link to you here below.
Learn more

Iron Rebellion just got updated

Iron Rebellion just got its biggest update ever, and it has improved everything from weapons to graphics, not to mention movement and LIV Support!
Learn more

Some XR fun

I made some memes about the upcoming launch of the Vision Pro. I hope you’ll like them!
Funny link / 1
Funny link / 2

The community has of course made a lot of irony on Apple that does not want to use AR or VR but just Spatial Computing
Funny link / 1
Funny link / 2

I would like to say something funny, but it would go against OpenAI use policy
Funny link

Bro, I think your Quest 3 got weird
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
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And now here you are the link to donate:

Support The Red Cross in Ukraine

(Header image by Apple)