AWE has come to an end. I’m spending my last night in LA and tomorrow (which will be “today” when the newsletter is published) I’m going to fly to Berlin to be a mentor at the XRCC hackathon. My experience at AWE has been great: I reached the goals I had set for myself before the event, I’ve met Palmer Luckey, I’ve tried amazing hardware, I’ve got to know new friends and hug the old ones. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank anyone who contributed to making my AWE so special… I do not want to write names because I’m afraid to forget someone, but… THANK YOU. This has been literally one of my best AWEs and that’s been because of the amazing people I have around me.
Top news of the week
Apple may be focusing on a cheaper Vision Pro that connects to the iPhone
The rumors of the week talk about Apple focusing on the release of a cheaper version of the Vision Pro by the end of 2025. According to these rumors, the company is also working on a second version of the Vision Pro, with better specifications and ergonomics, but that should probably see the light from 2026 on. The priority seems to be the release of the cheaper Vision Pro, which probably won’t have “Pro” in the name, that could appeal to the masses.
According to Mark Gurman, this cheaper headset, codenamed, N107, has reduced specifications and for instance, could have a narrower FOV. He also says that Apple is trying to make this device work by plugging it into the iPhone. This would let Apple remove from the headset not only the battery but also many components that are necessary to give its computational power because the headset would be reliant on the processing power of the phone.
This is a fascinating hypothesis, which has a good and a bad side. The good side is that a Vision device that connects to the Phone could become quite affordable, and cost something like $1500. For anyone who has an iPhone already, that would be a huge saving. If Apple in this time manages to find a valid use case for the Vision Pro, it could sell a high number of devices to existing iPhone owners.
On the other side, there are a few problems: first of all, for non-existing iPhone owners, the total price would be mostly the same. Then, on the technical side, such a power-hungry headset that connects to the phone risks reproducing the same issues with had with the GearVR: people should drain their precious phone battery to use the headset. As David Heaney makes us notice, currently the battery of the Vision Pro is much bigger than the battery of any iPhone, so connecting this headset to a phone may be a serious issue.
There are also a bunch of minor pieces of news about the Vision Pro this week. Ian Hamilton has written an editorial on why Vision OS 2 better integrates Vision Pro with the rest of the Apple ecosystem. ALVR has been launched on the Vision Pro so it is now possible to play SteamVR games on Apple headsets. And Apple has fixed a vulnerability that gave malicious users the power to fill your room with a lot of bats.
More info (Report of Apple focusing on a cheaper Vision Pro)
More info (Cheaper Vision device could be connected to the iPhone)
More info (David Heaney expressing doubts about the connection to the iPhone)
More info (ALVR on the Vision Pro)
More info (VisionOS 2 and the Apple ecosystem)
More info (VisionOS and its issue with bats)
Other relevant news
Meta reorganizes Reality Labs
Meta has announced a reorganization of Reality Labs, its division that works on immersive realities. The division will be split into a “Metaverse” organization which will take care of the Quest, and a “Wearable” one which will take care of devices like Ray-Ban Meta. A limited number of layoffs have been involved in this operation.
It seems that the reason for this division is that Ray-Ban Meta had much more success than expected, so now the company wants to dedicate more effort on that path toward everyday AR. Ray-Ban smartglasses are a completely different product than Quest, so it needs a dedicated team that works on dedicated features, and for this reason, it’s better to separate the two teams working on the two products. Some people speculate that this may be a way to split Reality Labs into a VR team and an AR team… well, it may be if the Ray-Ban Meta will prove to be the right path toward AR glasses. Meta has anyway underlined its commitment on VR, Horizon Worlds, and Horizon OS.
Sony may have only two titles in the works for PSVR 2
The agony of PlayStation VR 2 continues. A new report by Android Central states that Sony is cutting funds for VR games and that the company is only working on two upcoming VR games. This is in line with many other reports that in one way or another confirm how PSVR 2 is not a priority for Sony. The Japanese company, in this harsh moment for the gaming industry, is mostly putting its focus on PlayStation 5, the flagship console which should bring many revenues.
All of this is a big pity because PSVR 2 is a pretty good headset, and also has quite a good lineup of games you can play with. But the lack of investments from Sony is an indicator that this device will never see amazing exclusive titles like PSVR 1 did and that in general will never be a big hit. The disappointing sales that it had up are a clear sign of this disengagement.
AWE was a great showcase of XR technologies
This year’s AWE was very interesting: many XR news were announced there and many pieces of hardware were on the show floor. To make you feel less FOMO, I have collected a few links about it for you, so you won’t miss the most important things even if you were not there.
Let’s start with the news. In my opinion, some important highlights have been:
- Niantic announcing Niantic Studio, a web editor to let everyone easily create WebAR experiences. This can be huge for WebXR, because finally there is an easy-to-use editor for creating immersive web experiences
- Meta has launched a lifestyle accelerator, to fund startups and teams that are working on innovative mixed-reality applications that are targeted toward fashion, cooking, design, and many other non-gaming fields
- Palmer Luckey has revealed that he’s working on a military XR headset
- Varjo has announced Teleport, a service to scan environments with your phone so that you can enter them in VR with other people
- Microsoft has announced important updates for Microsoft Mesh, in particular the ability to create your avatar starting from a picture of yours.
Tom Ffiske has done a great job in collecting all the main news from AWE in a post I will link you to below, so you can read more of them. Charlie Fink described well the vibes of the event and CNET listed some of the most relevant hardware.
Talking about hardware, some highlights for me have been the FreeAim walking shoes, Ultraleap event camera, DoublePoint input system for AR, and HaptX haptic gloves. You can read my hands-on impressions about all these amazing things in the articles that I’ve published in the past few days (I have not had the time to talk about Doublepoint, so I’m linking below the review that Upload did).
I hope all these links will help you in getting more of a sense of what happened at AWE! I hope to see you there next year!
More info (Tom Ffiske’s roundup of news about AWE)
More info (CNET about the hardware at AWE)
More info (Charlie Fink describing the vibes of AWE)
More info (Niantic Studio)
More info (Meta Lifestyle Accelerator announcement)
More info (Meta Lifestyle Accelerator website)
More info (Palmer Luckey is working on a military VR headset)
More info (Varjo Teleport)
More info (Microsoft Mesh updates)
More info (Hands-on DoublePoint)
More info (Hands-on FreeAim shoes)
More info (Hands-on HaptX gloves)
More info (Hands-on Logitech MX Ink pen)
More info (Hands-on Ultraleap event camera)
News worth a mention
Gorilla Tag made $100M in revenues
Another Axiom shared amazing statistics about its very successful game Gorilla Tag. The monke game made more than $100M in revenues and has 3 million monthly active users and 1 million daily active users. These numbers are impressive if you consider that Quest has sold more than 20M devices. It means that more or less 1 player out of 10 plays with Gorilla Tag. I thought that “return to monke” was a meme, while actually was a recipe for making a successful VR game…
Meta Augments have been delayed
Talking about AR vs VR, Andrew Bosworth, Meta CTO, has also revealed that Augments, the AR widgets that the company teased for Quest, are coming much later than expected because the whole code is being re-engineered. That’s a pity because I’m pretty bullish about AR widgets and I can’t wait for Augments to come.
Hugo Swart joined Google
Hugo Swart, the man behind all the various XR chipsets produced by Qualcomm, has just announced that it has joined Google and will be responsible for “XR Ecosystem Strategy and Technology”. I think this is pretty big news. Hugo Swart is very well known in our space and I doubt he would have ever joined Google if Google had not a clear XR strategy he could be involved in. In my opinion, it shows the new commitment that Google has towards XR.
More info (Hugo Swart joining Google)
More info (Hugo Swart announcing his new job on Linkedin)
Meta started working on Quest Pro 2 in November
In the same report that states that Apple is working on a cheaper version of the Vision Pro, it is also written that Meta started working in November 2023 on a device codenamed “La Jolla”. La Jolla was already mentioned in other reports as a new premium device by Meta, a successor of Quest Pro which should feature very advanced features, like Codec Avatars. It’s good to know that Meta has been actively working on it for more than 6 months, but I’m curious to see if the recent break up of Meta’s partnership with Lenovo will negatively impact the development times of this new headset.
The launch of Pico 4S may be pretty close
A new standalone headset by Pico has just been certified in Korea. Checking the characteristics of this device, it is possible to speculate that it is the upcoming (rumored) Pico 4S. This means that its launch may be imminent (in the next few months) because usually electromagnetic certification happens just before a headset is put on the market.
Gracia aims to be the YouTube of volumetric videos
Gracia is a new platform coming out from stealth that aims to be the YouTube of volumetric videos and photos. Currently, it supports only stills: people can scan places with smartphone apps like Luma and then upload it to Gracia so that other people can enjoy them. Of course, the rendering technology is Gaussian Splats. But the future plan is hosting volumetric videos which Gracia says can be shot using “only” 20 GoPro cameras. Gracia is currently available on SideQuest if you want to try it.
Somnium Space announces all the prices for its VR1 headset
Somnium Space is going to launch its headset on July 12th at Somnium Connect in Prague. Interested VR enthusiasts can reserve a slot until July 10 to be able to place an order 24–48 hours before it goes on general sale. The company has also revealed the price of the device: it goes from €1900 for the version without passthrough, eye tracking, and hand tracking to the €3990 translucent limited edition that features all the above technologies. The headset is modular, so it is possible to choose the features you want and pay only for them.
More info (Somnium VR1 launch — Road To VR)
More info (Somnium VR1 launch — Upload VR)
Reverse Optical Flow may be a novel solution for motion sickness
Flat2VR spotted at AWE a very interesting demo. The solution is called Reverse Optical Flow and its purpose is reducing motion sickness of people moving in VR. With this system, the application detects where the movement is going to happen, and shows some lines in the scene that anticipate this movement. Knowing which movement is going to happen, the brain is more “prepared” for it and so the nausea effect is reduced. It seems a very interesting approach that could substitute vignetting, but unluckily I have not been able to personally try it.
Meta is hosting no gaming showcase this year
Andrew Bosworth has answered in his usual Instagram Q&A that Meta is not going to host a Gaming Showcase this year. He said that it is not an event happening every year and they usually skip it when they are preparing a big launch. He is so indirectly confirming that they are preparing for the big launch of the Quest 3S…
Some offers about games
In case you want to buy some new games, you will be happy to know about some cool offers that there are out there:
- Meta is running a June Sale on many titles on the Quest Store
- Humble Bundle has a bundle of Devolver VR games on the occasion of the upcoming Upload VR Summer Showcase
- Many games recently applied a huge 90% discount on their price: a Redditor made a list of them so you can buy them all. The most famous example of these games is Max Mustard.
More info (Meta’s June Sale)
More info (Devolver’s Humble Bundle)
More info (Games having a -90% discount)
Some news about content
- ShapesXR announced version 2.0, which brings important updates like a web editor, improved UX, interaction prototyping, and spatial sound prototyping
- Maze Theory announced that its upcoming immersive puzzle-adventure game Infinite Inside is set to arrive July, 12th, coming to all major headsets, including the Vision Pro
- Social Stealth game Mannequin has been launched on Steam
- Death Game Hotel, a VR horror title from Deadly Premonition director SWERY, confirmed to launch on July 11 for $20
- City builder game Cityscapes: Sim Builder is coming to Vision Pro on July 3rd via Apple Arcade
- Upload has written its usual ICYMI post with some minor XR news
More info (ShapesXR)
More info (Infinite Inside)
More info (Mannequin)
More info (Death Game Hotel)
More info (Cityscapes: Sim Builder)
More info (ICYMI)
Some reviews about content
- Neon Squad Tactics looks like a sci-fi version of Demeo. It’s an enjoyable game, but it’s not very original and has some problems with its controls
- Downtown Club is a very engaging racing game. It just needs to add more content, features, and especially, cars
- Taskmaster VR brings some nice British humour, but it is haunted by its frustrating interactions, so it got only 2 out of 5 stars on Upload
- MiRacle Pool brings an enjoyable billiard emulation in mixed reality. Its problem is that it is hard to aim without having a physical stick…
More info (Neon Squad Tactics)
More info (Downtown Club)
More info (Taskmaster VR)
More info (MiRacle Pool)
Other news
A developer created an incredible system in three.js to embed virtual worlds into web pages
Road To VR went hands-on with Logitech MX Ink pen
Meta is going to release a tool to let you force updates on your Quest by connecting it to your PC
XREAL Beam Pro is the ideal computational unit to connect your XREAL glasses to
Inseye is offering eye tracking for Quest 3 without using cameras
Kluge Interactive has written a post on the Unity blog explaining how it ported Synth Riders to the Vision Pro
News from partners (and friends)
Listen to the Metavertising podcast!
I’ve been hosted by Ely Santos in his Metavertising podcast and we talked about many interesting XR topics. You can listen to this episode on all the major podcast platforms!
Learn more
Morehouse College introduces an AI teaching assistant
Morehouse College (with the support of VictoryXR) is deploying an AI professor who will support Dr. Muhsinah Morris in teaching students in immersive 3D. The assistant can teach and answer questions 24/7, enhancing accessibility when the professor is not available, and can also answer in all languages. If you are curious about seeing it, there is a public webpage where everyone can try it.
Learn more
Enjoy This Week In XR’s 200th episode!
This Week In XR, the podcast by Charlie Fink, Ted Schilowitz, and Rony Abovitz, has reached the important milestone of the 200th episode! It was recorded at AWE, with a very cool panel and also a celebration with a piece of cake. I’ve had the honor of being part of this special episode and I invite you all to watch it.
Big compliments to Charlie and the whole team for this amazing result!
Learn more
Sponsored Area
Support Blender Start Here!
The game Blender Start Here, which teaches you how to use Blender in a fun and entertaining way has been fully funded on Kickstarter! Thank you to everyone who supported it! I’m very happy with this result because the team at XRIO which is behind it is made of really nice people (I met them at AWE). Even if the campaign is closed, you can still support the project and obtain the Kickstarter perks.
(Little disclaimer: I’m giving them this Sponsored Post for free because I loved their guerrilla marketing of promoting their game by dressing like a giant chicken at AWE. They deserved it!)
Visit Kickstarter Website
Some XR fun
Linus Tech Tips has tried and reviewed some crazy controllers.
(Thanks Ivan for the tip)
Funny link
Donate for good
Like last week, also this week in this final paragraph I won’t ask you to donate to my blog, but to the poor people who 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
- 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)
- Masterpiece X
- Dimo Pepelyashev
- Jennifer Granger
- Jason Moore
- Steve Biggs
- 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
- Christopher Boyd
- Carol Dalrymple
- Sb
- Pieter Siekerman
- Enrico Poli
- Vooiage Technologies
- Caroline
- Liam James O’Malley
- Hillary Charnas
- Wil Stevens
- Brian Peiris
- Francesco Salizzoni
- Alan Smithson
- Steve R
- Brentwahn
- Matt Cool
- Simplex
- Gregory F Gorsuch
- Paul Shay
- Matias Nassi
And now here you are the link to donate:
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
(Header image by Meta)