I’m writing this newsletter across Hangzhou and Qingdao, which are two cities I personally love here in China! My trip is going well and this week I will start writing on my blog about my XR experiences here in the Red Country, while on my X/Twitter channel, you will be able to see some landscape and food pictures!
The Summer is ended and this September and October will be very interesting for the XR space! I will keep you posted every week about what is happening in immersive realities, and this week is no exception, so… let’s see the coolest XR news of the week!
Top news of the week
Pico launches Pico 4 Ultra and Motion Tracker in Europe and Asia
After the launch in China, Pico has launched its latest product, Pico 4 Ultra, also in Europe and Asia. Preorders are already open for £529 / €599, with the headset going on regular sale from September, 20th. The headset is available on the Pico Website and through selected resellers. Pre-order customers will also receive a free set of Pico Motion Trackers as well as four games: Blade & Sorcery Nomad, Infinite Inside, Let’s Get Fit VR, and FootPool.
I’ve already talked about this device in detail, but as a reminder, these are the specifications:
- 2 * 2160 × 2160 Fast LCD Displays
- 90Hz Refresh rate
- 105° FOV
- 2 * RGB Passthrough cameras, for a total resolution of 32MP
- 1 Depth sensor
- 58–72mm IPD
- Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 chipset
- 12MB RAM
- 256GB Storage
- Wi-Fi 7 Connectivity
- USB-C Connectivity
- Bluetooth Connectivity
- 2 * Ringless controllers
- 580g Weight
The headset is pretty good, and also David Heaney from Upload VR had a positive first impression of it. But at the same time, a device slightly better than Quest 3, but with a smaller content catalog than Quest 3 is going to have a tough time in the consumer market. And things are even worse if we consider that Meta is going to launch soon its very cheap Quest 3s. But Pico will surely find great success in the market where it is very strong now and that is the enterprise market.
Something that instead has the potential of disrupting the market is the Pico Motion Tracker: for just $80 you can get full body tracking in your favorite social VR applications. And even better: Pico has announced that these tiny trackers can be detached from their straps and be attached to objects to perform object tracking. If (and it is a big if) they can reliably perform object tracking for people in VR, they could be used to substitute the current SteamVR trackers in various enterprise settings. An expensive SteamVR setup with SteamVR trackers could be substituted by a standalone Pico with cheap trackers. This could be huge. But we need more hands-on impressions on them to see how much this could become feasible. Furthermore, HTC already has a setup that works without SteamVR stations, and it is more expensive than this one, but HTC has more experience with trackers. In any case, it’s good to see that the standalone market is evolving so well that it can simplify always more scenarios that before were reliant on an expensive room setup.
More info (Pico 4 Ultra launched in Europe and Asia)
More info (My previous article with the details and first impressions on Pico 4 Ultra)
More info (David Heaney’s hands-on Pico 4 Ultra)
More info (Pico Motion Trackers supported in various VR games)
More info (Object Tracking via Pico Motion Trackers)
Other relevant news
HTC is teasing a new headset
HTC is teasing the launch of a new headset, which is going to be announced on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. ET. We have very scarce details about it, but some rumors from Brad Lynch hinted at a refresh of the Vive Focus 3: this is probably the headset with the powerful Snapdragon XR2+ Gen2 that HTC is building in collaboration with Qualcomm.
The Focus 3 was a solid headset, so this may be a good headset for enterprise. Expect it to be pricey, though.
The Quest 3s passed FCC certification
We already know almost everything about the upcoming Quest 3s, the cheap headset that Meta is going to launch, and this week we even had the leak of a 3D-printed version of its shell. From it, we can see that the headset is slightly smaller than Quest 2, but much thicker than Quest 3: it is still a headset with a shoebox design… but hey, it’s going to be around $2–300!
A headset produced by Meta, very likely this one, has just passed FCC certification and this means one thing: the launch of Quest 3s is imminent and will most probably be at the upcoming Meta Connect. I can’t wait for this to happen, because I’m sure it will help a lot with the adoption of XR.
More info (Leaked pictures of Quest 3s shell)
More info (Quest 3s passed FCC certification)
Samsung MR headset is close, but the endgame may be AR glasses
It’s not a secret that Samsung is working with Google and Qualcomm on a new mixed reality headset that could rival Apple Vision Pro and that should be released this year.
The headset is getting closer to the announcement and so the leaks are increasing. It seems that data about the headset has appeared on Geekbench and it suggests that the headset will support the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen2 chipset, 16GB RAM, and will run Android 14. Someone speculates that the latest version of Android and the 16GB RAM may hint at a headset that runs Google Gemini AI, and I think this would make a lot of sense given the importance that AI has reached in the last months (and the fact that Vision Pro will run Apple Intelligence).
But the most important news of the week is that this headset may just be the product of a long partnership that leads to the release of AR glasses. Qualcomm CEO, Cristiano Amon, has recently declared to CNBC: “It’s going to be a new product, it’s going to be a new experiences, but what I really expect to come out of this partnership, I want everyone that has a phone to go buy companion glasses to go along with it”. This seems to hint that the three companies are working on devices connected to the phone, probably initially smart glasses (like Meta is doing with Ray-Ban) and later fully-fledged AR glasses. This would make a lot of sense given the recent success of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
It’s interesting to see that the partnership between Google, Samsung, and Qualcomm is a long-term one. We need companies to commit to this space like Meta and Apple are doing. I just hope that Google won’t change its mind as usual…
More info (Samsung headset on Geekbench)
More info (Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm working on glasses)
Lynx may have found the financial stability it was looking for
A few weeks ago, Stan Larroque, the CEO of Lynx, the French startup that had a successful campaign for its mixed-reality standalone headset, complained about the difficulty of keeping his startup healthy in the current European XR landscape because of the lack of reliable investors. He also added that in the end, he may have found an American partner to support his startup.
This week, in an update on Kickstarter, Stan finally confirmed that Lynx is now in “a much better shape” thanks to “a partnership we struck very recently with a major company”. He’s not ready to share details about this partnership yet, but it seems that he has found what he needed to give some stability and some future perspective to his ambitious company that until now had to live on a shoestring. In fact, he added in the same update that “we [Lynx] really enter a new phase with the means necessary to finally establish Lynx as the challenger in this industry”. And I really hope this happens, because Stan is a good guy and his headset has an open philosophy that I personally like.
Thanks to the new financial situation, the company can now ship a new batch of headsets to the backers. Even better, since the Lynx-R1 is now old for the current XR standards, the company is offering refunds for people who do not want a headset anymore. And they are also working on a new device, that anyway won’t be available this year.
It’s good to see Lynx in a better shape. For sure it will never have the infinite money of Meta, but its team is used to use money efficiently and has the whole support of the community. Now that the bad moment is gone, I’m very curious to see what they will be able to create…
(Thanks Ivan Aguilar for the tip)
News worth a mention
XREAL is working on its own chips
XREAL CEO Chi Xu shared the image above on Reddit with the caption “Our new chip and product are set to surprise many and redefine the boundaries of what’s possible. Stay tuned for the reveal”. I admit I have been pretty surprised by it: making custom chips is a big deal and with this venture, XREAL proves to have serious ambitions of becoming a market leader in XR.
Play For Dream launches successful Kickstarter campaign
Chinese manufacturer Play For Dream has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring its pro headset to the West. And this initiative is already very successful, with $260K+ already gathered at the time of writing. Play For Dream has interesting specifications for a high-end headset and some friend of mine who tried it told me it is a promising device, so I’m intrigued by the worldwide launch of this product.
Quest runtime v69 may finally let us remove apps from our Library
Quest runtime v69 is being rolled out and it is bringing with it the ability to let you keep a 2D app open while you are running an immersive VR experience. But one of the most interesting features for me is that finally, we should be able to clean up our Library by removing apps that are in it and that we are not interested into anymore.
Sandbox VR plans to open 280 locations over the next 4 years
After the troubles it had during the lockdowns, Sandbox VR is now stronger than ever and it plans to open over 280 locations over the next 4 years thanks to its franchising program. The company now serves over 100,000 monthly players and has sold 1.2 million tickets in 2023 and it has just opened its 50th worldwide location. It seems that location-based VR is back on the menu!
Gracia keeps getting more and more interesting
Andrey Volodin, founder of Gracia, shared on X (Twitter) a video of the latest evolution of his product, with a volumetric video of a dancer, reproduced with Gaussian Splats, that looks incredibly realistic when you watch it through VR. I have to take some time to review this application, I guess…
The Winners of Venice Immersive have been announced
Venice Immersive, the VR part of the Venice Film Festival has come to an end and the three winners have been:
- Grand Prize: ITO MEIKYŪ, by Boris Labbe, Ron DYENS, Sacrebleu Productions
- Special Jury Prize: OTO’S PLANET by Gwenael François, Julien Becker, Nicolas S. Roy, Voyelle Acker, Guttmann Vincent
- Achievement Prize: IMPULSE: PLAYING WITH REALITY by May Abdalla, Barry Gene Murphy, Avi Amar, Katayoun Dibamehr, Jeanne Marchalot
Congratulations to all the winners! I can’t wait to try these experiences at some XR event…
Some news about content
- Into Black is a First-Person action adventure that takes you into the depths of a mysterious alien planet. A new trailer unveils it is launching in October, priced at $25
- The studio behind “Fisherman’s Tale” is teasing a new game: One True Path, a narrative-driven VR adventure coming this month to Quest 3 and PC VR
- Address Unknown: Fukushima Now is a new VR documentary that examines the nuclear disaster’s long-term impact. It has been showcased at Venice Immersive
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic, the next episode in the saga, will launch on PlayStation VR 2 next year
- Vendetta Forever, the new game published by nDreams that got much attention during the last VR Games Showcase, reaches the Meta Quest platform and PlayStation VR2 on October 24
- Star Wars Outlaws is now playable in VR thanks to a mod by Luke Ross
- All on Board! lets you play board games with your friends either locally or online. It recreates the vibes of playing board games at the house of a friend and it is expected to launch in early 2025
- Stunt Double Joe McFlash takes you into the “adrenaline-charged world” of Hollywood’s titular stunt driver in VR. It is available now on Quest for $17
- The first officially licensed Premier League VR game is coming later this year on Quest and it is made by the team behind Rezzil. We still don’t know much about its gameplay
- Shogun’s Empire looks like Shogun: Total War with turn-based combat, and the VR strategy game is out now on Quest priced at $20
- Beat Saber dropped the DLC of a single new song: Houdini by Eminem
- Vestiges: Fallen Tribes brings a strategic card game with auto battler mechanics to Steam early access on October, 3rd
- Upload VR has published its usual ICYMI post with a collection of minor XR pieces of news
More info (Into Black)
More info (One True Path)
More info (Address Unknown: Fukushima Now)
More info (Five Nights At Freddy’s)
More info (Vendetta Forever)
More info (Star Wars Outlaws)
More info (All On Board!)
More info (Double Joe McFlash)
More info (Premier League VR)
More info (Shogun’s Empire)
More info (Beat Saber)
More info (Vestiges: Fallen Tribes)
More info (ICYMI)
Some reviews about content
- Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded has finally been released, but it is so full of issues that the game got bad reviews from all magazines and influencers. The game just got a big patch with a long list of fixes and the developer committed to updating the game until it gets to a certain quality threshold, so we have hopes for the future
- Retronika is a game promising a fun ride, but it needs tuning to become enjoyable and not frustrating
- Escaping From Wonderland looks promising at a first impression and it makes a smart use of the change of perspective from first to third person
- Starwave looks like an evolution of classic VR rhythm games like Beat Saber and it is very fun to play
- Sky Runner makes a masterful use of Quest 3’s spatial mesh as a gameplay element
- Memoreum seems very promising from the preview: it uses carefully designed interactions that give you strong tactile sensations
More info (Hitman 3: Reloaded — Road To VR review)
More info (Hitman 3: Reloaded — Upload VR review)
More info (Hitman 3: Reloaded — XR Games committing to the game)
More info (Retronika)
More info (Escaping Wonderland)
More info (Starwave)
More info (Sky Runner)
More info (Memoreum)
Other news
Quest 3 managed to overtake Index as the second-most-used headset on Steam
Horizon Worlds is now available to preteens, provided they have the authorization of the parents
Upload wrote an article describing how was VR represented at Gamescom
There are not only AR glasses but also AR binoculars
Not related to VR, but this zooming trip on a piece of electronic is so amazing
News from partners (and friends)
Synth Riders is now part of Quest+
The very popular rhythm game Synth Riders is now part of the Meta Quest+ catalog, so all people who take part in the program can play this very fun game. To celebrate this great event, the company has made sure that everyone can have a free run of the experience “Muse — Algorithm”, which is one of the best audiovisual experiences available in the game!
Learn more
Sponsored Area
Phygtl Is Hiring!
Who We Are
A Silicon Valley-Based Startup on a mission to transform digital engagement from the ground-up by merging the physical and the digital world. A Creator Platform for next-gen to ‘Socialize.’ With former leaders from Amazon, Riot, Ubisoft, Samsung, and a strong Advisory Board from Nike, Lego, Coca-Cola, and Mastercard, led by a serial-entrepreneur with 2 exits, UC Berkeley Faculty, 2x Author, we are handpicking brilliant minds and devoted souls like you to join the team.
Who Are We Looking For
Graphic Designer
Join our team as a Graphic Designer specializing in mobile app UI design. You’ll create intuitive and visually compelling user interfaces, including wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups. Collaborate closely with developers and UX designers to ensure a seamless and engaging user experience. Experience with 3D content creation is a plus, and you’ll have the opportunity to learn and work with AR design.
Senior Unity Developer
Join our Unity team and be at the forefront of innovation in the global mobile-AR industry. If you’re passionate about fine-tuning Unity components and creating groundbreaking AR experiences, we want you to be a part of our team, shaping the future of engagement.
Senior Fullstack Developer
Join our team as a Senior Fullstack Developer, specializing in backend systems. If you have expertise in designing RESTful microservices using frameworks like Spring Boot or Express.js, optimizing cloud environments on GCP with Kubernetes, and leveraging CI/CD tools like Jenkins or GitLab CI, we want you to drive our backend architecture, implement scalable solutions, and ensure high availability and performance across our distributed systems.
Read Graphic Designer Job Description
Read Unity Developer Job Description
Read Full Stack Developer Job Description
Some XR fun
Hitman 3 VR has some ridiculous moments both in the old PCVR version and in the new Quest one
Funny link (PCVR version)
Funny link (Quest version)
The most immersive VR racing simulator rig is here. It’s the killer app of VR, in all senses
Funny link
It seems that Astro Bot can play in PSVR 2, in the end
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
- 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 Pico)