The XR Week Peek (2024.12.16): Android XR announced, Samsung headset showcased, and more!

This week has been pretty cool for me because I’ve announced that I’m attending CES in January for the first time in my life! I’m already organizing the trip, and setting up some appointments to try AR/VR glasses. If you’ll be there, let me know! And if you have some pieces of advice on how to make my CES better, let me know, too! I can’t wait to share with you everything about my experience.
 
 But for now, let me share with you the best pieces of XR news of the week… and a giveaway!

Top news of the week

Google announced Android XR

The most important news of the week, and one of the most important of the whole year, has been the official announcement by Google of Android XR.
 
 Android XR will be the operating system by Google to power all XR devices, from mixed reality headsets to AR glasses, not to mention smart glasses. The first device to be compatible with it is the mixed-reality headset that Google is building with Samsung and Qualcomm, codenamed Project Moohan. But other partners like XREAL, Sony, and Lynx are working on new devices compatible with this operating system.
 
 Google has showcased its operating system to some selected members of the press on Project Moohan, and both monocular and binocular smart glasses. The real deal of Android XR and the demos made with it has been artificial intelligence. Gemini AI is deeply integrated into the OS, and the Gemini assistant always follows what you are doing, both in the real and in the virtual world, and it is ready to guide you when needed. Someone can put the business card of a restaurant in front of your eyes and you can ask Gemini AI to inspect it and the AI assistant will open the restaurant location in a 3D version of Google Maps for you. Then you can look at the virtual building and ask the AI for some information about it, and the AI may answer. Or when you are using smartglasses, Gemini can perform live translation of what people from other countries may say to you. Gemini AI also remembers what happened in the last 10 minutes, so you can recall something you said or something you saw and it will remember it. It’s incredibly useful, but it also is a bit scary on the privacy side.
 
 There are other cool features in the operating system, like that it can convert photos and videos to 3D automatically. Or that it has multimodal input and can be commanded using controllers, hands, eyes, or voice. The only announced content is the G-suite and some games like Demeo or Vacation Simulator, but more is to come. Developers can already access a preview of the development environment for native, Unity, WebXR.
 
 As for Project Moohan, details are very scarce: it seems like a mix of the Quest Pro and the Apple Vision Pro: it has an external battery, high-definition displays, and a very detailed passthrough. The chipset is the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen2. Controllers are to come in 2025, the year the headset will ship.
 
 Google has entered the field, bringing new validation to XR, and also new competition in the space. This is super beneficial for everyone. Let’s just hope this project won’t end in its graveyard in a couple of years.

More info (My detailed roundup on Android XR, with many reference links)
More info (Ben Lang’s editorial about Android XR vs Horizon OS)

Other relevant news

Latest Quest update improves hand tracking, Windows 11 pairing, and more

Meta is rolling out the runtime v72 for Quest, which introduces some interesting features:

• Hand tracking has been upgraded to v2.3, which improves tracking and makes it more reactive. It also improves hand tracking in enclosed environments like the ones that you find when you are in travel mode.
• Windows Mixed Reality Link has been released. Once set up with a certain procedure, Quest 3 and 3S users will be able to simply look at their Windows 11 PC and their headset will prompt to connect them automatically, much like Vision Pro does with Mac computers. From that moment on, you can use your computer using a big virtual screen as its display. This is amazing for productivity, but Apple’s version is still a bit better
• The system can track now all keyboards and show them to you using passthrough
• A new Media Gallery app has been added to let you enjoy the media on your device
• Entering the home environment in VR does not require you to set up a boundary anymore because a static one is assumed. This lets you enter your home VR space in a frictionless way.
• There are also some interesting small other updates, like the addition of Direct messages to the Instagram app.

The Windows 11 connection is my favorite feature: many people praised the Mac connection with Vision Pro, and I can not wait to try the PC counterpart.

More info (Meta Quest runtime v72 — Road To VR)
More info (Meta Quest runtime v72 — Upload VR)
More info (How to connect the Quest with a Windows 11 PC)

News worth a mention

Omdia forecasts a negative 2025 for XR

Analyst firm Omdia has released its report about the XR market, and it is not a positive one. According to the company, the headset sales volumes fell by 10% in 2024 to 6.9 million units, down from 7.7 million in 2023. This trend is expected to continue in 2025, but there should be a rebound in 2026.
 
 I think the report is right in expecting a non-bright 2025 for XR and in forecasting a rebound in 2026–27, but honestly, I perceive that since 2023 the industry is slowly growing instead of shrinking (e.g. see the success of Ray-Ban meta and the release of Android XR). I guess it depends on the points of view.

More info (Financial Times post about Omdia’s report)
More info (LinkedIn post about Omdia’s report)

How Gorilla Tag became a huge hit

XR investor JP Minetos has written a very interesting article on Road To VR about Gorilla Tag, and how it became a massive hit. The sociality mechanics deeply embedded into the game were for sure one of the main reasons; but also the unique locomotion type, the frictionless nature of the game, and its meme-ability contributed to it.

More info

A good deal on Quest 3S

You can find the Quest 3S (256 GB) on sale on Amazon US and other regions at $400, including a $30 digital Amazon credit. If you still haven’t bought the Quest 3S, this is a good deal that runs until Christmas.

More info

Batman: Arkham Shadow wins the Best VR/AR Game Award

At The Game Awards, Batman: Arkham Shadow by Camouflaj has won the Best VR/AR Game Award of the year. This is not surprising at all, considering that the game is amazing and had a huge impact on the VR community.

More info (Video of Batman: Arkham Shadow being awarded)
More info (Meta blog post celebrating this success)

Some news about content

• Fallout London VR is a mod that hopes to bring VR support to the massive ‘Fallout: London’ DLC
• Path of Fury: Episode I — Tetsuo’s Tower, an upcoming on-rails VR action game inspired by ’80s Kung Fu flicks in which you punch your way to success, is slated to launch in early 2025 on Quest 2/3/Pro, priced at $9.99
• Bridge Constructor offers an XR version of the popular bridge-building application, priced at $10
• Behemoth first huge patch fixes many bugs in the game and rebalances combat (which received controversial reviews from the community)
• Doborog Games’ VR sequel Clone Drone in the Hyperdome is now available on Steam and Meta for $20
• Realize Music: Sing is a “singing-for-wellness app” that promises a merging of rhythm game, meditative self-care, and VR sensibilities. The app is launching for the Meta Quest platform on January 23rd, 2025
• Panic Room MR summons spiders and demons into your home with a mixed-reality horror game on Quest 3 & 3S. The price is $5
• X8 Contra: Super Wall Storm, the paid crossover between Konami’s run-and-gun side-scroller Contra: Operation Galuga and free-to-play VR hero shooter X8 is now available for $20 on Horizon Store and Steam
• Crystal Commanders, a real-time strategy game you can play in both VR and mixed reality, heads for Quest on February, 27, 2025
• Mecha Force, a VR mech game inspired by Shin Getter Robo and Gurren Lagann, is now available in early access on Quest, with a free demo available
• DodgeCraft tests your reflexes with a new VR sports training game with two gaming modes, and it’s out now on Quest
• Beyond Blue: After the Storm is an aquatic narrative experience that lets you explore the ocean in standalone VR
• The prototype and very experimental first-person game mode for Human Fall Flat VR is available now in beta on Steam
• Upload VR has published its usual XR News Round-Up post with some minor XR pieces of news

More info (Fallout London VR)
More info (Path Of Fury)
More info (Bridge Constructor)
More info (Behemoth)
More info (Clone Drome In The Hyperdome)
More info (Realize Music: Sing)
More info (Panic Room)
More info (X8 Contra: Super Wall Storm)
More info (Crystal Commanders)
More info (Mecha Force)
More info (DodgeCraft)
More info (Beyond Blue: After The Storm)
More info (Human Fall Flat VR)
More info (XR News Round-Up)

Some reviews about content

• Metamorphosis VR is a game made around an interesting idea that features good visuals. But it is also very unpolished
• Action Hero is a well-balanced game that gives a fresh new look at SuperHot mechanics. It results approachable for VR newcomers while offering a thrilling campaign for more established players
• Home Sports is a fun compilation of sports to play with your friends in virtual or mixed reality, but the various games feel a bit shallow
• Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon it’s a humorous, family-friendly twist on the tired idea of killing zombie hordes.

More info (Metamorphosis VR)
More info (Action Hero)
More info (Home Sports)
More info (Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon)

Other news

Rob Cole has published a very detailed review of the Pimax Crystal Light

Learn more

Norman Mueller has published a summary of the latest updates on smartglasses and AR glasses

Learn more

Apple releases the Ultrawide Virtual Display feature for Vision Pro in VisionOS 2.2

Learn more

NeoGrip are affordable opensource custom controllers for standalone VR headsets

Learn more

Unity has opened up the applications for its Humanity 2025 grant

Learn more

Into The Scaniverse lets you access places in the world reconstructed with Gaussian Splats, all in WebXR

Learn more

News from partners (and friends)

You can invest in Vitruvian VR!

Vitruvian Virtual Reality, the startup providing a cool (and a bit crazy) big simulator controller where you can move your whole body in 6DOF as if you were in outer space, has launched a crowdfunding campaign! You can invest a minimum of €250 and be part of this cool startup. I’m linking you my review of the simulator, so you understand better why this is a cool project.
Learn more (Crowdfunding page)
Learn more (My review of Vitruvian)

Iron Rebellion keys giveaway!

If you like mecha games, you may love Iron Rebellion, which is described as a love letter to Titanfall and Hawken. The game has been released on Quest and Steam, and the developers have given me a few Steam keys! Here you are two:
 
 RBQ6Q-5LEEE-C0BW2
 7HWWY-M8K6E-9W0EF
 
 As usual, first come, first served! If you weren’t fast enough to grab a key, consider buying the game on Quest or Steam to support the developers.
Learn more (Iron Rebellion released on Steam and Horizon Store)

Some XR fun

These may be the camera configurations of Quest 4
Funny link

A little comic with chickens and virtual reality
Funny link

The first rule of the Fight Club is…
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
• Carol Dalrymple
• 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
• Sb
• Pieter Siekerman
• Enrico Poli
• Vooiage Technologies
• Caroline
• Liam James O’Malley
• Hillary Charnas
• Wil Stevens
• Francesco Salizzoni
• Alan Smithson
• Steve R
• Brentwahn
• Michael Gaebler
• Tiago Silva
• 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 Google)