I’m back in Italy… but just for one week. I have 6 days to eat the most pasta and gelato that I can before going to the US, both to have meetings and to attend AWE in Long Beach! My trip to China has been one of the most interesting I have ever had in my life: I was so tired, but also so refreshed by many things I’ve learned and the many people I’ve met. And I’ve also eaten a lot of delicious typical food! I will keep sharing on my blog some posts about my Chinese experience, but the best way to hear about it would be to meet me in person, so I can also tell you some fun stories…
Top news of the week
Apple wants to disrupt the eyewear industry with its glasses
According to a report by the usual Marc Gurman, Apple’s new mission is to disrupt the whole eyewear market with its glasses. It doesn’t only want to compete with the Ray-Ban Meta, but with Ray-Ban (and Luxottica) as a whole.
The plan is to follow a playbook similar to the one it used for watches. When Apple entered the market with its Watch, it went for the mid-tier watch market, and it conquered it. Apple Watch is now one of the most sold watches in the world, and all companies that operated in that segment (e.g. Swatch) all lost some market shares. Now it wants to do the same for the glasses market: the idea is not competing with the Luxury or the ultra-cheap segment, but staying in the range between $200-$500, which would put it in direct competition with the same brands Meta and Google partnered with (i.e. Luxottica and Warby Parker).
I think this strategy may make sense. All the most important eyewear manufacturers have already been “taken” by Meta and Google, so Apple can’t follow the same strategies as the other ones. And Apple has a huge advantage when compared to the competition:
1. Apple has always taken great care of the design of its products, so Apple Glasses are surely going to be stylish, even without the support of external fashion brands
2. Apple is a brand everyone would like to have on their face as a status symbol (as opposed to Meta, for instance)
So it does not necessarily need a design partner. And since it is racing alone, then it may make sense that it goes for the big pie of the $200B glasses market instead of just caring about smart eyewear. This move makes even more sense if you consider that, hopefully, in the long run, there won’t be any glasses that are not smart. So the two markets are going to just be one, probably 10 years from now. It’s intriguing that this may mean that in the long run, the partnership between Meta and Luxottica will prove to be beneficial for both of them: Meta needs Luxottica’s distribution network, but Luxottica needs Meta’s smart features to be relevant in the years to come.
This is a very ambitious mission, but let’s be careful that this is not a guarantee of success. The press hyped the Vision Pro as the headset that would have saved VR for years, and then it didn’t happen. This means that Apple does not always make miracles. What worries me about this strategy, for instance, is that Apple doesn’t sell its gadgets outside of the Apple Store, but people buy glasses inside Glasses’ stores. So while Ray-Ban smartglasses will be sold where people are actually looking for glasses, people should specifically go to the Apple Store just to try the Apple glasses. And if these Glasses are not going to be far superior to the others, people will just revert to going to standard glasses stores, try a few (non-Apple) glasses, and then pick the ones they like the most.
And there are even more risks: according to Gurman, there are delays in the production of these glasses, which are now poised to be launched at the end of 2027. This would give Meta and Luxottica a huge head start to conquer the market. It is true that Apple is never the first to release something, but this strategy doesn’t come without risks.
For sure, Apple has, as usual, the potential to create a revolution in the sector. This is very intriguing. Let’s see how things will turn out to be.
More info (Report by Mark Gurman)
More info (Non-paywalled version of the report — The Next Web)
More info (Non-paywalled version of the report — Apple Insider)
Other relevant news
Meta plans to launch four smartglasses, a pendant, and a debug tool
Both The Information and Janko Roettgers published reports about Meta going to release new smartglasses, to be exact, four new models.
According to The Information, Meta is debuting a new pair codenamed “Modelo” as soon as June. Janko Roettgers spotted some FCC filings about it, which confirm that the release is pretty close. He noticed that the FCC filing had been submitted by Meta and not Luxottica, and the only time this happened was for the Meta Ray-Ban Display. So we are all wondering if this is a new display unit. With four new glasses going to be launched, it’s hard not to imagine that at least one of them has a display, so for now, I’m personally not going to buy the current Display model, because I want to see if a new upgraded model is in the works.
Mr. Roettgers also found the FCC filing of another device, a sort of bridge between the glasses and the PC to transfer data. Most probably, this is a device to facilitate the development for the glasses, and to offer debug functionalities to developers. But maybe it is something else, like an element to speed up the transfer of photos and videos.
Talking about the other glasses in the works, “Luna” and “RBM2 Refresh,” will launch this fall. RBM2 probably stands for “Ray-Ban Meta 2”, which would probably be a refresh of the second generation of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses announced at Connect. The last pair that Meta plans to release this year in December is nicknamed “Mojito VIP.” Of course, I’m very interested to discover what these devices have to offer on top of the current models.
Meta is also working on other models named “Artemis” and “SSG” (or “supersensing” glasses) for future releases. The new glasses will, of course, be powered by Meta’s AI models, along with the unreleased personal AI agent Hatch.
But there’s more: considering the new craze about AI inside Meta, it seems that Meta is also willing to release an AI pendant based on the technology of the Limitless startup it acquired last year. We can expect this pendant to be able to keep listening to whatever you are saying or the other people are saying to you, so it is able to provide summaries and answer questions about what happened during your day. This could also be sold to companies, e.g. to use during meetings. For sure, it would be a goldmine of data for Meta’s advertisement business.
More info (The Information’s report about Meta glasses)
More info (Janko Roettgers on Meta’s FCC filings)
More info (Engadget on Meta’s new glasses and pendant)
PSVR 2’s price is down to $299 for a limited time
How the turn tables. We all talked about PSVR 2 as an overpriced headset, and now it can actually be one of the cheapest options on the market.
Notwithstanding the rising prices for all hardware, Sony is applying a $100 discount on PSVR 2 until June 10th. This means that the Sony headset is going to cost only $299 for a limited time. The offer is also extended to other PlayStation accessories, which will all have discounted prices. Various games are also getting a discounted price.
PSVR 2 is definitely a decent headset, and it is interesting to remember that now it is also a nice PC VR headset. It is probably the cheapest PC VR headset available, considering that most headsets in the category went for a premium price. If you have a VR-ready PC, getting PSVR for only $299 is literally a steal.
The community is also continuously working to improve the compatibility of PSVR 2 with PC: for instance, an open-source plugin has recently been released to unlock stereo passthrough on this headset, so now it is also a PC MR device.
If you’re looking for a budget headset to play Steam VR games, it is hard not to recommend this one. I’m pretty sure it will go out of stock at every store where it is sold.
More info (PSVR 2 gets a $100 discount)
More info (A plugin to unlock passthrough on PSVR 2)
The rising price of the Steam Deck does not bode well for the Steam Machine and the Steam Frame
In one of the rare occasions in which it did something that disappointed its fans, Valve raised the prices of the Steam Deck console. The company revealed the 512 GB OLED Steam Deck has increased from $549 to $789, while the 1 TB variant is going from $649 to $949 (!!). People wanting the cheaper 256 GB LCD Steam Deck are going to be disappointed, discovering that it has been discontinued. Paying $949 for an old handheld console feels a bit too much, so there has been a lot of turmoil in the tech communities about this piece of news.
The reasons for this price spike are the ones we all know: RAM and other components are now more expensive because they are used to build the data centers through which we can ask smart questions like “Grok, is this true?”. Valve apologizes for the move, but said it was forced to do that.
This big price upgrade means that all the devices that Valve has in the works and that contain memory chips are going to be expensive. The Steam Machine is probably the one that is being impacted the most, and I’m pretty convinced now that it is going to be really expensive. The usual Bradley confirmed this: he said that the prices he heard about the Steam Machine were higher than the prices announced today for the Steam Deck… and this rumor was from a couple of months ago, when the components were cheaper than today. So I wouldn’t bet on an affordable Steam Machine.
Steam Frame will probably be a bit less affected, since it may use a type of RAM that is different than the one employed in PCs and data centers, but it would still be affected by this. And the higher the price, the less the success of the device, especially in the mainstream segments. Personally, I still think that this is going to cost at least $799, but let’s see…
More info (Steam Deck prices and a speculation on Steam Frame prices)
More info (Steam Deck is in stock but with higher prices, now)
More info (New Steam Deck prices)
More info (Brad’s rumors about the prices of the Steam Machine)
The community has built a lot of apps for Ray-Ban Meta
Every time I open my LinkedIn feed, there is at least a post about a new small app for the Ray-Ban Meta Display glasses. It is incredible to see the enthusiasm and the energy in its community!
Technically speaking, most of these apps are irrelevant. These are just small web apps that can get the input from the glasses. Some of them are just small portings from existing applications. But what is interesting is the community that is being built around it, the ideas that people are bringing to the table, the new use cases, and the integration with external tools like robots or IoT lights. And especially the fact that now DOOM runs on them.
This is the reason why, during my tour of China, I went to all the major smart glasses manufacturers and told them to open up their ecosystem to developers. Even if you just give people simple development tools, the community will build a lot of things with it, and especially a lot of new use cases that the company could not even think about. We definitely need more glasses that are unlocked for us developers… and also more funding!
News worth a mention
XREAL launches sub-brand XBX for affordable glasses
XREAL has just announced the release in China of smartglasses under the new XBX brand. These are glasses dedicated to a younger audience, and that are cheaper and feature lower specs than the flagship glasses by XREAL.
The XBX A0 is the first glass of this new line, and it is made only for media consumption. It features a 50° field-of-view, HDR10 support, real-time SDR-to-HDR conversion, and bird bath-style optics delivering up to 1,600 nits of brightness. The glasses are also pretty lightweight and come in many colors. The price is just $265.
It is all good and interesting, but we are all wondering why the company chose another name that could cause a lawsuit. XREAL was before called Nreal, which was too similar to Unreal (Engine). Now these new glasses are called XBX, which clearly reminds the XBOX name. I can’t wait for the next glasses for prosumers and fashion lovers, which will probably be called Appl, and the glasses optimized for web search, named Oogle.
More info (XREAL launches XBX brand — Road To VR)
More info (XREAL launches XBX brand — AR VR World)
Acer enters the smartglasses market, too
Acer has just announced AR Vision GR0, glasses that can be connected to your phone or PC to visualize photos, videos, and games in front of your eyes. The device features two Full HD OLED microdisplays that project what Acer describes as the equivalent of a 172-inch screen seen at 6 meters. The price in Europe will be 599€, which is cheaper than the competition (which is not uncommon for Acer). Availability in Europe starts from Q3 2026.
More info (Acer announces new glasses)
TCL RayNeo announces two glasses models
If you thought I was done with the glasses announcements, you were wrong. Because TCL RayNeo announced two new smartglasses, too.
One is the RayNeo v4, which is basically a competitor of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. These glasses feature a very good camera, and an optimized AI assistant that can answer your requests pretty quickly. They don’t have a display, so they are pretty lightweight and have a long-lasting battery. Price starts from 2199 RMB ($325 circa).
The other model is the RayNeo GT, which is meant to go after the XREAL One series. RayNeo GT glasses are meant basically for media consumption. They feature a pretty good FOV, 59°, bright micro OLED displays, and, for the first time, a 3DOF screen, meaning that you can move your head and the screen you’re watching remains fixed in space. Prices start at 1899 RMB ($280 circa) for the basic model.
It’s good to see so much competition in the space!
More info (Acer announces new glasses)
Spatial almost shuts down
What was once one of the most incredible virtual meeting platforms, Spatial, is now basically sunsetting. The company is removing the Free and Pro subscription tiers and removing world-creation tools. Basically, the only thing remaining is support for the customers paying the Enterprise subscription and nothing more. This means the platform is now on life support.
It is a big pity, but it is understandable. The company behind Spatial is the same behind Animal Company, one of the top 3 games on Quest. They are making so much money with the game that makes no sense to keep employing resources on a platform that is very complicated but does not earn much money.
Still, this news makes me sad. This is another platform that was incredible back in the days, another product I was looking at and taking inspiration from when I was building the metaverse platform for concerts. I think it deserved more.
More info (Spatial sunsetting)
More info (The company announcing the news)
PiEEG is a “Neural Interface for Spatial Computing”
An upcoming Kickstarter campaign will try to fund PiEEG XR, which is a facial mask compatible with headsets like the Quest, that uses your neural signals to both infer your facial expressions and your emotions. This could help both in having more realism on your avatar and in having games react to your mental state.
It sounds great, but before being excited, I would like to see its actual performances. The idea is not new, but I have seen no device of this kind getting a huge success until now. One of the main problems is that EEG sensors operate on very noisy data, and they are not always reliable. So, while I wish luck to this project, I would really like to see some unbiased review about it before being truly interested in it.
Some news about content
- VR hero shooter Larcenauts is shutting down on October 1st. This is another sad news of a game going away
- Beat Saber turns 8 years old, and Beat Games is releasing three new songs for free
- No Many’s Sky’s Swarm update brings large-scale faction warfare
- Mini basketball game Just Hoops Nano has just been released on Quest for $7.99
More info (Larcenauts)
More info (Beat Saber)
More info (No Man’s Sky)
More info (Just Hoops Nano)
Some reviews about content
- Compass is a game about flying in space. It is not hectic; it lets you enjoy the ride, which may feel boring or relaxing depending on the type of player that you are.
Other news
A guest post on Road to VR talks about the social VR platforms that are closing and how their communities are trying to survive
News from partners (and friends)
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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:
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And now here you are the link to donate:
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
(Header image by XREAL)