I’m back in Italy! These three weeks of traveling have been very interesting: I have met many people, I had fun, I’ve learned people love my screams, and especially, I have learned a lot from private conversations with people who are way smarter than me. I feel enriched, but honestly speaking, I also feel very tired. I’ll need a few days to fully recover, but today I can’t miss my appointment to inform you of what happened in AR and VR over the last week… so keep on reading!
Top news of the week
Apple’s XR plans have been leaked
I guess you all have already heard of Ming-Chi Kuo, the reliable Apple analyst (who made so many wrong predictions about the upcoming Apple Vision Pro for years, until he was eventually right). This analyst claims to have been told by his sources what Apple’s XR strategy is for the upcoming years.
Let’s start with the MR headsets. According to Kuo, a refresh of the Vision Pro featuring the same specs but the company’s M5 chip is scheduled for mass production in Q3 2025. Apple knows that the Vision Pro line is still very expensive, so it only expects to ship around 150,000–200,000 units.
Apple is not going to stop with its Vision Pro refresh: Kuo says it is working on a much lighter headset, reportedly called ‘Vision Air’, set to release in Q3 2027. Vision Air is said to be 40% lighter than the current Vision Pro, and feature plastic lenses, magnesium alloys, fewer sensors, and a top-tier iPhone chip (so an A chip instead of an M one). Its price should be lower than the Vision Pro, so it could foster bigger adoption of XR.
Together with this cheaper version, Apple is also working on the true next-gen Vision device, the “Vision Pro 2”, which could be shipped in 2H 2028.
Apple is not working only on MR headsets, though, but it is also working on glasses, which will be the technology of the future. And it seems that in Q2 2027, Apple may release its Ray-Ban-like, audio-first wearable. According to Kuo, the company is hoping to manufacture (hence to sell) 3–5 million units.
And for the first time, we also find a mention about AR glasses. According to Kuo, Apple is working on true AR glasses, featuring a LCoS + waveguide display and AI features, potentially coming in 2H 2028.
This is a long list of products. For sure, the things I’m the most excited about are the lighter and cheaper Vision Air, which could help in democratizing AR; and the AR glasses, which had been canceled and now seem only 3 years away. This is incredibly cool.
Before getting too excited, though, you had better be careful. These so-called “analysts” are good at getting the mood of what is happening, but rarely make an exact prediction about the launch of future Apple products. So take the above list with a huge grain of salt!
Other relevant news
Some content creators received a working Visor headset
After many months during which everyone believed that the company had died, Visor has actually delivered its headsets to a couple of YouTubers. We are not talking about prototypes, but about preview functional units. Being Visor… Visor, it has not chosen the most popular YouTubers, like Nathie or Tyriel Wood, but two small content creators: Cassidy in VR, and Chris in VR.
The YouTubers have started unboxing the device and showing it. The headset truly exists, and it seems also to fulfill some of its original promises: it is very lightweight, and it is able to deliver very high-resolution mixed reality. It works well with hand tracking and eye tracking. The YouTubers sound pretty satisfied about it.
I think this is great news: the last thing we need in the current fragile XR ecosystem is a company that fails to deliver its product. And the fact that Visor, after many troubled moments, like its launch event where nothing was working, has finally been able to manufacture some pre-release units, is fantastic. It means that, potentially, it could finally release the device at the end of this year or at the beginning of the next one. Of course, shipping a couple of units is not proof that Visor can sustain the manufacturing of many devices, but it is a positive step in that direction. Fingers crossed that this is going to happen.
(Thanks to Ivan Aguilar for the tip)
More info (Cassidy in VR unboxes Visor)
More info (Chris in VR tries Visor)
More info (Everything we know about the Visor collected by the community in a single file)
Google is going to invest $100M in Gentle Monster
According to a Korean Economic Daily report, Google is going to invest $100M in the Korean eyewear manufacturer Gentle Monster, obtaining the ownership of 4% of the company.
This strategy is very similar to what Meta did with EssilorLuxottica: Mark Zuckerberg’s company has entered into Luxottica, acquiring 5% of its shares. With this move, Meta made sure that Luxottica wasn’t going to partner with other technology providers to build smartglasses.
Since Meta has signed the deal with the biggest eyewear manufacturer, Google entered into Gentle Monster, which is a smaller, but still quite relevant glasses company. The acquisition will make sure that no other company is going to “steal” a partnership with Gentle Monster from Google, which so will be able to deliver fashionable smartglasses in the future. This is a pretty smart move.
I wonder whether Apple will also seek a partnership with some existing glasses manufacturer, or if it will think that the glasses it makes will be fashionable enough thanks to the famous little apple on them.
Meta launched its Quest 3S XBOX edition, which has already sold out
Meta has officially launched the Quest 3S Xbox Edition, a limited edition of the Quest 3S intended to play XBOX cloud games on a big virtual screen.
The bundle contains a Quest 3S (128GB) that is black with some green finish and has installed the Elite strap; the Quest 3S controllers; an XBOX wireless Gamepad; and also 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Quest 3S Xbox Edition also comes along with a three-month subscription to Meta’s Horizon+ game service. The price for this bundle is $399, which is more than the price of the original Quest 3S, but less than if you bought all the components separately (which would be around $490).
Before the actual launch, I was scared this was to launch with just the gamepad, like the original Rift CV1, but actually it is also coming with the standard VR controllers. So you can use this special edition of Quest 3S both as a standard VR headset and as a way to play XBOX cloud games on a big virtual screen while sitting on your couch. Looking at the unboxing, I am also pretty convinced that the black and green design is much cooler than the standard white version of the headset, and it may be worth buying for this reason alone.
If you want to buy this device, though, you are out of luck: it is already sold out on all the official channels, and Meta is not planning to manufacture new units. We don’t know how many headsets were available for this “limited edition”, so we can not make any statement about how relevant this success is. But it is for sure great news for XR that a headset was launched and sold out in just a couple of days.
More info (Meta launched Quest 3S XBOX edition — Road To VR)
More info (Meta launched Quest 3S XBOX edition — Upload VR)
More info (Quick unboxing video of the Quest 3S XBOX Edition)
More info (Meta Quest 3S XBOX Edition is sold out — Road To VR)
More info (Meta Quest 3S XBOX Edition is sold out — Upload VR)
VR is getting more and more into the military sector
It’s been a few months since I started seeing a growing trend in VR: the attention towards the military sector. I mean, I know that XR has always found great applications in the army (the AR display of the jet fighters is a clear example of that), but it seems to me that there has been a growing attention in the last year compared to the previous period.
Just to make a couple of examples related to the past week. Andrew “Boz” Bosworth has been nominated Lieutenant Colonel and is going to be a senior advisor to the US Army. All of this after Meta, the company he is part of, has signed an agreement with Anduril to build together the headset that soldiers should use on the field. And Virtuix, which just raised another $3M in crowd investments for its consumer entertainment platform, has just announced Virtuix Omni Mission Trainer (OMT), a military training system based on the Virtuix Omni One treadmill.
I think the reasons for the growing interest of VR companies towards the military are to be found in the currently stagnant situation of the consumer market, and at the same time in the growing spending of countries on military services, especially after the war in Ukraine. The military sector is incredibly profitable, so companies that are disappointed by their sales to gamers can find there a big source of revenue. With attached a lot of ethical dilemmas.
More info (Virtuix launching OMT)
More info (The US Army added various relevant tech people as senior advisors)
News worth a mention
Xiaomi launched its smartglasses
The Xiaomi AI glasses are basically a copy of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses that Xiaomi launched in China. You can use them to shoot photos and videos, take phone calls, and listen to music. You can use them to talk with AI. One thing that is pretty cool for China is that you can use them to look at QR Codes and pay with Alipay. They have good battery duration (around 9h of standard use) and a good price ($280 for the standard model). You can also add prescriptions to them or electrochromic lenses, which can become darker or more transparent.
I think it’s pretty cool that Xiaomi entered the market, but at the same time, these glasses are not made together with an eyewear manufacturer (e.g. Luxottica), so they do not look very fashionable to me. I would rather wear Ray-Ban Meta, which looks cooler. Anyway, Xiaomi AI glasses are made for Asian faces, and probably won’t launch in the West, so they do not have to care much about the competition.
More info (Xiaomi launches its AI glasses)
More info (The explanation of why I think they can’t compete with Ray-Ban Meta)
Most of the Oculus founders have now joined Sesame
Nate Mitchell just joined Sesame, the smart glasses startup focused also on an AI assistant that can have quite human-like conversations. Mitchell is joining there the former Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe and hardware architect Ryan Brown. Also, some of the investors in the startup are previous Oculus investors. Let’s see if this dream team is able to re-create the same revolution that they started at Oculus.
Some images of the upcoming Meta smartglasses leaked
The usual Luna was able to obtain some images and short animations about the upcoming Meta smartglasses and their EMG smartband. I’m putting some links below, but on Luna’s X account, you can find even more. No relevant information can be extracted from them, but they are still cool to see.
More info (Meta’s smartglasses and wristband image 1)
More info (Meta’s smartglasses and wristband image 2)
More info (Meta’s smartglasses and wristband image 3)
More info (Meta’s smartglasses and wristband image 4)
More info (Meta’s smartglasses and wristband image 5)
The good and the bad of the VR market
A recent market research by S&P Global highlighted some bright and dark sides of the VR market. Let’s start with the bad news: VR headset sales are declining. This is something we already noticed comparing the impressive sales of the Quest 2 with the decent ones of the Quest 3. But there is also good news: VR is the hardware where users spend more time playing. A VR gamer spends more time on his hardware than a mobile gamer or a console gamer. This means that while the market numbers are not exciting, the potential customers that compose it are pretty passionate, and can give you good business if you provide them a good product.
4DV AI provided an impressive volumetric video demo in WebXR
Chinese company 4DV AI has just released an impressive WebXR demo. It is a volumetric video made with Gaussian Splats. This is not something unique, as Gracia already showcased impressive moving Gaussian splats, but 4DV AI has been able to optimize the whole process. To shoot the demo, the company needed “just” 20 regular cameras and was able to synthesize 1 second of video every 6 minutes of elaboration (Gracia just produces one frame in the same time interval). The synthesized second “only” occupies 12.5MB, making it possible to stream such videos over a high-speed internet connection. Pretty cool stuff.
UploadVR Showcase Humble Bundle is a great deal
UploadVR launched a bundle of games on the popular platform Humble Bundle: with only $18, you can grab 9 great VR games, including Vertigo 2, Hard Bullet, and Until You Fall. It’s an amazing deal, and you can also consider spending a bit more so that to donate some money to the Safe In Our World association.
Some news about content
- Christoph Springer (whom I also met at the XRCC hackathon!) is going to launch at the end of July his game Ballee, which lets you interact with a real ball to play a game on your Quest (thanks to Camera Access). You can wishlist the game now
- Rob Yescombe, co-creator of the acclaimed immersive VR mystery game The Invisible Hours, recently regained the rights to the game, which he says could lead to a remaster across modern VR headsets, as well as TV and film
- Bandai Namco announced that a new entry into the hit puzzle-platformer franchise Little Nightmares is coming to VR. Details are very thin
- The Kickstarter campaign for Eldramoor: Haven in the Mist, a new fantasy VR MMORPG coming to Quest and PC VR, is now live
- Sony announced 4 new titles are coming to PSVR 2: Dreams of Another, Meteora, Grit and Valor — 1949, Hotel Infinity. Hotel Infinity intrigues me because it is a quite surreal puzzle game
- Apple Vision Pro owners can watch an immersive teaser for the blockbuster hit “F1”
- DrakkenRidge is a retro-themed semi-open world VR adventure heading to Quest 3 on September 4
- PianoCafe is a cool MR game able to teach you to play a physical piano in a pretty original way. It doesn’t give you standard piano lessons, but lets you play a cooking game that you play using the piano keys. Playing the game, you also learn to play music. It is expected to launch before July 30th.
More info (Ballee)
More info (The Invisible Hours)
More info (Little Nightmares)
More info (Eldramoor: Haven in the Mist)
More info (PSVR 2 games)
More info (Hotel Infinity)
More info (F1)
More info (Drakkenridge)
More info (PianoCafe)
Some reviews about content
- FunFitLand seems to be a pretty enjoyable fitness game. It is somewhat similar to Supernatural, but feels lighter and more approachable. It features various game modes, and there are some good trainers that create a personal connection with you and motivate you to go on. It is available on the Meta Quest store as a subscription for $9.99 monthly or $99.99 annually
Other news
EKTO VR, the company creating shoes to walk in VR, has launched its crowdfunding campaign
HTC is discounting its Vive Pro 2 headset
Someone built a real-life ad blocker with Snap Spectacles
There are alcoholics anonymous meetings happening in many social VR places
Mentra announced it has raised $8M and is launching the v2.0 of its MentraOS app
Rokid AR glasses can now make you pay with Alipay
Some interesting insights about publishing a VR game on a store
News from partners (and friends)
Discover the latest update to Alpaca Party!
These are three new exciting updates for the fun party game Alpaca Party:
- Escape Mode: Thrilling Asymmetrical Multiplayer Experience. The game introduces a brand-new asymmetrical multiplayer mode where players are divided into two camps: Survivors and Watchers, each with unique skills. Survivors must evade capture by the Watchers until the countdown ends, while the Watchers strive to capture all Survivors. The two sides engage in intense competition.
- Two New Folk-Horror Maps: Opera House and Hospital. Players can explore two new maps. The Opera House, filled with mysterious ghost-wedding rituals, and the Hospital, hiding sinister conspiracies. These maps are filled with various dangers and puzzles. Players need to find opportunities to escape and uncover the hidden truths within.
- All-New Social Hub: A Perfect Blend of Socializing and Fun. The game adds a new multi-player Social Hub, where players can play various mini-games with friends and directly access the store or start game rooms. The Social Hub offers rich social and entertainment options, enhancing the interactive experience of the game.
Get the game on the Meta Store
Discover UnitedVR
UnitedVR is a new project by previous KLM’s VR professional Chris Koomen. It is aimed at getting residents active in an accessible and innovative way using Virtual Reality.
VR technology is still unfamiliar or out of reach for many. This project changes that, by making VR accessible to everyone through fun, interactive movement sessions in small groups at familiar local venues. Special attention goes to young people, seniors, and those who normally face barriers to participation.
Learn more
Discover Render After Dark
Kyle Render and his team just launched a new series on YouTube, called “Render After Dark”. As expected, it is filled with humour and VR. For now, you can watch the pilot, involving the amazing Alex VR and Skeeva, but more episodes are to come!
Learn more
Discover FM DUO camera!
Meet the FM DUO, a VR camera that is capable of filming up to 12K @30fps, and 8K @60fps. With built-in RTMP live streaming and 5G connectivity, the FM·DUO will immerse your viewers in real time! The FM·DUO features 2 full-frame CMOS sensors, with 6000 x 6000 pixels each. This allows for high-resolution zooming capabilities. Not only can you narrow in on one subject, but you can also focus on singular details of the subject’s facial expressions, clothing textures, and a multitude of other small details, enabling a much more immersive experience of VR video.
Some XR fun
I laughed at this more than I should
Funny link
Just a little girl having a great time
Funny link
This blog, too, is not as good as Half-Life: Alyx’s one
Funny link
You can now search something on Google to have Gemini AI tell you to search that on Google
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
- Keith Bradner
- 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
- Anonymous Supporter
- Giuseppe Pippi
- Mark Frederiksen
- Ken Lin
- Sb
- Boule Petanque
- 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
- Mark G
- 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 Apple)
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