Today it’s going to be a pretty crazy day for me, but I’m still saving the time to write this summary of the best XR news for you! Enjoy, and wish me luck!
(Btw, this week I’ve published an article about why we don’t have the “killer app” of MR yet, and it fostered some debates in the XR community, which is what I hoped for. If you want to be part of this discussion, read it, too!)
Top news of the week
Vivo launches in-store demos of its mixed reality headset
Vivo, one of the main smartphone manufacturers, has started doing in-store demos of its mixed reality headset, called Vivo Vision.
The headset was teased a few months ago as a competitor of the Apple Vision Pro, and this week, we had an update on the specifications. The headset should weigh only 398g (compared to the 600g of Vision Pro), have 4K per eye displays (they say “8K binocular”, which I guess is 2 x 4K), and be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset. The headset does not run AndroidXR, but its own OriginOS Vision operating system. There are various size options for the facemask to guarantee the best comfort for the users.
The headset has not been launched to the market yet. What Vivo has announced is that people can now try a pre-launch version of it, dubbed “Vivo Vision Discovery Edition” in 12 locations in China. I know a few people in China who have had a demo of it, and described it as “very inspired” by the Vision Pro, both for what concerns the shape of the headset, the gaze-and-pinch interactions, and the main menu interface. The name itself, Vivo Vision, is inspired by Apple’s device…
Vivo executives teased that it may launch for around ¥10,000 (~$1,400), which is much less than the price of Vision Pro. It’s not clear if this headset will ever ship outside of China.
I’m personally happy that Vivo entered the MR field, but I’m not expressing any judgement on this device until I try it.
More info (Vivo Vision demos — Road To VR)
More info (Vivo Vision demos — Upload VR)
Other relevant news
Google is still unsure about launching its own glasses
It is public knowledge that Google is working with selected manufacturers to ship augmented reality glasses or smartglasses. Samsung and XREAL are two examples of that. What many people are still wondering, though, is if Google will also launch its own line of devices, something like Pixel is for smartphones.
The answer is that, at least publicly, Google is still unsure about that. Bloomberg, which interviewed Google’s Senior Vice President of Devices & Services, Rick Osterloh, reported this:
Osterloh says it’s still “TBD” whether Google itself will release glasses again, but he’s intent on the category being part of the company’s future. “We’ve been in the market in the past, but we think now is the time where it’s actually going to break through and be really interesting and useful,” he said.
My personal take is that sooner or later, Google will launch its line of devices, because it is a natural choice when you are building a platform: in fact, currently, the company is already building its own prototypes to develop Android XR. But I think that it will probably wait a bit before doing that, for two reasons. The first is that this way it gives more visibility to its partners, enticing others to join Android XR. The second is that Google has lost the trust of the XR community after abandoning at first Google Glass, and then Daydream, so before committing to its own device, it must be 100% sure that this project doesn’t go straight to the graveyard.
Preorders for Oakley Meta HSTN Glasses are open
Oakley Meta HSTN glasses, the second product coming from the close collaboration between Meta and EssilorLuxottica, can now be preordered on the Meta website or the Oakley website. The glasses will start shipping this week.
In July, an initial limited-edition Oakley Meta HSTN model with gold accents and 24K gold polarized lenses launched and shipped, priced at $500. Now, the regular editions are available to preorder, starting at $400: they are available in six combinations of frames and lens colors. The glasses are currently available in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark.
It will be interesting to read about the sale numbers of this device, after the big success of Ray-Ban Meta.
News worth a mention
Meta explains why Hypernova will have just a monocular display
At Meta Connect, Meta is launching its high-end smartglasses codenamed Hypernova (probably called Meta Celeste). These glasses have a rumored price of $800 and should feature a single monocular display. Monocular displays are not ideal, since we are used to seeing the world with both eyes, so someone asked Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth the reason for this choice. Boz has answered that it is, as usual, a matter of trade-offs: binocular displays require not only double the hardware, but also additional elements to solve the disparity correction. This means that the price of a visual system with two eyes is more than double that of one with only one eye. So to keep the price of the glasses somewhat affordable, Meta had to do this compromise.
Deadpool VR launches in November
One of the most anticipated VR games of 2025, Deadpool VR, now has a release date. Twisted Pixel announced the game is being launched on November 18th. This announcement also came with a new trailer, which explains more of the story of the game. At Gamescom, various journalists have also been able to go hands-on with the game, and they came out with a positive first impression of it. So, potentially, this can be a very successful VR game. It is priced at $50, so its launch will be a good occasion to see if, on a Horizon Store that is shifting towards free-to-play, there is still a market for good premium games.
More info (Deadpool VR release date — Road To VR)
More info (Deadpool VR release date — Upload VR)
More info (Voodoo’s first impressions on Deadpool VR)
More info (Upload’s first impressions on Deadpool VR)
Some interesting XR research projects
This week, I’ve read about three interesting research projects:
- Dr. Mar Gonzalez-Franco participated in another interesting XR UX research project that explores the selection and manipulation of 3D objects. The interesting thing about this research is that it allows for optimal interactions with 3D elements using hand tracking together with the good old mouse
- Pico and Georgia Tech have released XRoboToolkit, which is a cross-platform framework for robot teleoperation. With this, Pico merges two of the cutting-edge technologies of the moment: XR and robotics
- Researchers at Princeton made a robot that can deliver food and water to someone in virtual reality. With this system, the person in VR sees a can of a drink appearing virtually, while a robot delivers the real one. We are now one step closer to the Dall-E society
More info (HandOver: manipulation of 3D objects)
More info (XRoboToolkit)
More info (Princeton research on drinks in VR)
WinlatorXR now lets you play PCVR games without a PC
Some months ago, I already told you about WinlatorXR, the Windows emulator for Android-based VR headsets that you can use to play PC games on your headset. With the latest update, it seems that the emulator is able to let you play PCVR games directly on your standalone headset, without the need for a PC! Of course, there are performance issues to consider, but it is cool anyway that this is possible.
Venice Immersive is about to start
Venice Immersive, the XR part of the Venice Film Festival, is going to start in a couple of days, on August 27th. It is one of the most important events about VR storytelling, and many important artworks are going to be showcased there. Upload VR selected 7 of them to keep an eye on if you visit the event.
Enjoy a sale on the Meta Store!
Meta’s ‘Secret Vault Sale’ is discounting some major Quest games: Skydance’s Behemoth, Metro Awakening, Resident Evil 4, Demeo, Into the Radius, Breachers, and many others are all between 30% and 50% off on the Horizon Store. If you have some money to spend, get some great games now!
Some news about content
- Star Trek is getting a new VR game, this time a survival horror. Called Star Trek: Infection, it is developed by Played With Fire and is going to launch later this year
- Reach, one of the most awaited VR games to launch in 2025, now has a release date and a price. The game will launch on October 16th, 2025, priced at $40
- Super RC is a new game from the developer of the Ultrawings series. It is a game about radio-controlled cars, and it is going to launch for $8 “soon” on the Horizon Store
- Following the trend set by other VR games, fantasy roguelite Ironstrike has also gone free-to-play on Quest
- Polyarc talks about Glassbreakers: Champions Of Moss in an interview with Upload
- Mixed reality RTS Banners & Bastions enters early access on Quest on August 28th
- SailGP RaceScape XR lets you enjoy high-speed sail racing with a videostream of the event, together with an expansive volumetric dashboard for Apple Vision Pro
- Dread Meridian is an atmospheric survival horror game that’s heading for Quest and PC VR
- Hauntify on Quest 3 now uses Lasertag’s continuous scene meshing to avoid the friction given by the Quest room setup
- Syberia VR launches November 13 for the Meta Horizon Store
- Project Motor Racing is getting VR support soon
- The Signal: Stranded on Sirenis, a narrative-focused survival adventure, is getting a VR adaptation. The flatscreen demo now has an October 13 release date
- VR MMORPG Ilysia is now free-to-play on Quest and Steam. Let’s see if this move will help its adoption or will be its swan song
More info (Star Trek: Infection)
More info (nDreams)
More info (Super RC)
More info (Ironstrike)
More info (Glassbreakers: Champions Of Moss)
More info (Banners & Bastions)
More info (SailGP RaceScape XR)
More info (Dread Meridian)
More info (Hauntify)
More info (Syberia VR)
More info (JShodanVR)
More info (The Signal: Stranded On Sirenis)
More info (Ilysia)
Some reviews about content
- Star Trek: Infection seems to deliver well the sense of fear and horror in its preview
- Grit and Valor 1949 is a polished blend of tight grid-based combat, roguelite progression, and tactile VR interactivity that makes for a fresh and exhilarating experience
More info (Star Trek: Infection)
More info (Grit and Valor 1949)
Other news
Spatial Phone is an application that lets you use your iPhone or Android phone while immersed in your Quest
PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles are now more expensive in the US
Snap is considering outside funding to deliver and ship its AR glasses
Meta has just increased the quality of the images retrieved by the Passthrough API
Burning Man now has a dedicated VR experience for people who want to join it virtually
Lynx released an open-source library for 6DOF positional tracking on Android
Learn more (Upload VR)
Learn more (Stan Larroque’s blog)
News from partners (and friends)
Web to Spatial Program is now live
The Web To Spatial program, a sort of hackathon to promote Pico’s WebSpatial is now live! Pico WebSpatial allows web developers to add immersive features to their websites, so they are ready to be enjoyed on Apple Vision Pro and other mixed reality devices. With this hackathon, Pico aims at teaching developers how to use this interesting technology, while also delivering some prizes to them. Join it! 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.
Visit Product Website
Some XR fun
A nice joke if you are into object detection in images
Funny link
A silly joke which got thousands of likes on Reddit
Funny link
A joke about assistance requests
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
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- Andrew Deutsch
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- Tatiana Kartashova
- Marco “BeyondTheCastle” Arena
- Eloi Gerard
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- Qcreator
- Ristband (Anne McKinnon & Roman Rappak)
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- Sb
- Boule Petanque
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- Caroline
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- 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 Vivo)
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