Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro headset will begin shipping in early 2024, CEO Tim Cook announced Monday at WWDC, calling it a device for “spatial computing.” The company’s new visionOS operating system is described as a mashup of iOS, macOS and tvOS, designed for “an entirely new universe of apps for Vision Pro,” according to Apple. Unity was revealed as the principal development engine for Vision Pro content. The upcoming headset, powered by Apple’s high-end M2 chip, supports 4K resolution and features embedded audio pods. The company emphasized gaming and streaming services, in addition to productivity and communication. Continue reading WWDC: Apple Unveils Its ‘Vision Pro’ Mixed Reality Headset

The Meta Quest 3 is a thinner, wireless AR/VR headset that will sell for $499 beginning this fall. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the device last week ahead of Apple’s WWDC, taking place today through Friday (during today’s WWDC keynote, Apple announced its visionOS software platform for the company’s much anticipated Vision Pro headset). Powered by a new Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset developed in conjunction with Meta, Zuckerberg describes the Quest 3 as “the first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality” and promises more details at Meta Connect, September 27-28. Continue reading Meta Quest 3 Is Unveiled Just Ahead of Apple’s WWDC 2023

A new $2,000 mobile device called “Spacetop” comes with its own augmented reality glasses that can create a 100-inch virtual display. Sightful, the Tel Aviv-based startup behind the new AR laptop, was co-founded by CEO Tamir Berliner and COO Tomer Kahan, both previously with Florida-based AR glasses firm Magic Leap. Spacetop utilizes a custom operating system that Sightful says is compatible with Web-based applications such as Google Workspace, Zoom and Figma. The glasses reportedly offer resolution of 1080p per eye, which Sightful says provides sub-pixel viewing resolution. Continue reading Sightful’s Spacetop AR Laptop Offers 100-Inch Virtual Display

Meta Platforms has shared additional details on its next generation of AI infrastructure. The company has designed two custom silicon chips, including one for training and running AI models and eventually powering metaverse functions like virtual reality and augmented reality. Another chip is tailored to optimize video processing. Meta publicly discussed its internal chip development last week ahead of a Thursday virtual event on AI infrastructure. The company also showcased an AI-optimized data center design and talked about phase two of deployment of its 16,000 GPU supercomputer for AI research. Continue reading Meta In-House Chip Designs Include Processing for AI, Video

While the tech conversation has most recently pivoted to artificial intelligence, Meta Platforms isn’t giving up on the metaverse, though it shifted the focus from fun and games to job training and education at the company’s Future of Work Summit. “When it comes to AR and VR, it’s very obvious to me that one of the most powerful applications is the ability to dramatically improve re-skilling,” Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg said, citing opportunities in skilled trades, teaching and elder care, speaking Tuesday in Washington. Continue reading Meta Touts the Metaverse as Tool for Education, Job Training

Amazon has launched a new business-to-business program called Amazon Anywhere that lets makers of video games and mobile apps turn their platforms into e-retailers selling physical merchandise using Amazon’s back-end. “With Amazon Anywhere, you can now discover and buy physical products from Amazon stores without ever having to leave your game or app,” the company said, promising to enable “immersive shopping experiences” for virtual worlds, starting with Niantic’s new augmented reality pet game “Peridot.” Companies like Niantic can invite users to link their Amazon account to their apps to purchase merchandise like toys and apparel. Continue reading Amazon Anywhere B2B Platform Helps Creators Set Up Shop

Meta Platforms is extending immersive experiences to brands. Facebook and Instagram Reels and Facebook Stories will soon have augmented reality brand messaging, Meta announced last week at the IAB NewFronts. Advertisers like Sephora, Tiffany & Co. and others will be able to use AR filters to market on Meta’s social platforms to reach Gen Z users. Meta is rolling out additional improvements, including third-party measurement partners for campaigns on Reels ads. Meta had previously made AR ads available in the Facebook and Instagram feeds and in Instagram Stories with what the company says is great success. Continue reading Meta Rolls Out AR Advertising for Facebook, Instagram Reels

After three straight quarters of declining revenue, Meta Platforms posted a 3 percent year-over-year gain in Q1, for a total of $28.6 billion. Earnings fell by 24 percent, to $5.7 billion, due in part to restructuring charges. But the bad news was offset by strong user growth, including 37 million daily active users for Facebook, up 4 percent from Q1 2022. The results beat Wall Street expectations and exceeded Meta’s own guidance. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called it “a good quarter,” adding that “our AI work is driving good results across our apps and business.” Continue reading Meta Back on Growth Curve Following Three Tough Quarters

More than 3 million users are now using the $3.99-per-month Snapchat+ subscription service that launched last June. The premium offering got a boost when the company added early access to its AI chatbot, called My AI. Snap will soon make My AI available free to Snapchat’s 750 million monthly users, the company announced Wednesday at its annual partner summit in Santa Monica, California. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told attendees the company is targeting 10 million users as a “medium-term goal” for Snapchat+, which in addition to the U.S. is available in the UK, Germany and United Arab Emirates. Continue reading ‘My AI’ Will Be Free for All as Snapchat+ Hits 3M Paying Subs

AMD is introducing a new encoder chip designed for energy efficient and economical AV1 video streaming. The AV1 codec is increasingly popular as streamers seek to meet massive bandwidth needs. AMD’s new card, the Alveo MA35D, delivers what promises to be a massive leap in throughput and compression over its predecessor. Compression performance is critical in today’s streaming market, where the model has changed from a one-to-many central server model to a cloud-based distributed many-to-many format as entertainment is vying for bandwidth with video conferences, massively multiplayer online games and social media streaming. Continue reading AMD Touts Advance in AV1 Encoding for Streaming Services

Despite cost-cutting, Meta Platforms is continuing to spend on R&D. Coming in 2025: smart glasses paired with a neural interface watch to control them, according to The Verge, which got to view a presentation the company delivered to thousands of its Reality Labs staffers this week. Among the disclosures: for 2027, full-fledged AR glasses, a format Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says will eventually be as ubiquitous as mobile phones. Coming later this year is a thinner, more powerful Quest 3 VR headset priced only slightly higher than the $400 Quest 2. Continue reading Meta Has a Four-Year Plan Including Full-Fledged AR Glasses

What a difference a year makes. CES 2023 attracted more than 115,000 attendees from 140 countries to Las Vegas where 3,000 companies filled 2 million square feet of exhibit space. Among the major themes relevant to M&E this year were artificial intelligence, the multiverse, AR and immersive experiences, displays, mobility, IoT, and numerous policy and regulation topics. ETC@USC attended the convention with onsite and remote teams, once again blending its in-person tradition with a virtual presence. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to these key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading CES 2023 Report: Connection, Collaboration and Cooperation

Alphabet is touting artificial intelligence advances as it faces disappointing Q4 earnings, with CEO Sundar Pichai, who is also CEO of Google, telling analysts the company will soon share its own generative AI system with the public, competing head-on with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALL-E. “In the coming weeks and months, we’ll make these language models available, starting with LaMDA, so that people can engage directly with them,” Pichai said. Google’s parent company reported a 3.6 percent decline in core ad revenue, at $59 billion in Q4, while overall revenue was up 1 percent to $76 billion. Continue reading Alphabet Reveals Major AI Push, Plans to Take On ChatGPT

Apple is preparing for the release of its upcoming mixed reality headset by engineering software that, while aimed largely at developers, would also allow users to create their own augmented reality apps in the same way as Final Cut Pro, which is used to edit video by both professionals and laymen. Apple’s highly anticipated headgear is expected to come to market this year, and a general use AR development tool would be a major coup for the company, given that AR apps are complicated to create and new technologies typically rely on fresh content to drive sales. Continue reading Apple Developing User-Friendly AR Creation App for Headset

Niantic, the mobile games company famous for the “Pokémon GO” augmented reality venture has yet to duplicate the success of that 2016 mega-hit. “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” and “Pikmin Bloom” fell short, and last June Niantic laid off nearly 90 people, about 8 percent of its staff. The company, which was incubated by Google, has a lot riding on “NBA All-World,” its latest bid for AR virality on Android and iOS. The game releases globally this week. The concept is brand-to-boots: hoop enthusiasts are invited to play one-on-one or enjoy team time with their NBA favorites. Continue reading NBA Collaboration with Niantic Could Be AR Game Changer