Virtual meeting tool Zoom has become one of the first companies to announce an app designed specifically for the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, shipping February 2. Zoom’s new app “seamlessly blends video conferencing with users’ physical space, blurring the lines of in-person and remote meetings” with the Vision Pro for “a more real-world, immersive environment,” according to Zoom. The result is an “authentic spatial representation” of people and their motions in the Vision Pro world on Zoom. The app supports Apple’s Persona feature, which uses machine learning to generate digital avatars. Continue reading Zoom Meetings for Apple Vision Pro App Get Avatars and More

Acer brought a fleet of new Predator gaming monitors to CES, including the curved colossus spanning 57-inches, the Predator Z57, and glasses-free 3D Predator SpatialLabs View 27, a mass market spin on the company’s SpatialLabs professional display. Sprawling across 7,680 x 2,160 pixels, the flagship Z57 MiniLED runs at 120Hz, with 2,304 dimming zones, dual HDR and peak brightness of 1,000 nits, according to Acer, which has it priced at $2,500, calendared in Q2, as is the $2,000 View 27. The Ultra HD 3D monitor boasts a 160Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync for fluid gameplay. Continue reading CES: Acer Showcases Curved and Glasses-Free 3D Monitors

While technology for immersive visual content has (for now) settled on stereoscopic headsets with two little high-resolution screens behind two little lenses, at CES in Las Vegas this week four different developers presented four different approaches to realistic haptic feedback for arms and hands. Buzzing, squeezing and zapping are all on offer, with fundamentally different business and technology models. New haptic products from companies such as Afference, bHaptics, Valkyrie Industries and Microtube Technologies suggest we may be slowly getting closer to more physically-engaging immersive experiences. Continue reading CES: Haptic Technology Makes Slow Strides for CE Products

Apple has released the iOS 17.2 update for newer iPhones. New features include spatial video recording and a Journal app that generates prompts designed to get users writing about their lives based on data running through the phone. The 3D spatial video can also playback on 2D on any device but is optimized for dimensional viewing on Apple’s Vision Pro headset, due for release in 2024, starting at $3,500. The Journal app, unveiled at June’s WWDC, is described as a health and wellness feature (that oddly does not yet integrate with the Apple Watch). Continue reading Apple Intros Spatial Video Recording with Latest iOS Update

Watch brand Diesel continues its exploration of Web3 and the metaverse with its new Vert line, a collaboration with Fossil dropping November 2. The “narrative-driven brand experience” for Vert centers on a game-like digital adventure called “the Vert Metamorph Experience” that that can be explored online and instore through November 17. The Metamorph virtual world is inspired by Vert design details resulting in an environment both organic and futuristic. There, visitors will try to advance through challenges as an NFT-minted “A:VERT:AR” trying to reactivate time in land where it has stopped. Continue reading Diesel Vert Watch Debut Powered by Web3 Promo with NFTs

With internal Snapchat data indicating 80 percent of its members plan to use the service during Halloween activities, the platform was eager to scare up a special treat. What it came up with is an immersive original series called “Phantom House.” Disney+ and Maybelline are among the first sponsors to sign-up for the weekly installments spanning across Snap’s Chat, Camera, Stories and Spotlight tabs. “’Phantom House’ will come to life during Advertising Week New York through an out-of-home takeover” that includes a live activation, according to Snap. Continue reading Disney+, Maybelline Sign Up for Snapchat’s ‘Phantom House’

Swiss technology firm CREAL has announced what it calls a breakthrough in lightfield technology that can greatly improve augmented reality experiences. The tech is set to be commercially released in early 2024 for integration into third-party products, CREAL CEO Tomas Sluka says the advancement will make it more comfortable to wear AR glasses, reducing eye strain, nausea and fatigue. While other companies approach AR’s challenges through solutions including passthrough, monocular projection and varifocal display, CREAL says the stack it’s built for lightfield display addresses the most pressing common issues. Continue reading CREAL Plans Launch of Commercial Lightfield AR Next Year

Amazon has developed a new virtual fan experience that includes shopping and interactive tours to tie-in with popular Prime Video series and films. The first such immersive experience is designed for fans of the Prime Video series “Gen V,” and includes a virtual tour of the show’s fictional Godolkin University, which trains aspiring superheroes, complete with a campus store brimming with actual merchandise that fans can purchase from Amazon. The programming extensions aim to offer “culturally rich environments for customers to discover, learn, experience, and consume more of their favorite stories” while shopping. Continue reading Amazon Launches Immersive Online Shopping on Prime Video

Meta Platforms will offer its “Horizon Worlds” virtual reality experience to the world at large, making it available in 2D via mobile and browsers on the Web, starting with early access. Initially, a “small number of people” will be able to  tap into the FPS game “Super Rumble” via the Meta Quest app on Android, with iOS availability over the next few weeks and “more experiences to come.” Early access can also be requested by those who prefer to use computer browsers at horizon.meta.com. “The metaverse should be available to everyone — no matter what device they’re on,” Meta suggests. Continue reading Meta’s ‘Horizon Worlds’ Offers Metaverse on Mobile, the Web

Films shot using the 3D world-building tool Mona will compete in what is being billed as “the world’s first metaverse short film festival.” Running September 26-29, the Mona Shorts Fest will take place in the immersive environment app that CEO Justin Melillo has coined “the Monaverse.” “With an entire film studio at your fingertips through Mona’s SDK and in-world experience, imagine what story you could tell,” the festival’s website suggests. Last summer, the company announced more than $14 million in Series A funds after “thousands of creators” used the platform to build experiences for Web3. Continue reading Films Shot ‘In-World’ at Mona Get Their Own Shorts Festival

Chinese tech firm Rokid released is first AR glasses in 2017, and is now making available an attachment called Rokid Station that brings an immersive 215-inch Android TV virtual screen experience to its new Rokid Max augmented reality eyewear. The Rokid Max glasses list for $439, but bundled with the Rokid Station the price is $529 (via preorder). The Rokid Max glasses feature micro OLED screens that can project what appears to be a 215-inch screen positioned about 10 feet from the user, creating the illusion of an immersive viewing experience. Continue reading Rokid Debuts Portable Android TV Device for Its AR Glasses

Sphere Entertainment, James Dolan’s MSG Entertainment spin-off, has opened Sphere Studios in Burbank. The 68,000-square-foot compound will output immersive entertainment for Sphere venues. The flagship Sphere in Las Vegas opens in September with a series of U2 concerts designed to show-off the 580,000 square-foot display that Sphere says is “the world’s highest-resolution LED screen.” The company has filed eight patents, including for the ultra-high resolution Big Sky camera, unveiled this week. Sphere says Big Sky has “the world’s sharpest cinematic lenses,” capable of delivering edge-to-edge images for the 16K x 16K immersive display at Sphere Vegas. Continue reading Sphere Launches Burbank Studio, Immersive Camera System

Open-world action role-playing game “Diablo IV” has become the biggest out-of-the-gate seller in Blizzard Entertainment history, generating $666 million in global sales within the first five days of its June 6 launch. The game developer equated the record to box-office movie performance, crediting “Diablo IV” for the company’s “biggest opening week of the year.” The online game, which accommodates single or multi-players, combines a gothic atmosphere with monster-slaying. The heroes of Sanctuary, the world in which “Diablo” is set, have already played more than 276 million hours, or more than 30,000 years. Continue reading Blizzard: ‘Diablo IV’ Generates $666 Million in First Five Days

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

UK-based Immersive Gamebox has been bringing interactive play to venues, first in London and now in the U.S., where the company is currently in about 20 markets including New York, San Jose, Dallas, Denver and Salt Lake City. The goal is to expand to 100 stateside locations by 2025. Teams engage in social play in interactive smart rooms, taking part in adventures based on IP that so far includes about a dozen titles, including “Squid Game” and “Angry Birds.” Players are outfitted with 3D motion-tracking visors and touchscreens, eliminating the need for headsets. Continue reading The Growth of Location-Based Immersive Team Video Games