Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip for extended reality platforms is designed to allow those who incorporate it into their gear to give Apple’s ambitious and technologically advanced Vision Pro headset a run for its money. Qualcomm says as part of the second gen Plus launch announcement that Samsung and Google have committed to using its new chip to power gen two XR experiences. Among the noteworthy XR2+ features is its single-chip architecture for 4.3K spatial computing at 90 frames per second. It supports 4.3K per eye resolution and 12 or more concurrent cameras to VR and mixed reality experiences. Continue reading CES: Qualcomm Chip Enables Faster Mixed Reality Features

Meta Platforms has reportedly been investing billions of dollars each quarter in developing the metaverse, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described as the future of the company. Although sales of VR headsets and AR glasses dropped nearly 40 percent in the U.S. (according to research firm Circana), Meta continues to tout the intersection between AI and the metaverse. “The progress we made in 2023 means generative AI is making its way into the heart of the world’s most popular apps, mixed reality is now at the core of a mass market headset, and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses will let AI see the world from our perspective for the first time,” explained Andrew Bosworth, CTO and head of Meta’s Reality Labs. Continue reading Meta Platforms Continues Its Pursuit of AI and the Metaverse

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

Apple Vision Pro, the $3,499 mixed reality headset announced for release in early 2024, could be getting a B2B marketing push, as evidenced by a recently published Apple post on development apps. That would make competing products in the $3,300 to $5,000 range — including the Microsoft HoloLens and headsets from Magic Leap — Apple’s competition for the Vision Pro. That would also leave Meta Platforms and its Quest line, including the $500 mixed reality Quest 3 that began shipping last month, unchallenged in the consumer space, where it currently enjoys an estimated 80 percent market share. Continue reading Apple’s Vision Pro May Compete in the AR Enterprise Space

Key highlights from this week’s two-day Meta Connect virtual event include details about the Quest 3 mixed reality headset, the latest smart glasses from its Ray-Ban collaboration, and an announcement that AI stickers are rolling out across the Meta Platforms apps. Starting at $500, the Meta Quest 3 will add Microsoft 365 apps integration by the end of the year, for those who want to use the gaming headset for productivity. Available for preorder now, the Quest 3 ships October 10. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses start at $299 and ship October 17. Continue reading Meta Shows Off Quest 3 and Smart Glasses at Connect 2023

Apple experienced its third consecutive quarter of declining sales in Q2, with a 1.4 percent slip to revenue of $81.8 billion. But the Cupertino-based company managed to generate record performance in its Services division, up 8.2 percent to $21.21 billion. Sales of the company’s largest device segment, iPhones, underperformed estimates with $39.7 billion in sales, a 2.4 percent dip year-over-year. Overall, however, Apple slightly overperformed Wall Street expectations, which were forecast at $81.64 billion for the quarter ending in June. For Q2, Apple reported 1 billion paid subscriptions — including Apple Music, Apple TV+ and third-party apps. Continue reading Apple’s Sales Decline Tempered by Record for Services Arm

Following nine months of difficult repositioning that included layoffs and consolidation as Meta Platforms segued to its “year of efficiency,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently shared his plans for the company’s future with employees at an all-hands meeting. In a discussion that has been reported as an effort to help bolster staff morale during this challenging period, Zuckerberg explained his strategy regarding job cuts, offered insight on the tech giant’s approach to artificial intelligence, and took a swipe at Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro mixed reality headset while talking about his goals for VR and the metaverse. Continue reading Zuckerberg Shares Meta Strategy with Staff After Rocky Year

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

Meta Platforms has published a new AI technology, the Segment Anything Model (SAM) that the company claims can identify objects it hasn’t seen before. Acting on a text prompt, SAM will highlight items in a photo or video, picking out all the cats, for instance, or flowers. It can also execute other functions, such as generating a 3D construct using a single 2D image or extrapolating from things viewed in a mixed reality headset. Segment Anything can work in concert with other models, potentially minimizing the need for voluminous data sets for training. Continue reading New Meta AI Can Detect Objects It Has Not Been Trained On

Apple has acquired WaveOne, a Mountain View-based startup that has been developing AI algorithms for video compression. Cupertino has been mum about the purchase, but the deal reportedly closed in January, and WaveOne employees are said to have been absorbed into Apple’s machine learning groups. WaveOne’s codecs use machine learning to squeeze more picture out of less bandwidth, including optimizing for signal interruptions, so the picture doesn’t freeze or disappear, making it ideal for mobile. As Netflix and YouTube tout picture improvements, WaveOne could potentially advantage Apple TV+ and a mixed reality headset. Continue reading Apple Eyes AI Video Compression with WaveOne Acquisition

On March 2, an international gathering of media technology executives and startups spent an hour discussing “the multiverse” and related topics. It was part of a day-long SPROCKIT Sync and ETC@USC Multiverse Symposium co-sponsored by the ETC and SPROCKIT, with additional support from ETC member Ronin X Foundation. Moderated by ETC’s Phil Lelyveld and Ronin X’s Sandeep Casi, attendees debated how to define the metaverse; discussed how development would impact contracts, rights and payments; raised tech implications of free range experiences and dynamic storytelling on capture and distribution processes and infrastructure; and addressed mixed reality experiences being planned and tested for theme parks. Watch a 9-minute video highlight reel of the discussion. Continue reading Tech Leaders Map the Multiverse at ETC Digital Town Square

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

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

LG Display showcased several prototypes at CES 2023. As part of its Advanced Mobility Lifestyle exhibit, the South Korean company touted an 8-inch, 360-degree foldable OLED that could be used for future smartphones or autos. The revolutionary technology “enables a device to fold both ways to bring greater utilization, as users can now choose different form factors according to their task,” says LG, attesting to its durability “even when folded more than 200,000 times, while its special folding mechanism minimizes wrinkles along the folding areas.” The company also presented a 17-inch foldable OLED that is “almost entirely crease-free.” Continue reading CES: LG Demos 17-Inch OLED, 8-Inch 360-Degree Foldables