Road to VR

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

Khronos Group , the consortium behind the OpenXR project which aims to standardize the way applications communicate with AR and VR headsets, just added Microsoft to its ranks. Among its count of members, the OpenXR working group consisted of nearly every major player in the industry except Microsoft until now.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 22, 2019

Considering that Facebook is very smart also in leaking misleading info (as it has happened with the “Monterey” headset ), this can also be a move from Menlo Park to create hype for the upcoming Oculus Connect 6 and the AR glasses that will be teased there. We may know the field of view of Apple AR headset. Other relevant news.

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The Ghost Howls

MAY 25, 2020

Apple Glasses may release in 2021 for $499. In the end, technologist Jon Prosser has revealed the main details he knows about the Apple Glasses. Well, on another website, I’ve been able to find someone that reading some Apple’s documents has found pictures of strange colored circular tags that may act as QR Codes for Apple devices.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

I can’t wait to discover the Pico 4, the Quest Pro, and the Apple Reality headsets… and you? Apple headset may be called “Reality”. We have new rumors about the upcoming Apple headset. It seems that one of Apple’s shell companies has just registered the trademarks “Reality One”, “Reality Pro”, and “Reality Processor”.

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AR Insider

JANUARY 25, 2021

How many XR headsets is Apple working on, and when can we get our hands one them? Between the $299 Oculus Quest, the death of the movie theater, and the COVID stigma on shared headsets, you’d think we wouldn’t be hearing much about this right now. Apple headset to be a pricey, niche VR precursor to eventual AR headset.

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Road to VR

JUNE 22, 2023

At least from the outside, it appears Microsoft isn’t actively competing for a seat at the XR table, which is fairly odd coming from a company that pioneered enterprise AR while simultaneously wrangling some of its top OEM partners to make a fleet of PC VR headsets for consumers in 2017. If Microsoft goes in half-cocked, maybe.

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Road to VR

MAY 9, 2018

Later this year, Microsoft is increasing the cut developers earn when publishing on the Microsoft Store. Microsoft says in a blog post that gaming apps won’t see the raise from the standard percentage, which at the time of this writing is a standard 70/30 split. Check out more details on the Microsoft blog post.

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The Ghost Howls

JUNE 23, 2020

Apple announces ARKit 4, amongst new rumors of XR headsets. The story goes on telling that Apple VR headset had realistic visuals and sound, it was super-cool and probably we’ll see a release date of 2022/2023. More info (New rumors about Apple and XR) More info (Apple ARKit4). We all can’t wait. Other relevant news.

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The Ghost Howls

JUNE 13, 2022

Image by Apple). Apple has not announced any glasses at WWDC. Every year, we have the same ritual: we wait for an event by Apple, hoping to hear some news about an upcoming XR device, then nothing happens in this sense, we are disappointed and so we hope for a new reveal next year. Top news of the week. Other relevant news.

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Road to VR

MAY 2, 2024

Meta announced last week it’s set to release Horizon OS (ex-Quest OS) to select third-party OEMs , marking a monumental shift in how the company hopes to compete with Apple now that it’s released Vision Pro. Image courtesy Meta “You could drive the Apple displays from Quest silicon.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 15, 2023

Some selected developers have received the Apple headset. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who is considered a reliable reporter about Apple, claimed that “a small number of high-profile software developers” have already received the Apple mixed reality headset to start developing content for it. Other relevant news.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 5, 2021

The rumors on the Apple Glasses are intensifying. It is not a secret that Apple is working on an XR device: the mystery is when it is going to release it and what it will actually be. The hype is rising, and Apple is playing with it. (My usual terrible image to wish you Happy Easter, if you celebrate it). Top news of the week.

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The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 24, 2020

Oculus devices will require a Facebook login. The enormous piece of news of the week is tha t Facebook has communicated that from October, 20th, all people that want to use an Oculus device for personal use will have to use their personal Facebook account to log in. Top news of the week. Image by Tweakanalogy). The same on Twitter.

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The Ghost Howls

MAY 7, 2022

In the case of VR, we all remember the competition between HTC and Oculus in 2016, with HTC clearly winning the market until Oculus used Facebook’s money to slash the price of the Rift around 2017. This led to a growing importance of Oculus, until with the Quest it started dominating the market in a way no one was able to face.

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 20, 2020

(Image by Oculus). Oculus could be starting the production of a new Quest at the end of July. Multiple reports seem to confirm that Oculus is actually starting the production of a new Oculus Quest headset, with an expected release date in 2021. of units more produced annually. Other relevant news. Image by Pico).

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The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 3, 2020

Some time ago, the most important companies of the XR ecosystem (HTC, Oculus, Microsoft, etc…) joined the Khronos Group to discuss a standard to end the fragmentation of the XR space. That is if every company implemented OpenXR, a program built for the Oculus should work with SteamVR as well. Image by Oculus).

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 1, 2024

Apple claims the M4 has a 50% more powerful CPU an d 4 times more powerful GPU than the M2 chipset mounted on the Vision Pro, so an M5 chipset may give the new Vision Pro unprecedented performances for a standalone MR headset. There are more than 10 apps that are already compatible with it, like Figmin XR and Osso VR.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

References found in the Oculus Quest 2 firmware by users Reggy04 and Basti564 highlight how the Quest 2 Pro should have: Eyes tracking Facial expressions tracking Eye relief knob Granular IPD adjustment External charging station. Apple VR headset may feature a 3000PPI microOLED display. Apple Event was not about AR, like, at all.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 13, 2020

Well, if the rumor becomes reality, this would mean that all next Apple devices will have both front and back depth cameras, for high-precision Augmented Reality and 3D reconstruction. Well played Apple. Microsoft releases Azure Remote Rendering. Let’s see if Facebook will be a worthier opponent than Google. supports VR.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 22, 2021

Regarding the glasses, I have not big hopes for true AR glasses, but I think that thanks to Facebook and Apple, finally we’ll have some important smartglasses entering the market , making the mainstream think about wearing something on their face to enjoy notifications from the phone. Didn’t work (Image by Microsoft).

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 10, 2022

New rumors on Apple and Meta devices. I know it may sound weird to you, but we have new rumors on Apple headsets and also about the future Meta Project Cambria and Quest 3. Regarding Apple, the super-reliable analysts have stated that the headset may feature three displays because just two are for losers. Other relevant news.

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UploadVR Between Realities podcast

JANUARY 29, 2017

For every Nintendo there is a Sega and for every Apple there is a Microsoft. There are a handful of major players already cutting their teeth in VR including Google, Sony and Samsung; but the two titans sitting at the top of the heap are Oculus and HTC. Oculus/Apple . HTC/Microsoft .

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Road to VR

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

Avi Bar-Zeev, Hololens co-inventor and longtime AR/VR stalwart, has left Apple, Variety reports. Bar-Zeev helped found and invent the core technologies behind HoloLens at Microsoft, assembling the company’s very first AR prototypes, demos and UX concepts. “ I had the best exit one can imagine.

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VRScout

JUNE 18, 2017

The leaders of tech juggernauts like Apple, Google, and Facebook have been making aggressive moves into the space while publicly endorsing the world-changing potential of AR. Apple CEO Tim Cook. This month, Apple launched ARKit , a new AR development kit that has already produced some interesting experiences.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 15, 2021

Apple already made hardware, so it already had the infrastructure to build it and just added XR people on top of this infrastracture, while Facebook could not). In September, the new Facebook Avatars will come and substitute the current Oculus avatars. Apple AR headset may have been delayed to 2025. But it is impressive anyway.

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 9, 2022

The Digital Markets Act is a law that the European Parliament and Commission are discussing since 2020 and has the purpose of limiting the excessive power of the major tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta. Concept of a future AR glass by Apple. Fairer competition.

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 14, 2019

Apple has killed its AR glasses project… maybe. A piece of unexpected news has shaken the XR communities this week: according to a report on Digitimes Taiwan, Apple has abandoned its AR/VR glasses project and all the members of the team have been re-allocated in other teams. AR is still alive, Apple will still release its AR glasses.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 17, 2022

The news of the week is that Meta is poaching talents from all the other companies : in particular, it has been able to “steal” 100 employees from the HoloLens team in Microsoft. The same has happened with Apple, which is now offering bonuses to employees to keep them inside the company. Apple may have delays for its headset.

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AR Insider

MARCH 30, 2021

This traces back to Facebook’s Oculus acquisition in early 2014 that kicked off the current wave of excitement….including That excitement culminated in 2016 after the Oculus acquisition had time to set off a chain reaction of startup activity, tech-giant investment, and VC inflows for the “next computing platform.” Part V: Apple.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 20, 2020

Last Oculus Quest update shows hints of an Oculus MR ecosystem. Facebook is continuously updating the Oculus Quest , its most successful device, and this week it has rolled out the runtime v16. I think that this update, together with the last ones, marks the beginning of a mixed reality ecosystem that is being built by Oculus.

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Road to VR

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

It’s had pop-up events and in-store demos as far back as 2016 to prepare for the launch of the original Oculus Rift. Opening physical stores though would be much larger step for Meta, putting it in the same retail class as Microsoft, Apple and Google; the latter just opening its first retail store this summer.

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Road to VR

OCTOBER 25, 2021

Today during the company’s Q3 earnings call, Facebook said that it planned to change its future financial reporting to more granularly detail the aggressive investments its pouring into Facebook Reality Labs (FRL), the company’s XR and metaverse division which includes Oculus, FRL Research, and more.

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Slashgear

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Apple’s first mixed-reality headset will be no Oculus Quest alternative, new leaks suggest, with a supposed price tag – and high-end specs – that would put it among the company’s most expensive Mac and display models.

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ARPost

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Let me give you just a few very well-known examples: Meta bought Oculus VR for 2 billion dollars when there was still only a prototype headset. The US government closed a 22-billion contract with Microsoft for the development of AR for the military and the provision of HoloLens to soldiers. Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) for AR Headsets.

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Road to VR

JULY 6, 2016

Apple has just been granted another AR/VR related technology patent, to add to their growing list. Apple’s absence from the flourishing virtual and augmented reality stage is felt more strongly with every passing day.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 7, 2024

Or maybe “relaxed” is not the right word to use, considering the little drama on Microsoft’s headsets. Top news of the week (Image by HP) Microsoft officially drops support for its Mixed Reality headsets Microsoft has just released the infamous Windows 11, version 24H2 update. I think this speaks a lot.

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 24, 2023

But I hope you’ll enjoy this newsletter coming from the world of the undead anyway… Top news of the week (Image by Apple) Apple starts accepting applications for Vision Pro devkits Apple has started accepting applications from interested developers to get a Vision Pro to develop XR experiences.

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