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Magic Leap’s inaugural conference shows it has a long way to go
If I had to summarize my reaction to LeapCon, Magic Leap's inaugural developer conference, it's one of surprise. Not because of the various software demos, though some of them were pretty exciting. I was surprised by the sheer enthusiasm I felt in the air, from what appeared to be over a thousand developers, for a product that isn't even widely available yet. Nearly everyone I spoke to was starry-eyed and brimming over with hope and idealism, almost overly so. It seemed, ironically, just a tad out of step with reality.
AT&T to bring DirecTV Now to Magic Leap headsets in 2019
A few months ago, Magic Leap announced that it will run exclusively on AT&T's network. Today, at LEAPCon in Los Angeles, the two companies have announced even more details about their collaboration. For one thing, AT&T plans to launch a DirecTV Now beta to Magic Leap One headsets in 2019, which basically lets you watch your favorite TV shows with Minority-Report-like floating screens. You can even position up to four different live streams in front of you so you can watch them at the same time.
Magic Leap’s first experiences are still highly experimental
There were porgs. Porgs all around me. They cooed, flapped their wings and stared at me, as if begging for a treat. My dreams of being surrounded by the adorable alien birds from Star Wars have come true.
Magic Leap details wider US availability for its mixed reality headset
When Magic Leap first debuted earlier this year, it was available only in select markets. Today, at the company's inaugural developer conference, it's announced that the augmented reality glasses will finally be rolling out nationwide, with delivery expanding to over 30 cities. What's more, if that $2,295 price tag is a little too rich for your blood, Magic Leap has also partnered with Affirm to provide 0 percent financing for 12 months or longer. And if you happen to use glasses, Magic Leap will also provide prescription inserts to go along with your pair. Oh, and if you want a carrying case, the company has made that too. On top of that, Magic Leap is aware that it needs more content. So it's also launching an independent creator program, complete with support for engineering, marketing and more, in order to encourage more creators for its platform. It's even introducing an awards program for the most innovative indie releases. There are plenty of software improvements coming down the line as well. Magic Leap owners and developers can look forward to Avatar chat (a multi-user chat room system), support for two controllers as well as 6DoF controller tracking, biometric login, plus a set of Javascript development tools called MagicScript in the coming months.
