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Qualcomm announces two new Snapdragon chips for next-gen headsets and smart glasses
Making their debut in the Meta Quest 3 and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, today Qualcomm announced two new Snapdragon chips designed to power next-gen AR and MR devices.
‘Hot Wheels: Rift Rally’ is another mixed reality racer from the makers of ‘Mario Kart Live’
The makers of “Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit” have created a game for Hot Wheels using similar controls and gameplay.
Vive XR Elite hands-on: HTC’s more portable answer to the Meta Quest Pro
Late last year, Meta expanded the limits of consumer mixed reality when it released the Quest Pro. And now at CES 2023, HTC is hitting back with its own take on a flagship headset with the Vive XR Elite.
Meta Quest Pro’s first update adds mixed reality screen recordings
Meta's $1,500 mixed reality headset is still a hard sell, but today it gains new features that inch it closer to fulfilling its potential.
Apple's plans for virtual reality are getting clearer
A few days later, Bloomberg reported that Apple’s Dan Riccio was now in charge of the company’s headset project.
The Sundance Film Festival makes a giant leap into VR
Anyone can access Sundance's VR platform by picking up a $25 Explorer Pass (or one of the festival's more premium passes), and logging onto a website. It's one area I hope Sundance expands on in the future. Overall, Sundance has 14 New Frontier exhibitions this year.
Nreal Light mixed reality glasses launch in Korea with the Galaxy Note 20
Starting today, folks in Korea can pre-order the Nreal Light as part of a mobile phone plan on the LG Uplus network, so long as you pick the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 or the LG Velvet as your handset.
Spatial goes free, aiming to become the Zoom of virtual collaboration
Spatial is making its virtual collaboration platform free, and opening up access to web, iPhone, Android and Oculus Quest users.
HTC's Project Proton is a preview of its next-gen VR headsets
While HTC is betting its VR future on the modular Vive Cosmos for now, it's also been working on next-gen lightweight headsets, under the title "Project Proton," that CEO Yves Maitre said will resemble "really, really close to normal glasses." Well, judging by the renders we received, this is debatable, but these wearables certainly seem more compact than the current crop of VR devices. In a statement sent to Engadget, a company rep said "Project Proton is a prototype of a future XR glasses-style device from HTC Vive that we hope to hear feedback on from the community as we continue to work on the product." We have absolutely no info on specs, but Project Proton does confirm HTC's intention to shift focus to mixed reality use cases, as well as adding 5G connectivity -- be it internal or external -- to its future headsets.
Nreal Light are mixed reality glasses in disguise
While the likes of Microsoft Hololens and Magic Leap One got their moment of fame, both their size and image quality left a lot to be desired, so there wasn't much excitement in the mixed reality market after them. But at CES, a Chinese startup dubbed Nreal brought out something rather interesting: Low-profile mixed reality glasses that look and feel almost like ordinary sunglasses, so you can use them out in the open without getting too much attention. Better yet, the display quality was surprisingly good.
Magic Leap in the living room: Alone together
"I wish I could see it." He's standing in the hallway, graphite-colored goggles strapped to his face and a small, circular computer sticking out of his front pocket. He laughs as the distant sounds of explosions and screams echo around his head. "I wish you could see it, too," he says, before crouching down to get a better angle on an inconspicuous bare spot on the floor. He twists and pulls back the hand holding a motion controller, then lets the trigger go. The quiet crashing sounds resume and he stands up, smiling. "Got it."
Microsoft abandons VR plans for Xbox One
Fans of virtual or mixed reality who have been clinging to the hope of a headset for Xbox One will need to keep holding out -- Microsoft has confirmed it isn't focusing on either technology for the console -- for the time being, anyway.
Microsoft isn't giving up on VR and AR yet
Whatever happened with Microsoft's Mixed Reality platform? Headsets from partners launched with surprisingly little fanfare last fall alongside the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. And for the most part, they were solid VR headsets. On a technical level, they were even more convenient than the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, since you didn't have to set up any sensors to use them. Since the initial wave of headsets, prices have fallen sharply, which says more about how poorly they're selling than their quality. It was as if Microsoft released a platform to the wild and simply stepped away.
Magic Leap developer units must be kept in locked safes
Magic Leap is known for its secrecy. The company kept its One headset under wraps for years, teasing out details with ambiguous conference speeches and restrictive press opportunities. It should come as no surprise, then, to hear that developer units are being shipped out with an unusual caveat: while not in use, they have to be kept in locked safes. The detail comes from Bloomberg alongside confirmation of a "limited" developer roll out (a larger batch of units will be sent out later this year.) It's safe to assume that the company wants to avoid the fabled iPhone 4 incident.
For Nike, augmented reality is the perfect way to sell hyped sneakers
Buying limited-edition shoes is complicated and not as fun as it should be. The rise of violence in sneaker culture (people have been murdered for a pair of Air Jordans) led companies like Nike to launch hyped products almost exclusively on digital channels. But selling sneakers on a website, or doing raffles on Twitter, came with challenges of its own. That's because resellers started using bots, automated computer scripts, to buy or reserve pairs faster than a human could. If you couldn't enter an address and credit-card number in a matter of seconds, whatever you were hoping to get was going to be sold out.
'Halo Recruit' brings the Xbox series to mixed reality
Microsoft already announced that it was working with 343 Industries on Halo experiences for mixed reality, but today the company revealed its first one: Halo Recruit. The game will be available starting October 17th -- you can either try it out in Microsoft Stores across the country, or download it from the Windows Store for free.
Nonny de la Peña, Eugene Chung illuminate the Engadget Experience
Virtual reality captured the mainstream's imagination in the 1990s, but ultimately failed to deliver on the the medium's potential. Fast forward more than two decades and VR is once again the next big thing. With far more advanced hardware and billions in investment, virtual reality is on the cusp of upending storytelling but the future is still unclear. On November 14th, VR luminaries Eugene Chung and Nonny de la Peña will take the stage at the historic United Artists Theatre at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to help shed some light on how virtual reality and augmented reality are changing the way that we see the world.
Nike made me a pair of custom sneakers in 46 minutes
Last week, Nike announced the launch of its Makers' Experience, an invite-only, limited-time event where people can design a pair of shoes and have them made in less than hour. And today we had the chance to check it out for ourselves at the company's By You Studio in New York City, a space created to take you through the process of making your own custom shoe from start to finish. That means being able to choose from a set of four different graphic packs, including the camouflage pattern pictured above, and the colors you want on the upper of your sneakers. The midsole will be white by default.
I finally believe in Microsoft's mixed reality vision
For years, Microsoft has been talking about its dream of mixed reality -- the idea that AR and VR headsets can work together in harmony across virtual and physical environments. But until now, it really has just been talk. At its Build developer conference this week, I finally saw a mixed reality demo that made Microsoft's ambitious vision seem achievable. It was more than just shared VR -- something we've seen plenty of already -- it was a group experience that brought together HoloLens and Acer's virtual-reality headsets in intriguing ways.
Watch Microsoft’s Build Day 2 keynote in under 7 minutes
While yesterday's Build keynote was almost purely developer focused, today's presentation fest dove deeper into Microsoft's consumer offerings. We learned about the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the next big upgrade for the OS that'll bring in a slew of features connected to the Microsoft Graph. The key takeaway? They should make it even easier for you to work across Windows, iOS and Android hardware. We also got a brief glimpse at Microsoft's new style paradigm, Fluent Design System, which makes it simpler for developers to build apps that work across new types of devices (while packing in some new visual flourishes).
