Warm greetings and Happy Lunar New Year to all! Here’s hoping the Year of the Snake showers you with joy, happiness, prosperity, success, love, and perhaps the most coveted of gadgets: plenty of XR headsets. If you’re among those celebrating, I truly wish you get to spend some quality time with loved ones and, of course, indulge in delicious food. 😊 Apologies for the slight delay and brevity of this newsletter—I’m drowning in work—but rest assured, I’ve packed in all the vital XR insights you need for this week!
This Week’s Top Stories
Google Invests $250M to Acquire HTC Vive Engineers
In an unexpected move, Google has shelled out $250 million to acquire engineers from HTC Vive, along with some non-exclusive intellectual property rights. Details about this acquisition are sparse, but Google mentioned their plans to speed up the development of the Android XR platform across various headsets and glasses ecosystems. This acquisition positions Google to tap into the expertise of HTC engineers, driving faster product development. Although unclear, these engineers could either be helping to enhance Android XR or developing a new Google headset, potentially a Pixel headset. If I had to wager, I’d go with the former. Notably, this isn’t Google’s first interaction with HTC—back in late 2017, they acquired HTC’s design team for around $1.1 million, hinting at an ongoing partnership between the two. This significant acquisition underscores Google’s commitment to XR endeavors through Android XR, although given corporate unpredictability, one remains cautiously optimistic. While Google garners attention, it’s intriguing to ponder what this might mean for HTC. Did HTC pivot their focus, perhaps to building headsets for others instead of launching their own? Time will reveal HTC’s next steps in what once was leadership in VR.
Learn more: Road To VR | Upload VR
Other Noteworthy News
Meta’s Ambitions in the Smartglasses Arena
Buoyed by the success of their Meta Ray-Ban glasses, Meta appears ready to double down on this technology category. According to a report by Mark Gurman, Meta aims to roll out new smartglasses this year, partnering with EssilorLuxottica under the Oakley brand specifically targeting athletes like cyclists. Oakley’s glasses, sans display but with speakers, aim to cater to a sporty demographic. Additionally, Meta is working on a higher-end smartglasses model that includes a small display for notifications, predicted to include ergonomic features like touch-sensitive frames or wrist strap controls. Priced around $1000, these glasses aren’t designed for mainstream adoption but rather focus on prosumer markets. Meta remains driven to keep the original Ray-Ban Meta popular with cool commercials featuring well-known Hollywood figures during events like the Superbowl. Their flagship model, Orion, will be given to more developers come 2026, although commercial release isn’t expected until 2027 with the budget-friendly Artemis variant.
Learn more: Road To VR | Upload VR | Bloomberg
Mulling Over the Quest Pro’s Successor
In a new update from Mark Gurman, Meta continues to make strides on new Quest 4 VR goggles along with a highly-anticipated successor to the Quest Pro mixed-reality headset. This high-end model, possibly dubbed “Puffin,” was previously leaked and consists of lightweight mixed-reality glasses connected to an external battery. While the original Quest Pro faltered, it’s understandable for Meta to explore higher-end models, considering competition in this price segment from other brands, such as Vision Pro and Project Moohan. The Quest Pro’s downfall was not merely its high cost but that it seemed rushed and went out with noticeable issues. A refined Quest Pro 2 could carve space in the enterprise realm.
Discover more:
Samsung and Google’s Latest on Moohan
While hopes were high for a major XR announcement from the Samsung Unpacked event, AR glasses were not part of the showcase. However, some noteworthy tidbits emerged. Google and Samsung demonstrated Gemini AI’s deeper integration across Samsung devices, indicating this feature will likely be present in all Samsung gadgets, not just the Moohan headset. During the event, the mysterious headset was on display, though demos were exclusive. Popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee offered a sneak peek of this device, highlighting its Vision Pro-inspired design and the VisionOS-influenced operating system.
Check out: Project Moohan and Samsung Unpacked | Marques Brownlee’s First Impressions
Quick Highlights
Meta’s Explanation of Quest Headsets’ Holiday Issues
Meta’s VP of VR/MR, Mark Rabkin, recently delved into the holiday bricking debacle affecting numerous headsets. He emphasized that Meta wasn’t entirely at fault; a bug, traced back to the Android Open Source Project, triggered this mess due to a "rare race condition" and a crucial security patch. Race conditions are notoriously elusive bugs, so Meta’s swift identification and rectification are commendable while it also informed Google.
Learn more:
CM Games’ Success with Into The Radius 2
CM Games is enjoying positive results with their game Into The Radius. The original has sold 800K units across all platforms, and the sequel, in Early Access on Steam, has already generated $3M. Their success stems from engaging the Steam community in shaping an early access game, which, after fine-tuning, is set to launch on Quest.
Further details: Into The Radius Stats
CREAL’s Miniaturized Lightfield Breakthrough
CREAL is pushing AR boundaries with the ongoing miniaturization of their advanced lightfield display. This year’s iteration is almost small enough to fit standard eyewear, bringing realistic AR experiences closer to wearable reality. This tech, which once required a sizable apparatus, shows continuous promise in size reduction.
Explore more:
Quest 3’s Upcoming Feature Enhancements
According to leaks from Luna, Meta is working on minimizing the hassle surrounding room scanning—a crucial mixed reality component. The current static scanning setup requires manual rescanning every time your room layout changes. Meta aims to develop automatic scanning capabilities, streamlining mixed reality interactions.
Read more:
Insightful Video on AI Agents
The visionary Keiichi Matsuda, in collaboration with Niantic, has released a short video exploring our potential future with augmented reality and ubiquitous AI agents. It’s an insightful and thought-provoking watch, as is the hallmark of Matsuda’s work.
Watch here:
Content News: Upcoming Releases in VR Gaming
- Fitness Fables blends fantasy action with VR fitness, launching on Quest Jan 30 for $12.
- FlatVR Studios intends for FlatOut VR to encapsulate the best of all FlatOut games.
- Path of Fury: Episode I—Tetsuo’s Tower, a Kung-Fu themed VR fighting game, hits Quest on March 12.
- Upcoming co-op puzzle game Elsewhere Electric arrives on Quest and PC VR this spring/summer, with one player exploring in VR and another joining via mobile.
- The Smurfs: Flower Defense lands on Quest 3 this May with VR and mixed reality tower defense gameplay.
- Thanks to a mod, Crysis is now playable in VR. Should someone ask if your headset can run Crysis, you can now proudly say, "Yes, it can!"
Details: Fitness Fables | FlatOut VR | Path of Fury Release Announcement
Additional Snippets
- A GDC survey shows 35% of game developers engage with XR projects.
- Students and educators benefit from halved prices on Snap Spectacles.
- Vrgamerdude tries out the neural bracelet Mudra Link in a hands-on session.
- Miami’s new Apple Store features a dedicated Vision Pro area.
- Analysis of MR apps available in the Horizon Store by Gabriele Romagnoli.
- CaddieVision’s AR glasses assist golfers on the green.
Community Whisper: Partner Updates and XR Humor
- SkyClimb’s multiplayer mode is now accessible to all for free, bringing intriguing arm-based locomotion gameplay ala Gorilla Tag to enthusiasts. Try the game and join the fun here.
- A humorous glimpse into parental misadventures with a VR-loving child, play DOOM inside a PDF, and more comedic takes on VR life can be found here.
Consider Lending a Hand
This week, instead of asking for support for my blog, I encourage contributions to aid those affected by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Please consider donating to the Red Cross for humanitarian assistance. Those interested in offering support can do so at the link provided below. I also extend heartfelt gratitude to all my Patreon supporters for their encouragement:
[List of Patreon Supporters]
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
Note
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