Tag: augmented reality

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Here’s how to watch Meta’s Quest Gaming showcase where Quest 2’s successor *might* be revealed

Meta might be readying up for the release of its rumoured Quest 2 Pro virtual reality headset, and it may come as soon as next week.

The Quest 2, arguably the company’s best VR headset, might be getting a Pro upgrade, according to reliable Meta Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Since the upcoming rumoured release will be a ‘Pro’ model, Meta is expected to make substantial improvements to the Quest 2. According to Kuo, the next iteration of the Quest 2 Pro will feature two new 2.38-inch mini-LED displays with a 2160×2160 resolution — an upgrade from the Quest 2’s 1832×1920 LCD display. For reference, Sony’s PSVR 2 features a 2000×2040 OLED display.

Additionally, the new headset is expected to feature a new 2P Pankcake lens design in contrast to the Quest 2’s 1P Fresnel design — allowing Meta to reduce the overall profile and weight of the headset while not having to compromise on display quality.

The rumoured headset’s pricing remains unclear, though it will most likely be more expansive than the Quest 2’s $459 starting price.

However, these are just leaks are just rumours, and we recommend that you take them with a grain of salt. That being said, Meta’s Quest Gaming Showcase is scheduled for Wednesday, April 20th — next week. While the event traditionally focuses on game announcements, gameplay teasers and updates on titles, it would be fitting if Meta unveils the Quest 2’s successor during the keynote.

You can check out the event for yourself on Wednesday, April 20th on the company’s Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and Horizon Venues at 10am PT/1pm ET.

Last year’s event brought updates to several games Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, Pistol Whip and Resident Evil 4 VR. As for this year, Among US has confirmed that it will be a part of the showcase. Additionally, at Meta’s October Connect event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is coming to the Oculus Quest 2.

While we haven’t heard more about the VR adaptation of undoubtedly one of the most popular titles ever, the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase is a good opportunity for the release of the title.

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Mobile Syrup

Apple AR headset may have been delayed until 2023, according to analyst

Apple has remained silent on its rumoured augmented reality (AR) headset. However, we may be waiting even longer to get our hands on the device.

Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu has suggested that Apple’s AR headset has faced a delay, pushing it into 2023. The iPhone maker hasn’t suggested any info regarding its headset, though corroborated reports indicate that a late-2022 launch was being internally targeted.

In addition to the delay, Pu believes that Apple will sell an estimated 1 million to 1.5 million units within its first year of launch. The analyst goes on to discuss that the AR headset’s in-house chip will help set it apart from other competitors on the market. Previous reports state that Apple will utilize its M1 chip in some capacity to power the headset.

Apple has not revealed the specs or the design of the headset. However, reports indicate that it features a lightweight design made for comfort. The Apple AR headset may also feature two 4K micro-LED displays. Of course, with that comes a steep price. Many believe that the AR headset will come with a premium $2,000 USD (about $2,525 CAD) price tag.

Pu’s claims of the delay are corroborated by a recent report from Ross Young. The analyst discussed that virtual reality (VR) display shipments are rising by 50 percent in 2022, although Sony and Apple are experiencing delays with their headsets. Young believes both the Apple headset and PSVR 2 have been quietly delayed to 2023.

Neither Pu nor Young has confirmed the cause of the delay. However, given how hardware shipments have been continuously delayed throughout the pandemic, supply chain issues may be the cause.

There’s no indication of when Apple may reveal its AR headset given this reported delay. Given that a 2023 launch is now expected, perhaps a fall announcement is in the cards.

Via: GSM Arena

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Google is working an augmented reality headset codenamed Project Iris

Google is reportedly working on an augmented reality (AR) headset codenamed Project Iris, according to The Verge.

Citing sources familiar with the project, the publication says that Google is working on releasing Project Iris in 2024. However, Google has only started to ramp up production of the device. It’s also unclear if the project will feature Pixel branding. The Pixel smartphone team is reportedly involved in working on some aspects of the AR headset’s hardware.

Google’s upcoming device is rumoured to use an outward-facing camera that blends computer graphics with a video feed from the real world, creating a mixed reality world. Further, “Google’s strategy is to use its data centers to remotely render some graphics and beam them into the headset via an internet connection,” according to the report.

Project Iris will not feature a glasses form factor, but rather ski goggles, says the report. Additionally, the headset is rumoured to feature an unspecified custom Google processor based on the tech giant’s Tensor chip, and will run on a version of Android.

Google has been very secretive with Project Iris. According to The Verge’s report, Google employees need special keycard access and must sign non-disclosure agreements before seeing the headset. There are currently 300 employees working on the project, but hundreds more will reportedly be added.

According to often-reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple’s often-rumoured augmented reality headset has been pushed beyond its initial 20-22 release window. The headset is rumoured to feature dual 4K displays, several 3D sensors for inside tracking and a roughly $3,000 USD (approximately $3,763 CAD) price tag.

Source: The Verge

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Walmart is calling dibs on the virtual shopping experience, files trademarks

Looking to get a headstart towards the future of shopping, Walmart has filed for seven trademarks that indicate that the retail giant wants to make the leap into its own metaverse and establish NFTs and crypto, as first reported by CNBC.

The trademarks, which were filed earlier in December 2021 suggest that Walmart also wants to make and sell virtual goods along with its own NFTs and a digital currency. The application reads, “Financial services, namely, providing a digital currency and a digital token of value for use by members on an online community via a global computer network.”

Trademark applications also encompass the scope of Walmart offering “physical fitness training services” and “classes in the field of health and nutrition,” which likely suggests that Walmart intends to offer AR/VR fitness sessions in its metaverse.

This comes soon after an old 2017 Walmart AR/VR shopping experience video resurfaced and went viral. 

Further, according to Bloomberg, Walmart has also filed for trademarks for the terms “Verse to Home,” “Verse to Curb,” and “Verse to Store,” indicating that the company is calling dibs on a virtual shopping experience.

Walmart’s patents are listed under “Walmart Connect,” and can be found here. 

It’s worth noting that these are just trademarks that haven’t yet materialized, and it’s currently unclear what Walmart is officially working on behind the scenes. If such a virtual shopping experience came to life in the near future, we can expect it to first be released in the United States, and then likely eventually in Canada.

Source: CNBC

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Apple’s long-rumoured VR/AR headset might not launch until 2023

It looks like Apple’s often-rumoured augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) headset will miss its previously rumoured 2022 release date, according to reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.

While Apple initially planned to reveal the headset during its WWDC keynote presentation, “development challenges related to overheating, cameras and software have made it harder to stay on track,” says Bloomberg. This delay has likely pushed the mixed reality headset’s reveal back to 2023, which is well out of the initial 2021 window the tech giant reportedly aimed to show off the device in.

Apple’s AR/VR headset is expected to be a high-end device with dual 4K displays, several 3D sensors for inside-out tracking and a roughly $3,000 USD (about $3,763 CAD) price tag. According to this latest report, the headset will also feature two processors, including one as powerful as Apple’s current M1 Pro MacBook Pro chip. In early December, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo published a similar report stating that tech giant’s headset will include a chip that features M1 architecture.

Bloomberg says that Apple is still working on a pair of augmented reality glasses but that the wearble’s release has been pushed back to “later this decade.”

Though much of the initial hype surrounding AR and VR has died down, it will be interesting to see if Apple’s take on a headset can build on established technologies in a meaningful way. That said, with a price approaching the range of $4,000 in Canada, the headset’s audience will likely be limited.

Source: Bloomberg 

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Apple reportedly isn’t interested in the metaverse

At least one tech giant isn’t on board with the concept of the metaverse.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and his Power On newsletter, Apple is against the concept of creating an all-virtual metaverse world for its long-rumoured augmented reality headset.

Gurman’s sources claim that the idea is “off-limits” and that the focus of the device is on communication, content viewing and gaming. Rumours surrounding the AR/VR (augmented reality/virtual reality) headset indicate that its display features a resolution of 8K per eye, several tracking cameras and a roughly $3,000 USD price tag (about $3,882 CAD).

Further, leaks suggest that the headset will feature more than a dozen cameras for tracking hand movements.

If these rumours are accurate, this could differentiate Apple’s headset significantly from Facebook’s Meta’s, with Facebook’s strategy focusing heavily on the concept of creating a Ready Play One-like virtual world. Some rumours point to Apple revealing its mixed reality headset in 2022.

In his Power On newsletter, Gurman also offered more information regarding Apple’s rumoured 2022 iPhone SE refresh. He says that the entry-level smartphone will maintain an iPhone 8-like design, but that it will feature 5G and the iPhone 13’s processor.

Image credit: Meta

Source: Bloomberg (Power On)

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Viral Walmart metaverse video was made in 2017 to ‘impress influencers’

A recent video uploaded to Twitter titled ‘This is how Walmart envisions Shopping in the #Metaverse,’ has been spreading like wildfire. It’s hit nine million views, over 30,000 retweets, and supposedly shows the future of grocery shopping in the metaverse, as Walmart sees it playing out.

If it already wasn’t evident from looking at the graphics in the VR experience — we hate to burst your bubble but that video isn’t new and might have been resurfaced in a bid to boost metaverse stocks or crypto assets, some of which survive nearly solely on hype.

The video isn’t connected to Facebook’s vision of the metaverse and, it isn’t even made by Walmart. It was created for the retailer by a program management and design strategy digital agency called Mutual Mobile (MM).

Back in 2017, Walmart wanted “to impress influencers at SXSW (South by Southwest Festival),” and get an edge over the competition by showing off a virtual shopping experience, reads MM’s blog post from almost five years ago. While Walmart’s aim to “impress influencers” might not have worked out back in 2017, the video resurfacing now, in an atmosphere where the Metaverse idea has freshly been reincarnated surely can, and that is evident from the engagement on the Tweeted video.

Five years ago, Walmart had the initial idea ready but needed someone with the technical skills to design the VR experience and lead the way.

MM took it up from there and designed a dystopian grocery store, complete with soft chatter but no other shoppers, a Walmart associate that just wouldn’t leave you alone and constantly shifting walls and surroundings that would nauseate you in real-time.

In short, it’s a video that’ll make you wonder whether we need such technology in the future. Aren’t current online shopping apps enough? If you’re short on time, would you rather pick up your phone, tap on the Walmart app, select what you need and pay for it or would you ready up your VR headset, load up the ‘Walmart grocery store,’ walk around and browse the shelves full of digital food and commodities? While the latter definitely has a niche for it, I don’t see it being the main arm going forward. That doesn’t mean that said VR/AR grocery experiences cant exist and wouldn’t have any use.

It’ll be fun to ‘visit’ Walmart while not having to leave your house, but I just don’t see that being the primary way people shop, not at least in the near future, and rather a niche experience for certain occasions.

It’s kind of similar to the digital experience from Inabuggy released earlier last year that allowed shoppers to virtually roam Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market and beat the pandemic blues.

Image credit: Mutual Mobile

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Concept renders give us a glimpse of what Apple’s rumoured mixed-reality headset might look like

Ian Zelbo, an illustrator who visualizes concept gadgets and turns them into renders, has released detailed images of what Apple’s often-rumoured mixed reality headset might look like.

Conceptualized with information obtained through this report from The Information, the renders give us a look at what the mixed reality headset might look like when released.

A quick look at the renders reveals that the headset takes some of its design elements from Apple’s AirPods Max, including the blue headband and the seamless, soft-cornered display, along with an Apple Watch band-like clasp lock button.

From what we know so far based on information obtained by credible Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the headset will weigh roughly 300-400g, with a “significantly lighter” 2nd-gen version featuring better battery life and a faster chip releasing later in 2024. Kuo also states that the headset will feature four 3D sensors for hand-motion tracking instead of traditional physical controllers.

Further, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, the headset will be revealed in 2022 during WWDC, with a release in 2023.

Apple’s AR headset will cost in the range of $3,000 USD (roughly $3,883 CAD).

Image credit: Renders by Ian

Source: Renders by Ian Via: 9to5Mac

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Apple’s rumoured AR headset reportedly features 3D sensors for hand tracking

Instead of physical controllers, Apple’s often-rumoured augmented reality (AR) headset reportedly features 3D sensors designed for hand tracking.

As first reported by MacRumors, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple’s headset will include four sets of 3D sensors that are similar to the TrueDepth camera array included in the iPhone for Face ID.

Kuo says that the 3D sensors are able to detect objects and “dynamic detail” in user’s hands using the same technology that powers Face ID and that creates Animoji.

“Capturing the details of hand movement can provide a more intuitive and vivid human-machine UI,” says Kuo in his latest research note. He goes on to say that the headset’s sensors will be able to detect objects from up to 200 percent further away than the iPhone’s current TrueDepth camera system. It’s unclear if the AR headset will also feature physical controllers.

In the same research note, Kuo also details that the headset will weigh roughly 300-400g and that a “significantly lighter” 2nd-gen version with better battery life and a faster chip will release in 2024. Apple hopes to sell roughly three million units of its mixed reality headset in 2023, hinting that its initial release will likely be very expensive and somewhat limited.

This backs up previous rumours stating that Apple’s AR headset will cost in the range of $3,000 USD (roughly $3,812 CAD) primarily because of its pair of 8K displays.

Source: MacRumors 

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Google adds over 90 global monuments to AR Search

After adding AR versions of dinosaurs, insects and even anime characters to its Search app, Google has now added over 90 monuments from around the world for you to place in your surroundings.

The feature works in Google Search on Android smartphones and the Google app for iOS devices.

All you need to do is search for a famous monument, like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty, using a mobile device and tap on ‘View in 3D’ in the search results. From there, you can tap ‘View in your space’ to place the monument in your room, with added options to zoom in and rotate the 3D model.

The new 3D monuments are now available on all devices running Android 7.0 Nougat or later, as well as iOS 11 or later.

Find all the monuments added the to AR feature below (via 9to5Google):

Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel Conservatory of Flowers Neuschwanstein Castle St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Alcatraz Island Eiffel Tower Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum St. Paul’s Cathedral
Alhambra Empire State Building One World Trade Center St. Peter’s Basilica
Amazon Theatre Ferry Building Palace of Versailles Statue of Liberty National Monument
Arasaka Imperia Residence Flatiron Building Palace of Westminster Stonehenge
Arc de Triomphe Giotto’s Bell Tower Palais Garnier The Angel of Independence
Aztec Stadium Golden Gate Bridge Palazzo Vecchio The British Museum
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe Japan National Stadium Pantheon The Centre Pompidou
Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence Kaminarimon Gate Panthéon The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Basilica of Santa Maria Novella Kensington Palace Parthenon The Painted Ladies
Big Ben La Sagrada Familia Piazza della Signoria The Palace of Fine Arts
Brooklyn Bridge Leaning Tower of Pisa Piazza Navona Tokyo National Museum
Buckingham Palace Les Invalides PIER 39 Tokyo Skytree
Campidoglio square London Eye Pitti Palace Tokyo Tower
Capela Curial de São Francisco de Assis Louvre Museum Placa de Catalunya Tower of London
Castel Sant’Angelo Magic Fountain of Montjuic Ponte Vecchio Trafalgar Square
Castle of Good Hope Meiji Jingu Rhodes Memorial Trevi Fountain
Cathedral of Barcelona Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral Rockefeller Center Union Buildings
Cathedral of Brasilia Monument of the Ninos Heroes Roman Forum Ushiku Building
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore Monument to the Revolution Sacré-Cœur Voortrekker Monument
Cathedrale Norte-Dame de Paris Moses Mabhida Stadium San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge Westminster Abbey
Chapultepec Castle Mount Rushmore National Memorial São Paulo Cathedral Yoyogi National Stadium
Christ the Redeemer Musée d’Orsay Sensō-Ji Zojoji
Coit Tower National Museum of Nature and Science Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Columbus Monument National Palace Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple
Via: 9to5Google