Mixed Reality

Meta Drops Quest Pro Price to $1,100 for Limited Time, Challenging Vive XR Elite’s Major Selling Point

HTC, htc vive xr elite, Meta, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, Mixed Reality, News, Quest 2, Quest Pro, quest pro price, Vive XR Elite, VR Hardware, VR Headset / Rejus Almole / January 30, 2023

It’s only been three months since Meta launched Quest Pro, pitching its next-gen mixed reality standalone to enterprise and prosumers with the hefty price tag of $1,500. In an unusual move by the company, Meta has quietly slashed the price of Quest Pro for a limited time, putting it more directly in competition with HTC’s recently revealed Vive XR Elite standalone headset.

Update (11AM ET): Sale timing has been revealed; the price drop is in effect for one week only in the US, and two weeks in the UK (dropping to £1,300). We’ve included this in the body of the article below.

Released in late October, Quest Pro essentially set the tone of the next generation of standalone VR hardware. Typically, Meta is consumer-forward, pricing its headsets below (or close to) $500, but Quest Pro represents a pivotal shift in Meta’s strategy.

Starting with Quest Pro, the company is using mixed reality as “a key part of the journey toward full augmented reality devices,” Chief Technology Officer and Reality Labs Chief Andrew Bosworth described in a year-end blogpost.

With the sale, it seems the company is quietly gunning to retain its share of the budding MR headset marketplace by knocking the price of Quest Pro to match its largest competitor, Vive XR Elite, which HTC revealed earlier this month, couching it as its long-awaited return to the consumer VR space.

Now, Meta’s Quest Pro is priced at $1,100, or $400 below its previous MSRP, challenging Vive XR Elite’s unique selling points in the process. According to CNET, the sale is happening for one week only in the US, and two weeks in the UK (dropping to £1,300).

Notably, these aren’t entirely analogous devices; some hardware quirks might act as key differentiators, although the undeniable overlap now puts them squarely in direct competition. Still, it’s pretty close.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the headset specs side-by-side:

Feature	Vive XR Elite	Quest Pro
Inside-out tracking	wide FOV cameras (4), depth sensor (1)	wide FOV cameras (4), no depth sensor
Passthrough	single 16 MP RGB camera	single RGB (MP?) camera
Resolution	1,920 × 1,920 per eye (LCD)	1,800 × 1,920 per eye (LCD)
Display Refresh	90 Hz	90 Hz
Eye-tracking	Additional module required	Onboard eye-tracking
Face-tracking	Additional module required	Onboard face-tracking
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2	Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+
Storage & Memory	128 GB / 12 GB	256 GB / 12 GB
FOV	up to 110-degrees diagonal	up to 96-degrees diagonal
Optics	Pancake lens	Pancake lens
IPD Adjustment	manual, 54–73 mm range	manual, 55-75 mm
Audio	built-in open-ear audio	built-in open-ear audio, 3.5mm audio port
Weight	625g (including battery), 273g in ‘glasses’ mode	722 g (including battery)
Controllers	6DOF motion controllers (2), hand-tracking	6DOF motion controllers (2), hand-tracking
Playtime on battery	~2 hours	~2 hours
Retail Price	$1,099	$1,099 (MSRP $1,499)

A raw spec sheet doesn’t exactly tell the full story, although it’s clear HTC will need to play catchup if it intends on remaining competitive with Meta now that both headsets have achieved price parity, albeit temporarily. Vive XR Elite is still in pre-order, with a late February shipping window, while Quest Pro is available today, direct from Meta.

In Vive XR Elite’s favor is its convertibility: the traditional battery headstrap can be replaced with a glasses arm piece, which allows it to be used with an external powerbank for more casual content viewing, like watching a film in your own private theater whilst on a plane or train.

It’s a unique selling point, although the lack of 3.5mm sours this somewhat, as you’ll need to use Bluetooth headphones to watch anything if you want complete privacy in a public space. Still, the focus on every day, on-the-go use sets it apart from Quest Pro. On the flipside, Quest Pro however features both eye and face-tracking out of the box, something Vive XR Elite will gain in the future with the release of separate modules.

Hardware aside, Meta undoubtedly has a leg up with its content ecosystem, as all games designed for Quest 2 automatically support Quest Pro—that’s a lot of content out of the box in addition to the admittedly smallish drip of mixed reality experiences already on the Quest Store.

Meanwhile, HTC is still amassing games for its growing content library, which currently doesn’t boast any truly notable exclusives that might make you choose one headset over the other. Notably, HTC also openly refutes it will sell personal user data since it’s not a social media company—a clear shot across the bow at Meta’s spotty track record in user privacy and security.

“What’s the cost of your personal data? We’re not a social media company. Our business model doesn’t rely on advertising revenue, so it’s not something we’re doing. We want to build good hardware.” – @shen

Learn more: https://t.co/IC7JOWmfzE #VIVEXRElite https://t.co/GXJWQo0lrH

— HTC VIVE (@htcvive) January 19, 2023

The list of differences doesn’t end there. If you want to learn more about Quest Pro and Vive XR Elite, check out our in-depth hands-on articles with both headsets.

Meta Drops Quest Pro Price to $1,100 for Limited Time, Challenging Vive XR Elite’s Major Selling Point Read More »

GigXR Continues Content Rollouts and Partnerships

featured, Healthcare/Medicine, Mixed Reality, MR apps, News / Rejus Almole / December 7, 2022

GigXR creates and hosts some of the most mind-blowing educational experiences in what spokespeople call “the mediverse.” Through partnerships with some of the world’s best educational institutions and the world’s most innovative technology companies, the company is helping to bring medical education into the 21st century.

Catching Up With GigXR

GigXR was founded three years ago specifically to take on XR projects from textbook publisher Pearson. By partnering with other creators to host a variety of content, the platform is still like a publishing house of sorts, but a bit more interesting. No offense, Pearson.

The last time ARPost caught up with GigXR was back in May when the company announced a partnership with ANIMA RES, a 3D medical animation company. The partnership added the Insight Series by ANIMA RES content to their library, which already hosted content from Pearson, Microsoft, and medical universities like Cambridge and the University of Michigan.

Insight works kind of like a product configurator, but instead of changing the color of a virtual car, you’re increasing the stroke volume of a holographic heart, or decreasing the respiratory rate of a holographic lung. Don’t worry, there’s a fresh update from the ANIMA RES series too, we’ll get to that. But first, let’s step back to a developing story from this summer.

The HoloScenarios Mixed Reality App

This June, GigXR released a mixed reality app HoloScenarios. For the first module, called HoloScenarios: Respiratory module, the company partnered with the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This module sees trainees (from med students to veteran care providers) gathered around a virtual patient undergoing very real conditions like asthma, pneumonia, or a pulmonary embolism.

GigXR - HoloScenarios module Basic Life Support

“Empowering instructors with 360-degree preparation for clinical practice represents a milestone for GigXR that allows us to provide our customers with a library of applications that offers solutions for students from their first courses to continuing education,” company founder, David King Lassman, said in a release shared with ARPost.

The trainees must then not only diagnose the condition, but interact with holographic medical tools to stabilize their virtual patient.

“With HoloScenarios, we’re helping to evolve education from a mentorship-based model to one where students around the world can have equal access to top-flight expertise for mastering invention-based clinical skills,” Cambridge University Health Partnership Director of Postgraduate Education, Arun Gupta, said in the release.

Since then, an additional HoloScenarios module, simulating basic life support, has been released in collaboration with a subsidiary of Northwest Permanente P.C., Morlen Health. In partnership with the same institution, GigXR will, early next year, release HoloScenarios: Advanced Cardiac Life Support module, as well as HoloScenarios: Neurology module, created in collaboration with Michigan Medicine.

Further, as this article was being written, HoloScenarios was named one of the 200 best inventions of 2022 by TIME.

Insight Series Globally Available

In November, GigXR announced a massive availability expansion for the Insight Series, accessible through mixed reality headsets or Android or iOS mobile phones or tablets. The modules are now available to “medical schools, nursing schools, healthcare providers, and government and defense agencies worldwide,” according to a release shared with ARPost.

GigXR and ANIMA RES - Insight Kidney module

“Partnering with GigXR gives us the springboard to expand our geographic reach to match GigXR’s global footprint and get our market-leading content into the hands of educators and learners worldwide,” ANIMA RES CEO, Pablo Olmos, said in the release. “Together, we aim to give learners the best tools for success throughout training and clinical practice.”

Anatomy and Physiology Inside and Out

These announcements are both exciting, but become even more interesting discussed together. The ANIMA RES Insight Series help to get up-close and personal with the interior bodily conditions that can cause the external symptoms that trainees encounter and solve in the HoloScenarios. GigXR offers these and other modules in a tidy package.

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ExpressVPN Survey Explores Immersive Tech in the Workplace

business, featured, Immersive Technology, Industry Reports, metaverse, Mixed Reality, remote work, safety / Rejus Almole / November 30, 2022

ExpressVPN has conducted a survey of 1,500 employees and 1,500 employers to learn about attitudes toward immersive work. Remote collaboration has been one of the biggest promises of immersive technology as it relates to work but employers seem to be more excited than employees. One potential reason: surveillance fears.

Who Wants to Work in the Metaverse?

Remote work was already trending upward before the pandemic. However, as more and more offices closed, remote work started to seem like part of the “new normal.” It was also an explosive opportunity for the immersive tech industry with many promoting the metaverse as the new office water cooler.

While immersive tech gained some traction during this period, video conferencing remains the standard alternative to in-person meetings. About a third of employees and almost as many employers who participated in the survey prefer video conferencing to in-person meetings.

As for immersive meetings, 17% of employers and only 9% of employees surveyed preferred them over other communication methods. So, metaverse was less popular than in-person meetings, video conferencing, instant messaging, and email among employees, but more popular than social media, phone calls, and project management platforms.

On the other hand, it’s interesting that metaverse was the second-preferred method of communication among employers, with video conferencing being the top pick.

Which communication method makes you feel most connected and engaged with your co-workers — *Source: ExpressVPN*

Why Not Bring Immersive Tech Into the Workplace?

Why the low numbers among employees? First, they aren’t that low. After all, project management platforms were literally designed for remote collaboration, and immersive tech beat them out. And better than the telephone? That’s pretty good for an emerging technology.

Another potential explanation is that most people still haven’t tried an immersive meeting. The survey report didn’t ask (or didn’t include) how many people have experienced a meeting in the metaverse.

While virtual office meetings are becoming more common, they’re still not part of most people’s work week. Further, these platforms are improving but a lot still have hiccups. Even those that work as intended aren’t what most people are used to, which can lead to a learning curve if not plain old friction.

However, the study also found that over half (57%) of polled employees and over three-quarters (77%) of polled employers are interested in immersive work. So, while not all employees are already convinced, a good number of them are at least curious.

There’s still one more reason that employees in particular aren’t sold on the metaverse for meetings. It’s actually a concern that they already have about more conventional remote work solutions.

Surveillance of employees working remotely is already fairly common practice, particularly in large businesses. Immersive technology platforms, particularly those incorporating VR hardware, offer more opportunities for surveillance. Employees seem largely convinced that more opportunity means more abuse.

Sixty-three percent of employees are concerned about data collection, and 61% about being monitored by their employer in the metaverse.

More than half of surveyed employees responded that they’re concerned specifically about real-time location (51%) and real-time screen monitoring (50%). To be fair, under 40% of employers surveyed said that they intended to use emerging technologies in these ways.

Okay, Boomer

Digging too deep into what these numbers mean can be tricky for one more reason. Zany demographic information. Specifically, Boomers. To understand how confusing their responses are, one other piece of demographic information is required: Gen Z is typically the most supportive and least skeptical about the metaverse.

Boomers are the second most curious about the metaverse – they’re also the least excited and the least optimistic about it. They’re the least convinced that it will positively impact productivity but the second most convinced that it will positively impact work performance.

How do different generations feel about the meatverse and how do they think that the metaverse will positively impact work — *Source: ExpressVPN*

They’re the second least concerned about employee surveillance but the most concerned about overall digital privacy and security. Finally, they’re the most excited about remote collaboration and working remotely, but well under half of them think that immersive tech is the future of work.

Does any of that make sense to you? No? That’s a relief.

The Future? Yes. Tomorrow? No.

Please do read the original survey for yourself. There was a lot in there that we didn’t cover here and there are places where you might be able to make more sense of it.

No matter how one reads the numbers, immersive tech may well be the future of work but it may not be the immediate future of work.

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How Active Games Can Make You Healthy

featured, Games, Guest Post, health, Mixed Reality, MR games / Paul Patrick / November 30, 2022

Video games have been blamed for sedentary lifestyles and social problems since early arcade games hit the streets in the 1970s. Throughout my career, from post-doctoral research to the company boardroom, I have made it my mission to change that perception and truly bring physical activity into the gaming industry.

The recipe is simple: By fully utilizing the capabilities of mixed reality technologies, we can make active, social, and fun gaming experiences that reward exercise. Combining the benefits of an active lifestyle with everything we love about video games, we can finally bury all the negative stereotypes for good.

The Pandemic Glued Us to the Couch

The COVID-19 pandemic was a tough time for many. A study by WHO found that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25%. Especially young people found themselves cut off from their social networks. At the same time, interest in gaming skyrocketed.

When we were stuck in our houses, playing video games became one of few ways to spend time with friends and family. Studies undertaken after the pandemic show that people who played augmented reality games like Pokémon Go or Harry Potter: Wizards Unite were less likely to develop anxiety and depression. Another study showed that young people who played online games coped better with anxiety, depression, and stress related to lockdown measures.

Many of our gaming habits have stuck with us after restrictions were lifted. In the US, 56% of male and 47% of female respondents to a recent survey said they play video games as often as they did during the pandemic. Safe to say, gaming is here to stay.

Active Games Make People Active

While games are more popular than ever, we are facing another problem: Sitting down is the new pandemic. As much as 80% of the global underage population does not get enough weekly exercise. The average American sits more than 6.5 hours daily, and it’s even worse in the UK at over 9 hours. Yet we have to acknowledge that going for a run or to the gym is not for everyone. To include more people, we have to rethink what exercise could be.

Gamified exercise is the key. Active games have been around for a long time and are growing in popularity. The first dancing game with a floor pad launched in 1987, and by the late 90s, they were a feature at every arcade. All major consoles have featured active games since Playstation 2’s EyeToy. Yet, these games all share the same issue: they are primarily for one or two players, and the experience relies heavily on factors like additional controllers, having a good TV, or enough space in the living room.

Pokémon Go took on this challenge and made active gaming accessible. Players have to move around to progress and so they had no other choice than to take the dog for a walk or go to the park. Data from 2017 showed the number of active players that walked more than 10,000 steps per day had increased from 15% to 28% since the game launched. Using AR technology and mobile phones, inserting the game directly into the player’s surroundings made the gaming experience feel real.

So how do we build on the success of Pokémon Go? For me, the digitalization of theme parks, arcades, and activity centers, provides a fantastic opportunity to introduce MR active games to larger groups. Using immersive technology, we can create fun and challenging group gaming experiences that could never fit in our living rooms.

Active Games Are Social Arenas

Video games are social, and creating social games is also what MR systems do best. New, immersive, digital attractions are a great social way to inspire competition and get people moving. Friends can work out together, and you are free to move around in the game arena. Competing against real people in a mixed reality space where they can see, hear, touch, and talk to each other while playing takes the gaming experience to the next level.

As a social arena, gearless MR games have an advantage over their equipment-based VR cousins. By removing the need for mobile phones or headwear, we can create games that let you stay connected with your fellow players in the real world. The game truly becomes a challenge you face together. The sense of jeopardy is real, as are the interactions you have with other players.

MR technology also lets us create new, gamified activities for traditional sports venues such as gyms or climbing centers. By boosting the spread of MR gaming experiences, we can introduce healthy activity to more people and promote healthy living. I can think of no better use of technology.

Guest Post

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