opinion

New Quest Update Reimagines the Landing Page, Once Again Sequestering Your App Library

Feature, Meta Quest 2, meta quest explore, meta quest horizon feed, meta quest interface, meta quest ux, News, opinion, vr friction / Ryan Harris / September 11, 2023

Instead of taking you right to your library of installed apps, Meta is making yet another perplexing change to the Quest landing page in v57.

Since the earliest days of Meta’s VR platform, the company has been seemingly obsessed with not putting your library of VR apps front-and-center.

Instead the first thing you see when you put on a headset from the company, or launch its companion smartphone app, is some kind of dynamic ‘feed’ with content you weren’t looking for in the first place.

The Ever Changing ‘Explore’ Page

For a long time when putting Quest on your head Meta made you look at ‘Explore’, an algorithmically-curated assortment of disparate content that was not your library of installed apps.

The current Explore landing page | Photo by Road to VR

Seemingly forever unhappy that people don’t love the Explore page, Meta has constantly reimagined it over the years, changing the layout what seems like every six months. I swear every time I’m finally used to it, it changes.

And once again, it will change.

In the newest Quest v57 update Meta is replacing the Explore landing page with a new and freshly confusing ‘Horizon Feed’, which is also not your library of installed apps.

Sensibly, you might think the Horizon Feed would contain only content from Horizon Worlds, acting as a sort of portal for you to jump into the company’s miniverse. But no, apparently in Horizon Feed you’ll find all manner of games, apps, and of course, Reels!

The new Horizon Feed landing page | Image courtesy Meta

Yes, Reels… the company’s short-form 2D video content that’s designed for quick and casual viewing on a smartphone. Certainly when I put on my headset that’s what I want to see—not my library of installed apps.

Below the Fold

Even the headset’s companion smartphone app, the ‘Meta Quest’ app, doesn’t want to make it easy to access your library of installed apps. Instead, the first thing you see when you launch the app is a smattering of algorithmically-curated content—a feed of course—that you weren’t looking for when you put your headset on in the first place.

Did you know that you can actually remotely launch VR apps on Quest right from the smartphone app? It’s incredibly convenient.

Or it could be, but most people don’t even know that’s possible because to even find your library of installed apps you need to launch the smartphone app, click ‘Menu’ (the last option on the toolbar), then scroll down below the fold to finally find ‘My Library’. Counting from the top of the page, it’s the 17th item down the list of Menu items. It has moved progressively further and further down the page down the years.

Those apps you hand-picked, bought, and installed? Oh yeah, they’re down here on the last page.

Literally ‘Parental Supervision’ and ‘Help and Support’ are placed higher on the list than your library of installed apps.

Does Meta really think that Parental Supervision (something which doesn’t even apply to many users), and Help and Support (how often do you think people need help for this product), should be easier to reach than the user’s library of installed apps?

Feed Me

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Meta has an obsession with algorithmically-curated feeds. It’s the thing that defines the company’s core products (ie: Facebook, Instagram), and small changes to their feed algorithm can have major influence over how long people stay on those platforms and how much they engage.

But here’s the core problem with Meta’s feed obsession. While casual and even mindless scrolling is the norm on smartphones—devices which can be engaged and disengaged with in a matter of seconds—this couldn’t be further from the truth for VR headsets.

Anyone putting on a VR headset already has a damn good reason to bother putting it on in the first place.

They already know what they want to do; getting between them and that thing is just compromising the user experience. If you want to hit them with a feed, do it after they’re done with the thing they intended to do in the first place. And while you’re at it… maybe instead of hiding their library of installed apps—you know, the content they hand-picked and paid for—why not make it easier for the user to launch them in the first place so it’s easier for them to return?

Now of course people at Meta are reading this and saying ‘we’ve got all these stats that show that people really click on the stuff in the feed!’ I’m sure you do… and it’s because that’s the thing you’re constantly putting in front of their face.

Metrics will lead you astray if you aren’t measuring the right things. You’d better believe that friction—the process of putting on the headset and getting to the thing you actually want to do—is and has long been one of VR’s biggest issues. If that’s not what you’re optimizing for (these feeds certainly aren’t) then you’re just crippling the overall user experience.

It’s the people that don’t come back to the headset that you should be most carefully observing, not looking to see if you can steer someone to a different piece of content after they’ve already decided to put the headset on.

Vision Pro shows your apps right when you put on the headset… how novel | Image courtesy Apple

Standing in stark contrast to Meta’s approach is Apple Vision Pro. When you put on the headset, what’s the very first thing you see? Your library of installed apps.

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Unveiling the Spacetop AR Laptop: AWE 2023 First Impressions

augmented reality, AWE, featured, Guest Post, Hardware, opinion, Review, Reviews / Ryan Harris / July 13, 2023

This year’s AWE 2023 was a remarkable testament to the accelerating pace of innovation in the field of augmented reality, hosting an unprecedented 6,000 guests and 300 exhibitors.

Amidst the sea of booths, one exhibit captured sustained attention—the Spacetop laptop by Sightful. Throughout the day, from early morning until the closing hours, its stand was constantly buzzing with activity.

Face-To-Face With The Spacetop

Spacetop’s uniqueness stems from its design—it shuns the traditional physical screen and employs a pair of AR glasses as the display medium. The glasses are not proprietary but are a product of Sightful’s collaboration with XREAL (formerly Nreal), who provided an existing AR solution tailored specifically for Spacetop.

Spacetop AR laptop — *Source: Sightful – Spacetop press kit*

Field of View

With its sleek and futuristic design, the laptop certainly looks promising at a glance. However, a set of issues quickly surfaced during my hands-on experience. The most significant one is the limited field of view that’s insufficient to accommodate the entire screen.

The glasses’ restricted field of view necessitates constant head tilting which undermines the entire purpose of having large virtual monitors and results in what is known as “windowing”—a term used in spatial computing when virtual objects fail to fully overlay and appear cut off.

Attempted solutions like moving the virtual monitor further away were not effective due to the glasses’ 1080p (1920×1080) resolution. Push the screen too far back and the text becomes difficult to read. Therefore, users are forced to deal with near-placed screens that, while clear and readable, outsize Spacetop’s field of view.

Input Solutions and Design

The laptop also lacks hand tracking, a disappointing omission considering the advancements in the field. Users are left with a trackpad, navigating a vast spatial spectrum with a traditional cursor, a process that can feel slow and inadequate. Monica Chin from The Verge has reported instances of losing the cursor among the screens, then struggling to locate it – a problem no doubt amplified by the limited FOV.

Low-precision tasks such as moving tabs or resizing that could be done in fractions of a second with either touchscreen or hand tracking, here took exponentially longer. It made the whole experience of using Spacetop feel frustrating.

There are also other less obvious quibbles. For example, no screen means the webcam must be positioned down on the keyboard. This suboptimal positioning creates an unflattering, spycam-like angle.

Although users can lower their virtual screen to align with the webcam, mitigating gaze-switching between the screen and camera, ultimately the very design of the Spacetop laptop necessitates certain compromises.

Sightful in It for the Long Haul

I asked a Sightful representative about the low field of view and was informed that the company is aware of these display limitations. They assured me that they are prepared to iterate in tandem with the industry.

It seems Sightful is conscious not to portray Spacetop as a purely AR device. More than anything else, Spacetop is a screen-less laptop with a proprietary operating system, Spacetop OS (based on Android), and a unique set of AR-specific features.

In the future, the team may design the laptop to work with any glasses they deem suitable for their purpose. This is their first product and instead of playing catch-up, Sightful is eager to start early and keep perfecting the experience as better, newer glasses come into the market.

However, as things stand today, it’s hard to avoid the obvious question: Why would one choose to splash $2,000 on a Spacetop when one could simply spend $379 on the XREAL glasses (or $488 bundled with the XREAL Beam) and use them to stream from any device? The Spacetop team attempts to answer this by emphasizing their AR-first design and focus.

For instance, executing a three-finger swipe on the touchpad moves screens spatially between closer and further planes. There is also a Reality Mode button that turns the AR off allowing for full pass-through, and a range of shortcuts that enable you to snap screens in place, re-center them, and more. While these improvements and enhancements are handy, they don’t quite seem to justify the substantial premium.

Mat at AWE using Spacetop — *Author believers that Spacetop’s form factor makes it socially acceptable.*

Potential Is There

Initially, I had planned to log into my Twitter account from within the Spacetop, take a screenshot with its webcam, and do a live tweet, heralding the dawn of a new era in spatial laptop computing.

However, the realization that the Spacetop still has some distance to cover before it can be deemed fully user-friendly made it challenging to compose a strictly positive and genuine tweet (time constraints and burdensome trackpad navigation played a role as well).

The potential is undoubtedly there. Large field-of-view, high-resolution AR displays, along with some ultralight tracking solutions, were already being showcased at this year’s AWE and might be integrated into the next generation of glasses.

During my brief encounter with the Spacetop, I could easily envision it becoming a preferred work tool for many, not just for those working from home, but also in cafes or co-working spaces. Moreover, there’s an inherent benefit of privacy. For stock traders, artists, or anyone who values personal workspace, the ability to work on non-public screens adds a lot of appeal.

Its form factor is among the most socially acceptable options available – there’s something about having AR glasses paired with a clearly visible laptop or tablet that makes the entire setup immediately understandable to onlookers. It doesn’t seem to invite confusion or ridicule; if anything, it might invite desirability.

Spacetop screens — *The author thinks that promotional materials feel misleading; Source: Spacetop press kit*

For now, however, Spacetop’s primary promise of being a superior alternative to traditional laptops falls short. Its promotional materials, which depict users encircled by screen panels, feel misleading.

The current iteration is hampered by a lack of hand-tracking, a limited field of view, and clunky user interface solutions. Moreover, the price point does not seem to correspond with the value provided. However, with improvements and upgrades coming, it’s worth keeping an eye on Sightful.

Guest Post

About the Guest Author(s)

Mat Pawluczuk

Mat Pawluczuk is an XR / VR writer and content creator.

Unveiling the Spacetop AR Laptop: AWE 2023 First Impressions Read More »

Is Apple Vision Pro Ready for Mainstream Use?

Apple Inc., apple vision pro, AR glasses, featured, interview, Mixed Reality, MR glasses, opinion, trending / Mike M. / June 28, 2023

The long wait for a mixed reality headset from Apple will soon be over with the recent launch of Apple Vision Pro. Earlier this month, Apple unveiled its highly anticipated XR headset at the WWDC 2023 event. The Apple Vision Pro is set to hit US Apple stores in early 2024.

Being the first major hardware launch of Apple after almost a decade, the Vision Pro is expected to be received with great enthusiasm. While it’s an undoubtedly powerful device packed with state-of-the-art features, the question remains: Is the Apple Vision Pro truly ready for mainstream use?

To delve deeper into how this development impacts the future of XR, we asked some experts to share their insights on Apple Vision Pro.

Apple Vision Pro: Pushing the Boundaries of Mixed Reality Technology

Compared with other available AR and MR headsets, Apple Vision Pro has raised the bar in several aspects. For Dominik Angerer, CEO of headless CMS Storyblok, this launch could potentially be another “‘iPhone moment’ for Apple, pushing the boundaries of how we perceive and interact with digital content.”

Nathan Robinson, CEO of Gemba, finds the technology sleek, responsive, comfortable, and highly performant. According to him, Apple’s user-centric design philosophy is evident in the Vision Pro’s external battery pack, wide articulated headband, and visual passthrough capabilities—all ensuring comfort and convenience even for extended use.

Michael Hoffman, Mesmerise Head of Platform and CEO of IQXR, also highlights the unparalleled ergonomics of the Vision Pro. For him, the Fit Dial that enables adjustment for a precise fit, the Light Seal that creates a tight yet comfortable fit, and multiple size options will all be crucial to the success of the product.

Performance-wise, experts agree that Vision Pro is powerful. Emma Ridderstad, CEO of Warpin Reality, believes that the use of two chips, R1 and M2, will improve real-time processing, reducing the amount of lag time experienced while using the headset.

However, some experts aren’t that impressed. Eric Alexander, founder and CEO of Soundscape VR, thinks that the Vision Pro is strong for a mobile headset but still pales in comparison to PC VR. “The sprawling, highly-detailed, 3D rendered worlds we build here at Soundscape won’t be possible on the Vision Pro yet as their M2 chip has less than 10% of the rendering horsepower of an Nvidia GPU,” he told us.

For Joseph Toma, CEO of the virtual meetings and events platform Jugo, the Vision Pro’s hardware can be overkill, no matter how powerful it is. He notes that advances in spatial AI, augmented reality, and mixed reality AI make bulky hardware unnecessary. “Apple’s Vision Pro may not be the product that ushers in this new era. While the tech is great, the future is about building something that includes everyone and can deliver mixed reality experiences without the constraints of bulky hardware,” Toma said.

Is the Apple Vision Pro Truly Ready for Mainstream Use?

While the Apple Vision Pro represents a significant leap forward in mixed reality technology, experts have varying opinions on its readiness for mainstream adoption.

apple vision pro

Some argue that its current price point and the need for continuous advancements in software and content might limit its appeal. Others point out that existing platforms already offer immersive experiences without the need for bulky hardware, and Apple might face challenges in convincing the masses to invest in the Vision Pro.

Retailing at $3,499, the cost of the Apple Vision Pro is several times over the $499 price tag of the Meta Quest 3. For Robinson, this prohibitive price will be a large contributing factor to a slow adoption curve. However, he believes as the price falls and the number of applications grows over time, this technology will gain a much wider audience.

While Hoffman also sees the need for more cost-effective options, he believes that Vision Pro is ready for mainstream adoption. “Vision Pro is absolutely ready for mainstream adoption, especially because it’s made by Apple,” he said. “Once Apple launches a product, users typically flock to it.”

Still, some experts believe that Vision Pro isn’t ready for mainstream adoption yet. While initially impressed with the headset, Ridderstad noticed features that were centered around “looking and clicking” rather than 3D VR interactions. “I do think that Vision Pro won’t be ready for mainstream adoption until there’s been a few iterations of the headset,” she told us. “We’ll need to see some evolution from Apple in order to make mixed reality truly mainstream.”

For Alexander, the mainstream adoption of Vision Pro is still a few years out. Although he doesn’t see the price point being a hindrance to adoption, he believes that developers need time to build compelling apps that give people something to do on these devices outside of the novelty factor.

Toma, sharing a similar sentiment, said that, even though “the merging of the tangible and virtual worlds is an impending reality,” we’re still far from seeing these tools adopted on a massive scale by consumers and businesses. “The Vision Pro’s success depends on whether consumers will embrace a bulky, expensive piece of hardware they don’t need for the immersive experience Apple is promoting,” he said.

However, as Angerer points out, “Every technological leap comes with its share of skepticism.” While he understands why there are those who argue that Apple’s headset is not ready for mainstream adoption because of its size, he believes it’s important to remember that Apple has consistently placed high importance on balancing aesthetics with practicality. “Existing platforms may offer similar experiences, but Apple’s unique selling proposition often lies in its seamless user experience and integration across devices, which could give Vision Pro an edge,” he said.

Reshaping Industries: Applications of Apple Vision Pro and Other MR Headsets

Regardless of their readiness for mainstream use, mixed reality headsets like the Apple Vision Pro have the potential to transform various industries. Experts foresee numerous applications in fields such as healthcare, education, architecture, and entertainment.

In healthcare, for instance, mixed reality can aid in surgical simulations and remote medical consultations. In education, immersive learning experiences can enhance student engagement and comprehension. Architects can utilize mixed reality to visualize designs in real-world environments, while the entertainment industry can create entirely new levels of interactive experiences for consumers.

According to Hoffman, Vision Pro will be a game changer that unlocks high-value enterprise use cases. “Collaboration is essential for most scenarios that merge the physical and virtual. To be viable, eye contact is key for co-located participants, and faithfully conveying gaze and facial expressions is key for remote participants,” he explained. “Apple masterfully tackles both, making it possible to collaborate with any combination of co-located and remote participants where everyone wears a device. This combining of the physical and virtual worlds is critical for so many scenarios: task guidance, IoT digital twins, skills training, AI-enhanced inspections, augmented surgery, logistics, and space planning.”

A Promising Outlook for Apple Vision Pro and Mixed Reality Technology

As industry experts have highlighted, factors such as pricing, content availability, and competing platforms could influence its widespread acceptance. Nonetheless, Vision Pro and other mixed reality headsets are set to reshape industries and open new possibilities. The future of mixed reality holds immense promise with continued advancements and a growing ecosystem, and the Apple Vision Pro stands at the forefront of this transformative journey.

Is Apple Vision Pro Ready for Mainstream Use? Read More »

Whether Hit or Flop, Apple’s Entrance Will Be a Pivotal Moment for XR

Apple, Apple AR, apple mixed reality, apple mr, apple reality, apple reality one, apple reality pro, apple realityos, Apple VR, apple xr, AR Headset, Feature, featured, Mixed Reality, News, opinion, realityos / Ryan Harris / April 25, 2023

If the avalanche of recent reports can indicate anything at all, it seems Apple is entering the VR/AR headset market fairly soon, bringing along with it the most inflated expectations the industry has ever seen. It’s probably going to be expensive, but whether it flops or becomes a big hit, the mere existence of Apple in the space is set to change a lot about how things are done.

The iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone. That award goes to an obscure PDA device called the IBM Simon, released in limited numbers in 1994. The Apple Watch wasn’t the first smartwatch either. That was debatably the Seiko Raputer, which was released in 1998 in Japan. Its monochrome LCD wasn’t capable of touch, instead offering up a tiny eight-direction joystick and six function buttons to browse files, play games, and set calendar appointments. Similarly, iPad wasn’t the first tablet. Mac wasn’t the first home computer. iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player. But all of these products have become nothing short of iconic. There’s very little benefit to being first, at least as far as Apple is concerned.

And while it seems the company’s first mixed reality headset could finally debut at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, like all of its other products, it won’t be the first MR headset. Just the same, like everything else the fruit company makes, it’s going to be the one everyone is talking about—for better or worse.

In case you haven’t noticed, Apple is a big deal. It has an ecosystem of products which connect to each other, design-forward hardware that has helped it maintain brand name cache, and a philosophy that puts user-friendliness at the core of its software experience. Oh, and it’s the most valuable company in the world.

And while the irrational exuberance for successive device generations has mostly petered out since its heydays in the early 2000s, reducing its famed long-line launch extravaganzas to more chill online pre-order releases, becoming an Apple apostate is still unthinkable to many. Once you’re in, you’re in. You buy the phone, the laptop, the headphones, and now, maybe you’ll get the newfangled headset too. Maybe. Let’s put aside the rumors for now. Forget about the spec breakdowns, hardware design leaks, software capabilities, etc. There are plenty of them out there, and you can read about those here. The only thing we know for sure is Apple is… well… Apple. Here’s what you, and probably everyone else is expecting.

Apple’s BKC Store in Mumbai, India | Image courtesy Apple

For Better: What Should Happen

Unless the company is making a drastic departure here, its first mixed reality headset should be built with this same level of user friendliness as all of its other devices, which means it should connect to the Apple ecosystem easily, and have a simple and intuitive UI. Log in with Apple ID. No muss, no fuss (whatever ‘muss’ is). Privacy should be a giant focus for the headset from the outset, since it will almost certainly pack eye-tracking in addition to a host of cameras to get a glimpse of the inside of your immediate surroundings, messiness and all. Apple has its fair share of data collection scandals, yet it seems to inspire enough confidence for privacy to be a big historical selling point for all of its devices.

If you want to avoid drawing the ire of tech reviewers everywhere though, wearing it should be fairly simple and very comfortable, and the experiences within should be of high enough value to overcome that inherent friction of charging it, putting it on, setting up a tracking volume, and wearing it for extended periods of time—everything we expect from any mixed reality headset at this point. It should fit most people, and offer up a clear picture to people with heads and eyes of all shapes and sizes.

An obvious analogue here is Meta Quest Pro, which is relatively low friction, but things like a halo strap that forces too much weight on your brow, or a passthrough that’s just a little too grainy, or a display that doesn’t have a high enough pixel per degree (ppd) for staring at text—all of these things make it less appealing to users in the day-to-day, introducing what you might call accumulative friction. You use it a bunch at first until you figure out all of the niggles, at which point you may revert to traditional computing standards like using a laptop or smartphone. The thing isn’t really the all-purpose device you hoped it would be, and the company thinks twice about when to send the better, more improved version down the pipeline.

One would hope that Apple’s headset, on the other hand, should have a mature design language and have obviously useful features from day one. While there’s bound to be some stutters, like with the first Apple Watch, which was critiqued for its slow software, short battery life, and lack of customization, it should all be there, and not require a ton of feature updates to enhance after the big launch day.

It should sell well out of the gate—at least by the standards of the existing XR industry—even if everything isn’t perfect. And it should be so cool that it’s copied. Like a lot. And it should drag top-level studios into the XR scene to start making innovative and useful apps that aren’t just straight ports of ARkit or ARcore apps made for mobile, but things people need and want to use in-headset. A big win from Apple should not only spur its new mixed reality product category, but kick off a buzz among developers, which would include those who currently work in the XR industry and Apple’s existing cohort of dedicated iOS developers.

But more than merely being the latest shiny new headset within the existing XR industry, Apple’s entrance into the field has a real chance of radically expanding the industry itself, by showing that the world’s most iconic tech company now thinks the medium is worth pursuing. That’s the way it happened when Apple jumped into MP3 players, smartphones, tablets, wireless earbuds, and more.

As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. The inverse is also true though….

For Worse: What Could Happen

Apple’s headset is reportedly (okay, maybe just one rumor) priced somewhere near $3,000, so it probably won’t be the sort of accessory that initially attracts people to the ecosystem; that would be the job of a peripheral like Apple Watch. It will likely rely on the pool of built-in Apple users. Despite the price, the first iteration very likely won’t offer the sort of power you’d expect from a workhorse like Apple MacBook Pro either.

At the outset, any sustained draw from prosumers will invariably hinge on how well it can manage general computing tasks, like you might have with an iPad or MacBook, and everything else current mixed reality headset should do too, namely VR and AR stuff. That includes a large swath of things like fitness apps, both AR and VR games and experiences, productivity apps, standard work apps, everything. Basically, it has to be the Quest Pro that Meta wanted to release but didn’t.

AR turn-by-turn directions on an iPhone | Image courtesy Apple

And if not, it leaves Apple in a pretty precarious situation. If their headset can’t find a proper foothold within its ecosystem and attract enough users, it could lead to low adoption rates and a lack of interest in the technology as a whole. Mixed reality is largely seen as valuable steppingstone to what many consider the true moneymaker: all-day AR glasses. And despite some very glassses-shaped AR headsets out there, we’re still not there yet. Even if Apple is willing to take a hit with a bulky device in service of pushing use cases for its AR glasses yet to come, the short term may not look very bright.

And perhaps most importantly for the industry as a whole are the (metaphorical) optics.

After all, if the iconic Apple can’t manage to make MR something that everybody wants, the rest of the world watching from the sidelines may think the concept just can’t be conquered. In turn, it may mean capital investment in the space will dry up until ‘real’ AR headsets are a thing—the all-day glasses that will let you play Pokémon Go in the park, do turn-by-turn directions, and remind you the name of that person you met last week. The steppingstone of mixed reality may get waterlogged. Those are a lot of ifs, coulds, shoulds, and won’ts though. The only thing truly certain is we’re in for a very interesting few months, which you can of course follow at Road to VR.

Apple’s entrance into XR has the potential to expand the industry by demonstrating its viability, just as Apple has done with previous technologies. It stands a good chance at carving out a sizeable claim in the space, but it’s a gamble that could equally backfire if both sales and public perception aren’t on their side.

Is Apple’s XR headset going to be the “one more thing?” we’ve all been waiting for at WWDC this year? Will it live up to the Apple name, or be an expensive dev kit? Let us know in the comments below!

Whether Hit or Flop, Apple’s Entrance Will Be a Pivotal Moment for XR Read More »

The Next Frontier of XR Hardware

featured, Guest Post, Hardware, MR glasses, opinion, VR headsets, XR Headsets / Blake Jones / February 8, 2023

As we head into the next generation of XR hardware, here are some of the big developments and releases coming out of the industry.

Where Is XR Heading?

Terminology and ease of access has meant that it has been a challenge to inform the general public about XR platforms. But at last, we are seeing a shift from dedicated platform-specific hardware to agnostic all-in-one devices that makes sense for all involved.

As developers, we can design multi-purpose experiences that are fluid whilst the consumers need only to concern themselves with a single piece of kit that can do it all. That’s the direction we’re going in right now and companies are laying their cards on the table in a bid to be the dominant force driving us forward through their own varying strategies.

Think how Microsoft revolutionized personal computers, or how Apple changed the mobile phone market forever. We’re on the cusp of another life-changing piece of technology and the race is on.

There has been a multitude of devices announced, rumored, and even speculated upon. The common themes you’ll see pushed by the marketing teams are weight and resolution.

Let’s take a look at the technology coming our way.

What Is Everyone Working On?

Magic Leap 2

Magic Leap jumped the starting gun and played their cards early. The Magic Leap 2 was released in September last year with an entry price point of $3,299.

The most immersive enterprise AR device is now available.

Built for enterprise. Developed for developers. Designed for extended daily use. Learn more and order at the link in our bio. pic.twitter.com/KAOb79lneC

— Magic Leap (@magicleap) September 30, 2022

An updated version of their first MR device, it features 1440 x 1760 resolution and weighs in at a tiny 260g. In comparison to the upcoming competitors we’ll discuss, this device by far stands above the rest in terms of financial expense alongside Apple.

Reality Pro

Apple’s Reality Pro is rumored to be unveiled in the next few months and a speculated price point of $3000 puts it up there with the Magic Leap 2 for its inaccessibility to the average consumer.

With Apple being rumored to enter the field of VR/AR, there are numerous speculations of these high price tags and a focus on productivity over gaming, which has been a major drive in VR platform focus in the past few years.

It will be interesting to see what Apple brings to the field as there might not have been much of a consumer-side push for a VR device that is focused on productivity, taking calls, and using regular phone apps in VR over just gaming or fitness.

The device will supposedly make use of hand tracking or a clothes-pin like a finger module for pointing and selection. Meta, in contrast, is aiming for a more commercially viable XR product.

Quest 3

The Quest 3 is one of the most anticipated and discussed XR headsets this year, with little information being known about it even now. Zuckerberg has tipped a price point between $300-500 and the release is expected later this year.

There is currently much speculation about whether it will be packing the in-development Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR 2 Gen 2 chip or the same XR 2 chip from the previous model. It’s a strong contender to be the headset that sets the new standard for value.

PICO 4

ByteDance was another early offering in the hardware market. The PICO 4 virtual reality headset was released mid-October last year and features 4K+ resolution, a weight of 295g, and is available in Europe and East Asia for €399 (around $428).

Pico 4 VR headset

Arguably one of the lesser-known devices and studios, this is ByteDance’s offering as a viable competitor to Meta, specifically the Quest 2. While it packs a punch, it also has some limitations, such as low-resolution passthrough, Meta might be about to blow it out of the water. With the Quest 3 on the horizon, a lot of consumers are holding off on the PICO 4 at the moment.

HTC

HTC is about to release its offering in the form of the VIVE XR Elite with a release date of February 25 and an entry-level price of $1,099. With it being the most decorated VR headset at CES 2023, expect them to go toe-to-toe with Meta for dominance in the market.

On paper, they are fairly evenly matched and it could come down to pure user experience and well-designed software. HTC is doubling down on VR glasses for smaller experiences like in-car journey entertainment and movie watching through the VIVE Flow.

It is possible that these developments and improvements in hardware will converge into smaller wearable devices that are suited more for passthrough or passive experiences but can also be worn for work too, like the high-end VIVE XR Elite and Meta Quest Pro.

Sony

Sony is also bringing out the PSVR2, which is said to use eye tracking for menu selection and navigation of user interfaces. With the PSVR2 and Apple VR, both are moving away from controller-oriented inputs which could bring a layer of accessibility to VR.

Upcoming XR hardware - PlayStation VR2 headset

How often have we shown a friend or family VR and had to explain to them where the buttons are on the controllers for the first time? If headsets move towards using eye-tracking selection and hand tracking, controllers could become optional for devices like these, which could also bring down the hardware price for consumers and help drive adoption through the reduction of learning curves.

Why We Need to Get It Right

The metaverse remains at this point a vision for the future and will do so until an extensive commercial breakthrough is made. The metaverse is entirely dependent on engagement and interconnectivity. There is a harsh expectation of constant usage and whilst some would argue that our lives are already technologically dependent, the level of integration into our lives that we’re talking about is unprecedented.

Accessibility also remains a firm stumbling block as technology will take some time to offer true value to people and not act as a luxurious gimmick. This is likely to remain the case for the near future. We do need to evaluate moving forward which hardware ultimately works for users and developers alike. But for now, we are testing what’s possible and creatively, it is a great time to be involved.

Guest Post

About the Guest Author(s)

Rob Farthing

Rob is a Unity-certified Artist and digital programmer for XR applications with experience in pairing machine learning with augmented reality. Since graduating from the University of Portsmouth (BSc Hons 1st class) in 2016, Rob has developed a range of immersive experiences for clients such as Samsung, GSK, and Harman.

Chris Hull

Graduating in Computer Animation (Hons) at Bournemouth University’s prestigious NCCA in 2017, Chris has broad knowledge across the 3D pipeline with a specialization in Application Development and XR technologies. He has worked in various industry roles and developed a broad portfolio of previous clients including Red Bull, IKEA, and The Ministry of Defense.

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The Future Is Now: 2023 Metaverse and XR Predictions Worth Looking Into

expert predictions, extended reality, featured, metaverse, opinion / Ryan Harris / February 6, 2023

Recent technological advancements have pushed the envelope of what modern technologies are capable of. Furthermore, these innovations have greatly changed the way users interact with such technologies. Given that our technological advancements, consumer behavior, and tech trends continue to evolve at breakneck speed, being aware of metaverse and XR predictions can help you better prepare for the future.

Dispelling Common VR Myths and Misconceptions

Despite the relatively widespread acceptance and use of virtual reality technology, there are still some myths and misconceptions that surround it. Unfortunately, such beliefs stem from a misunderstanding of the technology and how it works. Some of the most common myths and misconceptions surrounding VR include the following: it always causes motion sickness and virtual reality is solely applicable to games.

We talked with The Park Playground CEO Peter Vindevogel, who shared his thoughts on these myths and misconceptions, shedding light on virtual reality technology.

“Virtual reality is often perceived as being limited to the world of gaming. Although gaming is certainly a great use case and example of what immersive VR experiences can deliver, the possibilities are endless,” said Vindevogel.

He gave examples of some applications of VR that have nothing to do with gaming, such as house tours, and meetings.

“Virtual reality is transforming industries and has so much to offer in terms of exposing people to new experiences they otherwise wouldn’t be able to enjoy. Gaming is just one aspect of VR and tends to be individuals’ first tangible insight into the possibilities of the metaverse,” he adds.

According to Vindevogel, one of the most common misconceptions surrounding VR is that it causes motion sickness, which can prevent people from trying out new experiences. He adds that one of the main causes of motion sickness in VR experiences is poor latency.

“When a delay in latency occurs, your real and virtual movements no longer match, knocking the equilibrium out of balance and causing ‘cybersickness.’ The problem stems from, and is also alleviated by, the equipment being used to deploy the virtual reality experience and how those experiences are designed. It is very easy to induce motion sickness if you are not carefully taking this into consideration,” Vindevogel explained.

The good news is that with the wealth of knowledge and experiences available today, VR experiences are becoming increasingly inclusive. Furthermore, developments in the VR industry are improving existing technology. Thus, in the future, VR users are less likely to encounter such issues.

2023 Metaverse and XR Predictions That Could Shape the Future of Tech

1. More Widespread Use of VR for Location-Based Entertainment

According to Vindevogel, VR technology will continue to evolve and become more widely adopted. Thus, it’s likely that we will increasingly see the technology being used for location-based entertainment (LBE) in the coming years. That’s because VR is capable of creating such immersive, interactive, and social experiences.

“Overall, the future looks bright for VR as a technology that will continue to redefine entertainment and other industries. As VR technology improves and becomes more accessible, more brands and creators will explore and experiment with the potential of VR,” said Vindevogel. He pointed out that the location-based entertainment industry had seen steady and promising growth, and was expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.4% until 2028.

Vindevogel adds that the growth of VR in the context of LBE is due in part to how VR and AR are capable of providing users with more exciting ways to bring their vision to life, making the technology suitable for visitor attractions. “It provides lifelines for theme parks and museums by reinvigorating the experience and eliminating potentially negative factors such as queues and crowds,” said The Park Playground CEO.

2. The Use of VR in the Field of Education

Vindevogel goes on to say that VR will be a useful tool in the field of education. According to him, the technology can be used for training and delivering first-hand experiences to learners.

“This is the first time in history where we are not only able to build muscle memory for these high-skilled and high-risk situations from anywhere in the world without much-specialized equipment but immersive experiences could offer a better way for students to retain and be excited learning about any subject,” he said.

3. More Accessible Developer Tools

VR solutions are becoming more popular in commercial settings and it’s expected that developing such solutions will become simpler in the coming years.

As pointed out in one of the Unity Developers’ blog posts, aside from the exponential rise of development businesses, we’re also seeing more developer tools, such as the Unity and Unreal engines, becoming more accessible. An iteration of Unreal Engine (Unreal Engine 5) is already being used to develop applications for a range of VR devices.

4. Growing Use of XR Devices in Enterprise Settings

It’s likely that we’ll see more XR devices being used in enterprise settings. This is already one of the metaverse and XR predictions that’s slowly becoming a reality. Thus, it’s probable that in 2023, we’ll be seeing more XR devices being used as workstations in the office.

And while they won’t be seen as replacements for your laptops, PCs, or even smartphones, these XR devices can augment their functionality, particularly for users who regularly engage in XR environments.

5. More XR Consumers and More XR Content

In an interview with Circuit Stream’s Dejan Gajsek, he shared that we’ve seen several major investments in immersive tech, particularly Meta. These investments are seen as foundations for future content and hardware, and with consumers purchasing more immersive tech hardware, it’s likely that we’ll be seeing more VR and AR content.

He goes on to share that the success of the Quest 2 will fuel interest in the new Quest 3, which should will be released in 2023.

According to Gajsek, “Anyone that decided to buy from the Oculus store or use Meta’s products essentially becomes a ’subscriber‘ in Meta’s user base. Once the base becomes big enough, the platform becomes extremely interesting for marketers and advertisers.” He expects Meta to continue pushing the narrative for VR.

Gajsek also believes that the gaming aspect of VR should expand. According to him, the launch of the VR add-on for the PlayStation VR 2 will likely expand the use of the PS5 console in the context of VR games. This, he thinks, will prompt the growth of the number of VR consumers.

6. Metaverse Tech Will Be Built and Used by a More Diverse Group of People

John Payne, CEO of Croquet, believes that metaverse technologies will be built and utilized by more diverse groups.

“Given the potential reach of metaverse technologies, it’s imperative that these technologies be built for people with a wide range of backgrounds and abilities,” he told us. “As solutions for identity in the metaverse become more varied, people will be able to express themselves safely in the way that feels most comfortable for them. Safety and anti-harassment tools will be built into platforms as they become more decentralized.”

He goes on to say that these metaverse platforms will become open to asynchronous content, as not all users can be found online at the same time. This could indicate that in the future, we will see the evolution of ghost avatars, rich notes, and other time-independent interactive content.

Payne also believes that metaverse will happen much faster than everyone thinks, by gaining traction via 3D worlds in traditional websites. “Millions of virtual 3D spaces and worlds embedded in the web interoperably with existing sites will collectively form a significant portion of the larger interoperable metaverse,” he said. “The metaverse is an evolution… the next generation of the Web… not a revolution.”

7. More Collaborations Among Key Metaverse Players

In the near future, it’s highly likely to see more big names in the tech industry coming together to create new solutions. These collaborations are also a result of the need to create an open and interoperable metaverse.

We’re already seeing key metaverse players coming together in the collaboration between Meta and Microsoft. To continue providing users with seamless software experiences and improved productivity and collaboration capabilities, Microsoft and Meta have teamed up to bring Mesh for Teams to Meta Quest headsets. Moreover, the two companies are looking at ways to incorporate Xbox Cloud Gaming into the Meta Quest Store. This is predicted to change the way gamers stream and interact with games across a variety of devices, including smartphones and the Meta Quest platform.

8. AR Apps to Increasingly Leverage AI Tech

To create more immersive virtual environments, AR applications must be able to collect a wealth of information about the user’s surroundings. Through the use of artificial intelligence, app developers can streamline how their program processes algorithms and data. Moreover, they can leverage AI to come up with more accurate results. Thus, it’s likely that we’ll see more AR apps making use of AI tech in the future.

“I believe the biggest breakthrough will come in e-commerce and merging technology with AI. There are Shopify widgets where you can ‘try’ a new pattern in your living room, or virtually place a piece of furniture,” shares Gajsek. “Consumers only have to click on buy, and the product is going to be delivered to their homes. AR will decrease the amount of friction when it comes to the buyer’s process and drive impulsive buys.”

Furthermore, Croquet’s Payne believes that AI will help speed up content creation. Tools like DALL-E and ChatGPT are becoming more widely available to more people. Furthermore, people are becoming more receptive to their use. Given that creating high-quality content can be a time-consuming endeavor, these AI tools will enable users to access a more cost-effective and faster way to create content.

9. Companies Will Offer More Immersive Experiences for Their Workforce

One of the significant metaverse and XR predictions will most likely impact the workplace. Aside from the increased use of XR devices in enterprise settings, it’s likely that we’ll see more companies offering immersive experiences to their employees.

According to a PwC report, businesses are likely to become “metaverse power users.” This is supported by a 2022 PwC survey, which shows that 42% of business leaders are planning to use the metaverse to provide onboarding and training for their employees. This is followed by 36% who shared that they’re planning to use the metaverse for interactions with colleagues, as well as for creating virtual content for their audience.

We’re already starting to see companies trying to recreate real-world activities in virtual worlds, including shared virtual workspaces and having access to collaboration and productivity tools. It’s also likely that businesses will expand their use of XR tech and the metaverse. For example, we may see more metaverse-specific interactions for customer service or digital recreations of physical establishments.

While nothing is set in stone yet, it’s probable that businesses that are unable to adapt to emerging tech trends may lose not only their competitive edge but also access to growth opportunities.

10. VR Will Become a Larger Part of Our Lives

According to Mesmerise CEO and co-founder Andrew Hawken, VR will play a larger and more sustained role in our lives, as other major tech companies are poised to introduce new wearable tech.

“Now that the rush of VR interest spurred by the pandemic has passed, we’ll enter a new era of sustained development and investment in the space. Just as the invention of the browser played a key role in the development of the internet, we expect a similar outcome as we embrace the metaverse’s role in operating as the interface of Web3,” Hawken told ARPost.“In 2023, we’ll see the fall of walled gardens as other players like Apple, Sony, and Magic Leap bring to market new headset iterations that advance spatial computing as a whole, and as a result, a slow upward trajectory of an optimized virtual reality experience.”

The Park Playground’s Vindevogel adds that virtual reality will increasingly grow to become a part of our daily lives.

“As the line between the digital and real world becomes increasingly blurred, virtual reality won’t just be simply putting on a headset to game with your friends – it will become a part of everyday life,” he said. “However, the level of immersion – whether it’s augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) or completely virtual – will depend on the situation.”

He cites some examples of how VR and AR can be used in our daily lives, such as when someone is trying on makeup to see how it suits them or when a homeowner takes a virtual tour of their future property, instead of just looking at pictures on a website.

“And while the metaverse presents itself as cartoonish and obviously augmented, we’re approaching a reality in which wearable headsets will replace screens, and video conferences will become much closer to real-life situations,” said Vindevogel. Augmented, virtual, and mixed realities bring extra layers to the reality we’re already familiar with, so as time goes on, the digital world will blend more and more into our everyday lives.”

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Metaverse – Expectations vs Reality, Part 2: The Costs

featured, Guest Post, metaverse, opinion, virtual reality / Mike M. / December 16, 2022

In part 1 I addressed the technical reasons why Ready Player One – customer and user’s expectations – is still years away.

But the unrealistic expectations of the public regarding the metaverse involve another field. As co-owner of a small VR company, I find myself quite often obliged to disappoint people that think the metaverse and immersive technologies are cheap.

In this second part, I will very briefly explain the great obstacle of costs.

I Would Like… But I Can’t Afford It

This is an annoying topic for those of us who work with and on immersive technologies. Expectations and reality on the issue of costs diverge in an impressive way. As a business owner, I receive requests for very complex apps. What strikes me as a strange phenomenon is that the prospects very seldom have a rough idea of how much they are going to be charged for what they ask.

They seem to be unaware that the metaverse is powered by cutting-edge technologies, which use expensive instrumentation and equipment both for production and for use.

A virtual reality experience costs money. An augmented reality app costs money. A virtual tour costs money. A lot, sometimes more than a lot.

The work behind it is invisible to an outsider, and it makes sense. It’s ok that people do not know how time and energy-consuming this all can be.

Today, I would like to give you an example of a production process, so that you can appreciate how much work lies behind a seemingly simple project.

Let’s take a virtual tour with a minimum number of 10 photos (360 photos), 3 videos (360 videos), and 10 hotspots (interactions) to be put only in the videos (therefore 30 total interactions).

Here is the whole process, from the very beginning to the delivery:

Inspection of the location where the shooting will take place.
Draft of the shooting list (the script).
Hardware and number of people in the crew to be selected based on points 1 and 2.
Crew and equipment transfer.
Possible overnight stay, plus food for the whole crew.
Filming (1 day).
Check-up of the footage in situ to check the quality, make sure everything is clear and does not need re-shooting.
Footage download.
Stitching (editing).
Audio post-production.
Hotspot programming.
Hotspot content upload.
Testing and debugging.
Virtual tour upload on the client’s website or where required.

On top of all this, we must add the crew’s professional experience and the company’s markup. For personal reasons, I prefer not to bring you numbers here.

As mentioned above, all this is invisible to an outsider. We understand it very well. But the workload is there, nonetheless, and it must be taken into account.

And now consider that virtual and augmented reality tend to have even higher costs than a simple virtual tour.

The Metaverse We Currently Have Is Enough, For Now

Expectations and reality rarely coincide in the world of virtual reality, augmented reality, and virtual tours. The excessive hype generated by enthusiasts, who are a bit naïve, combined with the lack of correct information has created in recent years the illusion that Ready Player One is already here.

Nothing could be further from the truth. As it is often said, the metaverse is only a concept for the moment, and not even a clear one at that. Much can be done with the technologies available to us now, much more than we could have done only five years ago. Suffice to say, at the time, VR headsets, such as the Oculus Rift CV1, did not have the hand controllers that are used now, and necessarily needed a powerful computer to run apps.

Now we have excellent stand-alone headsets (so, no computer), and motion sensors that are directly applied to the device and that track the movement of the hands. We have multiple companies healthily competing for the mass market of headsets. And we have companies that are building platforms. A debate on interoperability has finally started. This all is very important and is a clear advancement.

However, the obstacles remain important, the costs as well.

Although we can understand that those who do not work in the space can not have a real understanding of all these aspects, we believe that it is always appropriate, when approaching a new sector, to be well-informed about what is possible and what is not. About how close expectations and realities of things actually are. Or distant.

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Metaverse – Expectations vs Reality, Part 1: Technological Possibilities

content creation, Guest Post, metaverse, opinion / Ryan Harris / December 8, 2022

I believe it is necessary to address the gap between customer or audience expectations and actual reality. From my personal experience (I have a small VR company), I realize that there is still a lot of confusion.

But I want to make a premise on the metaverse first.

First Things First: Metaverse Doesn’t Exist Yet

The point is that the metaverse, whatever it is, does not exist yet. So when I say metaverse, what I mean is immersive technologies + blockchain-related digital assets (NTFs and crypto).

The unrealistic expectations of the public are such because of two large series of problems:

The actual technological possibilities, and
The costs.

Distance Between Desires and Reality: The Technical Challenges

When you hear the word metaverse, do you imagine The OASIS from Ready Player One?

If this is what you see in your head, I am sorry to tell you that we are very far from that. I think it will take a couple of decades at least before we can have the technology of the film. Frankly, it could still be 50 years away.

Before we reach such an advanced level of VR, we must first work on the following: hardware, infrastructure, interoperability, and content.

Hardware

We have excellent headsets, but the maximum definition of the images is still very far from that proposed by the film. At the moment the maximum definition of affordable headsets like the Quest 2 is 4K (to be precise 1832 x 1920 pixels).

Movement in virtual worlds is not yet achievable as seen in the film. “Living room” solutions have been studied for years, but still nothing has gone just beyond the prototype phase or is marketable to the general public.

To move in VR the most used solutions are teleportation or directional lever on controls. It is absolutely possible to create virtual environments in 1:1 scale in which to move by walking, but these need a corresponding real environment that is as large as the virtual one and motion sensors scattered throughout the real environment, so you can track the movements in the space of your body. The Void was a virtual arcade experiment that used this principle. The experiment failed, but was still spectacular.

To be totally honest, I doubt whether a virtual world of this type makes sense or not. What would be the use of this? We’ll see.

Infrastructure

The amount of data that the entire infrastructure should be able to manage for the real-time rendering of objects, avatars, and environments is impressive. We are not talking about a video game – difficult, but manageable by the computational power of the machines and servers we have now.

We are talking about something infinitely larger. It should be able to keep all possible users online at the same time, without the risk of crashing, and also possibly “save” the results of the actions performed.

Let’s take an example to clarify what I mean. If you and your avatar break a wall in the virtual world, hypothetically, that wall must remain broken or not? If another avatar passes after half an hour, how is the matter handled? Making the actions performed and their consequences permanent adds complexity. Metaverse expert Matthew Ball talks about it in this short video, if you’re interested.

Interoperability

This is currently the mother of all challenges. The main problem is that there are no shared standards among the various potential actors of the metaverse.

By interoperability, I mean the possibility that content produced on a platform can then be used, displayed and shared on others. The example that Ball makes in the video above is that of a photo on Facebook. You can download it and then use it on Snapchat or upload it to a site that provides this possibility.

This is possible because Facebook has the option to download the photo and because there are standard photo formats that are accepted everywhere. You can imagine how much more complex it is for a 3D file like those that are used and should be exchanged in the metaverse. And this is both because of the larger size of the files themselves, and because there is still no shared standard.

Freely Usable Content for Everyone

One last illusion is content. Lack of content is one of the main obstacles to the mass adoption of spatial computing. The end user, however, expects to find available and customizable apps, for their specific field.

Let’s clarify with an example. Last week I received a request for “software that can be used as training for security guards and other armed figures.” Essentially, the person was looking for a ready-made application. There are some industries where this is already possible. Think of Osso VR, a company that specializes in surgical training.

But this is undoubtedly a bright exception in the current landscape. Therefore, for the moment, in most cases, the only solution remains that of the ad hoc experience, tailor-made for the customer … if they can afford it.

The Big Question Mark

The technical challenges mentioned above – we’ve reported the biggest and most obvious, but they don’t end there – prompt a fundamental question: is it all worth it?

Is it worth using intellectual energies to square the circle, so to speak, and solve them? Spatial computing, virtual reality, and augmented reality have a very impactful potential, in my opinion. And the quest for improved usability leading to mass adoption is a good thing.

But does a digital world in which to immerse ourselves and live part of our lives, with implications that reach out to the real world, really serve us as a human race? Does it have any real use? In short, is a complete, global, interoperable metaverse a useful perspective?

I do not have an answer to this question. Many doubts, few certainties. And I reserve the right to reflect and study further before expressing an opinion on the matter.

At the beginning, I also mentioned the costs.

In the next part of this article, I will delve more into this.

Guest Post

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