Apple mixed-reality headset to take aim at the metaverse

SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Apple on Monday is expected to show off pricy mixed-reality headgear at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, challenging Facebook-owner Meta in a market that has yet to sizzle.

The iPhone maker has remained mum on reports that it is poised to unveil a headset for augmented or virtual reality experiences at its annual jamboree for developers and app designers.

The release would be the most significant product launch by the iconic iPhone maker since it unveiled the Apple Watch in 2015.

It could also invite more tensions between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg who have feuded over the handling of their sprawling tech empires, especially over data issues and China ties.

Expectations are high that Apple will use the WWDC stage to spotlight a "Reality Pro" headset priced around $3,000, along with custom-made software for the gear, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.

"We believe Apple's Reality Pro will come with many apps and use cases," Ives said.

Cook is also expected to talk about the company's strategy when it comes to artificial intelligence, which has been in the spotlight since startup OpenAI released ChatGPT late last year.

The headset has been in development at Cupertino-based Apple for years, and will focus on gaming, streaming video and conferencing, as well as health and fitness, according to Ives.

It is also expected to synch closely with other Apple devices, following the company's strategy of using premium hardware to lock customers into other products and services.

"From all reports, Apple hoped to release a product that felt more like designer glasses than a gaming headset, but it's releasing something much bulkier," said Insider Intelligence principal analyst Yory Wurmser.

"It wants to get its device into the hands of early adopters and developers, who will start to build a (mixed reality) ecosystem around Apple software."

A report by Bloomberg described the headset as a high-tech pair of ski googles that would project a wearer's eyes and facial expressions on an external screen.

Just days before Apple's event, Meta ramped up its line of Quest virtual reality headgear.

A new-generation Quest 3 with improved performance and slimmed design will be available later this year at a starting price of $500, Zuckerberg said.

The Facebook founder described the coming model as Meta's "most powerful headset yet" and promised it would provide the best wireless way to experience virtual reality.

Metaverse bound 

Zuckerberg has been adamant that Meta remains devoted to building for a future in which internet life plays out in virtual worlds referred to as the metaverse.

"Meta has been the dominant VR manufacturer over the past several years, thanks to its cheap Quest devices," Wurmser said.

But Meta's experience with the metaverse has been humbling despite it being a leader in the emergent sector and many questioned whether Apple would in the end jump in.

And less than two years after changing its name to Meta to reflect a metaverse priority, the Facebook giant has fired tens of thousands of staff and promised to get back to its social media basics.

Meta's false start follows the failure of Google Glass, the search engine giant's decade long effort that was mothballed for good in March.

Agence France-Presse

Pandemic fuels travel boom in virtual reality

Jem Jenkins Jones was stuck at home in Wales for much of the past year amid pandemic lockdowns but managed to fulfill a promise to her 10-year-old daughter to see the northern lights from Iceland and South Africa's game reserves -- in virtual reality.

"She was amazed," she said, calling the VR travel experiences "a lifesaver for us."

Strict lockdowns and travel limitations during the pandemic have sparked fresh interest in immersive virtual travel experiences, which have become more accessible and affordable with new apps and VR hardware.

Even those confined to their homes can take a virtual jaunt to Machu Picchu, the rainforests of Borneo or a road trip across the United States in a convertible.

Data on VR travel usage is limited but developers have seen surging interest since the pandemic hit.

"It has been skyrocketing," said Cezara Windrem, creator of the Alcove VR platform at AARP Innovation Labs. "We're getting more adoption every month."

Alcove enables users to visit exotic locales such as Australia's coral reef or the island of Malta, while adding a "shared" experience which enables people to interact and even "lead" a family member without the technical skills to navigate in a VR headset.

"We’ve heard from a lot of people who discovered Alcove and decided buy a headset for their elderly family members," Windrem said. 

This allows for shared travel even during a lockdown and other kinds of experiences such as "playing chess with someone on the other side of the planet."

- Travel substitute, complement -

With the tourism industry largely obliterated by the coronavirus outbreak, virtual reality has emerged as both a substitute for real-world travel and a complement to help people plan their next trip.

App developers have created a range of travel experiences: touring the pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal, the savannahs of Kenya or the Antarctic from a kayak. These come from commercial operators or organizations such as National Geographic or World Wildlife Fund.

Users can opt for hardware from Facebook's Oculus, Sony's PlayStation or the inexpensive Google Cardboard, among others. Some gear costs as little as $300 and many apps are free.

"I have traveled every week since the pandemic, from the comfort of my home," said Rafael Cortes, a San Antonio computer professional who uses Alcove and YouTube VR.

"I've been to London, the glass bridge in China, Angel Falls in Venezuela, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, a helicopter tour of New York."

Amy Erdt lives in Portland, Oregon, but with VR, "I like to walk around my sister’s town in Wallingford, England, occasionally because I can’t be there."

Erdt, who administers a Facebook group of VR users, said there are "some great travel experiences" in virtual reality, which can be remarkably realistic.

"I once sat at VR poker table at 1 am with a guy in Australia who was eating KFC (chicken), she said. "I could hear his KFC crunch. It was a trip."

- Gaming and beyond -

Virtual reality's most popular applications are in gaming and fantasy worlds, but travel is seen as a new growth vector.

"During the pandemic when everyone is socially isolated it may seem strange to isolate yourself further to transport yourself somewhere else but it does allow us to experience things we can’t experience today," said Avi Greengart, analyst with the consultancy Techsponential.

Greengart said VR travel has some advantages but can't be compared with the real thing.

"With VR travel you're not getting the food unique to the area, you're missing a lot of the sensory experiences and serendipitous meetings with locals," he said.

On the other hand, "you can browse a museum and have it all to yourself," which may be impossible in the physical world.

A report by research firm GlobalData shows that virtual and augmented reality had already been gaining momentum from travel operators and tourism boards before the pandemic to enable people to get a taste of a destination before going there.

GlobalData analyst Ralph Hollister said the pandemic may be giving the sector a lift that will endure even after the pandemic.

"Spending considerably more time indoors with an abundance of spare time, combined with an urge to travel, has meant that aspiring travelers have been turning to VR to fill a void that travel restrictions have left," Hollister said.

Hollister said he sees VR becoming an important part of the process of travelers viewing and selecting a travel destination.

"The widespread adoption of VR for this kind of purpose could be the next step for this technology and help it permanently move away from its ‘gimmick’ label,” he said.

Agence France-Presse

Virtual reality makes splash, but not ready for prime time

LAS VEGAS, United States — Virtual reality showed off its spectacular side at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, whisking people onto hockey arenas, baseball fields and even into the internet with animated film trouble-maker “Wreck-it Ralph.”

But even with the impressive visuals, VR appeared to be in the slow lane toward mass adoption, according to analysts and industry attendees at the massive technology trade show.


“VR is not dying or failing; it is continuing to progress well,” said Dan O’Brien, Americas region general manager at Taiwan-based HTC, which makes Vive virtual reality gear.


“We see the gap between how people are using VR and how they use their other computing devices, and we are working really hard to solve for those things so we can really bring it to mass market adoption.”



HTC packed a casino ballroom with virtual reality experiences, some of which showed off eye-tracking capabilities newly built into Vive.

“Home Run Derby” created by US Major League Baseball let people step up to a virtual home plate and hit balls out of a digital park.

Fidelity Investments let people step into financial portfolios, entering a digital world where share prices were all around.

HTC is working with Firefox browser maker Mozilla and Amazon’s cloud services team to enable websites to provide online access using eye-popping virtual reality.

While O’Brien wouldn’t specify figures, he said Vive sales were steadily growing, with interest heating up for business or professional use.


“It’s not mainstream, and it shouldn’t be mainstream this year,” O’Brien said.

Arcades and offices

Companies are finding efficiencies and cost savings in using virtual reality gear for tasks such as training workers or designing products.

A delivery truck driver crash in virtual reality, for example, is harmless compared to what might happen in the real world.

HTC demonstrations included VR software to coach people on public speaking.

“There will be a significant number of people who are introduced to VR in either an arcade or an office,” O’Brien said.

The Void VR system offers arcade-style experiences in several countries, overlaying virtual worlds on real rooms to let people move about as they might if really in the fantasy.

Void experiences in Las Vegas included plays on “Wreck-it Ralph” and “Star Wars” films.

Hurricane 360 VR shown off at CES combined the technology and a multiperson chair manipulated by robotic arms to take people on wild amusement park rides — eliciting exhilarated cries.

Sense Arena set up a VR hockey rink where people tried to send pucks past a virtual goalie.

VR was also being used for medical treatment and diagnostics such as managing pain or diagnosing brain impairments, and to allow senior citizens to “travel” to far-flung destinations.

Feel the VR punch

Startups touted accessories from foot gear for moving through virtual settings to a Teslasuit that let wearers feel what happens in faux environs.

“So, if you are playing ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ and someone punches you in the gut, you are going to feel it in your stomach,” Consumer Technology Association senior director Ben Arnold quipped in reference to Teslasuit.

Most of the VR offerings on the show floor were aimed at gamers, notorious early adopters of tech the provides intense play.

The fact that there was a virtual and augmented realities section on the CES show floor is a promising sign, according to Gartner principal analyst Tuong Nguyen.

“People have been waiting a long time for this,” Nguyen said.

Despite high expectations, more time is needed for VR hardware and software to become untethered, simple, and magically immersive, according to the analyst.

Facebook this year is to release an Oculus Quest VR headset with power to handle the intensive graphics of digital worlds without being plugged into a computer.

VR gear remains pricey, especially considering it is limited mostly to gaming, so is a tough sell for the mass market, according to Nguyen.

And, the analyst noted, graphics lags in VR can make some people nauseous.

Ari Grobman, chief executive of Israeli optics specialty firm Lumus, foresaw the coming of glasses that can overlay digital data on the world around a wearer, but convert as desired for VR experiences.

“Ultimately, you’ll have a hero device that will converge augmented and virtual realities,” Grobman told AFP. /ee

source: technology.inquirer.net

Weather-checking virtual reality app ready for download

AccuWeather is launching a special version of its app exclusively for the Samsung Gear VR.

Called Weather for Life for Samsung Gear VR, rather than simply give users a weather forecast, it puts them in the center of the prevailing meteorological conditions.

However, as well as an immersive take on local precipitation levels, the app will enable users to stand in the middle of tornados and other extreme weather events that have been captured in 360-degree video.

“The app is interactive and easy for users to access immersive 360-degree video content and weather forecasts, all with the Superior Accuracy from AccuWeather they rely on, experiencing weather in revolutionary new ways,” said Steven Smith, president of digital media at AccuWeather.

The new app is available to download from the Oculus store starting Friday and will be compatible with any Samsung Galaxy smartphone or phablet that works with the company’s VR headset. JB

source: technology.inquirer.net