Apple's XR focus, VR meetings vs. Zoom and Google's ChatGPT competition
Our weekly recap: Apple's XR headset seems to be getting closer, while Microsoft's vision of a working Hololens combat goggle is once again further in the future. Google could position a ChatGPT competitor via a Deepmind detour.
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The year of the Apple headset
The unveiling of the Apple headset, supposedly originally planned for January, was postponed on short notice, according to Apple reporter Mark Gurman. He's nevertheless certain: 2023 will be the year of Apple Reality. The XR device is supposed to be Apple's highlight unveiling this year and even tie up capacities from other hardware departments.
Microsoft’s fights with its fighting headset
Hololens remains a challenging product for Microsoft, and that also applies to the military version: U.S. soldiers complain of eye strain and headaches, which is why the congress is canceling a $400 million order. Instead, Microsoft will have to play catch-up and deliver a better version.
The U.S. Army has been fighting with and against Microsoft's IVAS military Hololens since 2019. | Image: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Chandler Coats, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
How do VR meetings compare to Zoom and the like?
Marketing professor and VR researcher Thorsten Hennig-Thurau and his colleagues at the German University of Muenster want to know whether virtual meetings in a 3D environment move participants more emotionally, whether teams are more creative and how well they collaborate. They involved 300 students, 100 of whom met with VR headsets. The result: video conferences are still on par.
Beautiful VR recordings
Thomas Huebner is a passionate VR photographer. He shows shots in a quality that you rarely get to see. You can watch the scenes for free with a Quest 2, Pico or on SteamVR.
The Dresden "Zwinger" in beautiful VR shots. | Image: Thomas Huebner
Google may go through Deepmind to catch up with ChatGPT
ChatGPT from OpenAI is the biggest AI hype of all time – and reportedly makes Google fear for its core business. Deepmind’s Sparrow chatbot could launch into beta this year. Is this Google’s way out of the “Innovator’s Dilemma”?
More AI news at THE DECODER: Everyone's talking about image and language AI, but computer vision could have an even bigger impact on our everyday lives. YOLOv8 shows the enormous capabilities of machine vision.
It's an open secret that OpenAI is working on GPT-4, but until now, there has been little official information. The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, says that GPT-4 only launches when it is safe and responsible to do so.
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