Zoom announces new immersive meeting app for Apple Vision Pro
Zoom has announced a new app for Apple Vision Pro, set to launch on February 2, 2024. The app will support immersive meeting environments. Features also include spatial representations of users called "Personas" and a "Spatial Zoom experience" for customizable immersive meetings. Additional features expected later this spring include 3D object sharing, team chat integration, and pinning up to five meeting participants in your physical surroundings.
Apple wants to offer more music in Spatial Audio format
Apple Music will reportedly pay artists a 10 percent higher royalty rate for music offered in spatial audio format. The new financial incentives are intended to further accelerate the distribution of spatial music in the Apple Music catalog. This would also benefit Apple Vision Pro users, who would be able to enjoy an audio-visual spatial experience. According to Apple, more than 90 percent of subscribers have already tried Spatial Audio, and the total number of Spatial Audio plays has more than tripled in the last two years.
230 native apps available for Apple Vision Pro at launch, says Gurman
According to Apple expert Mark Gurman, about 230 native visionOS apps are currently ready, including major AR apps from Lowe's and JCrew, as well as the productivity and entertainment apps already announced by Apple. The rest will come from indie studios. The number may increase slightly before the launch of Apple Vision Pro in early February. Major app providers such as Netflix, YouTube and Spotify have already signaled that they will not provide software for Apple Vision Pro. Google and Meta also seem to be avoiding the new platform for now.
Apple Maps: Immersive AR walking directions are about to get more accurate
Apple is collecting data to enhance the accuracy of location services in its Maps app, specifically for AR features. The data collected includes "feature points" of stationary objects like buildings, but does not contain photos or images. Apple uses on-device machine learning to compare these feature points with Apple Maps reference data, thereby improving AR accuracy. The data is encrypted and not linked to individual users or Apple IDs. Users can opt out of this data collection via the "Improve AR Location Accuracy" toggle in the Settings app.
Meta Quest 3: GOLF+ plans to launch a mixed reality mini golf mode
The popular VR golf game GOLF+ is getting a mixed reality mini-golf mode that uses real-world space. There will be a selection of ready-made courses and the ability to create your own. Custom courses can be shared and rated among players, and a local multiplayer is also planned. The new mixed reality mode will be exclusive to Quest 3 and will be part of the main game. The mode is scheduled for release before Christmas. Developer GolfScope Inc. is currently working on a way to automatically generate courses based on physical rooms, but cannot yet confirm whether this feature can be realized.
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