Meta reportedly canceled the development of Augments for its AR glasses
The Information reports that Meta has discontinued development of an AR feature called Augments for its upcoming AR glasses. No reasons are given. The publication speculates that Meta is cutting costs and narrowing its priorities in the AR space, especially since Meta's first AR glasses will not launch for at least another three years. However, development of Augments for Quest headsets will continue, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Information also reports that the team working on AR glasses and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses will be merged. Meta is also putting more energy and priority into the development of Ray-Ban glasses, according to two people with direct knowledge.
AR glasses maker Xreal secures $60M and prepares for production ramp-up
AR glasses maker Xreal has secured $60 million in a confidential strategic funding round, bringing its total fundraising to $300 million. The new funds will be used for research, development, and factory expansion to increase production of its AR glasses. Previous investors include Alibaba, Nio Capital, Sequoia, Kuaishou and Gentle Monster. In January, Xreal announced that it had shipped 350,000 pairs of AR glasses and introduced the Xreal Air 2 Ultra as a competitor to the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3. Priced at $699, the Xreal Air 2 Ultra is available for pre-order and will begin shipping in March.
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.
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