XR weekly round-up: New Meta Quest features, dream launch for high-end VR headset and historic crash in VR
Meta Quest gets new features soon, Bigscreen Beyond 2 launches successfully and the Hindenburg crashes in VR — the XR news of the week.
In our weekly "XR Update" overview, you will always find the most important XR news from the past week with a brief summary. If you are interested in a topic, click on the link to the full article in the relevant paragraph. As usual, we provide you with background information and opinions in addition to the facts.
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Content
MIXED Previews & Reviews
Meta Quest: Fly through Google Earth landscapes with a paraglider
The VR flight simulation Glider Sim combines paragliding with Google Earth to create a truly sublime VR experience. With the Earth Online Plus subscription, you can take off from anywhere in the world and explore the landscape from a bird's eye view.
MIXED Columns & Comments
Meta Quest, SteamVR & Co: What does the perfect XR ecosystem look like?
The battle for supremacy among XR platforms is increasingly becoming a battle for the ecosystem. MIXED guest author Jamie Feltham presents his vision of a perfect XR ecosystem, building on the experiences of the last decade and encouraging developers to deepen their social integration.
XR Hardware: News on VR, AR and Mixed Reality headsets
Meta Quest: Update 76 could bring these new features
The beta version of Update 76 gives an indication of the new features that could roll out with the next update. These include a selfie camera for avatars in video calls, an upgrade to Android 14 for lower Bluetooth audio latency and a completely new UI in Update 77 or higher.
Meta Quest: The new Boundary makes life so much easier
Meta has simplified the Boundary system with an update, making daily VR use much more convenient. The improved boundary automatically creates a sufficiently large stationary boundary and gently fades in the surroundings via passthrough when leaving it.
Pico gets OS features that Meta Quest can only dream of
With Pico 4 Ultra, you can now turn 2D photos into 3D photos and create performance profiles for individual apps à la Quest Games Optimizer. The Pico OS update 5.13.0.U brings a host of new features and improvements that might make some Quest fans jealous.
The Apple Vision Pro clones are coming!
The design of the Apple Vision Pro is shaping the VR industry. This can be seen in competing products such as Vivo Vision, Samsung's Project Moohan and the Play for Dream MR, which are shamelessly copying it.
XR Market and Business News
Bigscreen Beyond 2: mini VR headset gets off to a strong start
Bigscreen Beyond 2 has been well received by PC VR enthusiasts and is selling significantly faster than the original. In the first 24 hours, the headset sold ten times as many units as its predecessor when it was launched two years ago.
Report: Samsung will launch smart glasses on the market in 2025
According to a report by the South Korean news portal ETNews, Samsung is working on a lighter and slimmer smart glasses product, codenamed Haean, which is set to be launched this year. Like the headset, the smart glasses are likely to be based on Android XR.
VR games and XR apps: All the latest News
Star Wars: Beyond Victory announced for Meta Quest 3 and 3S
With Star Wars: Beyond Victory, ILM Immersive is bringing an MR experience to Meta Quest that puts you in the role of a podracer. The studio specializing in VR promises completely new ways to tell Star Wars stories.
AI magic: Meta generates 3D VR environments from individual images
An AI model from Meta generates lifelike 3D environments for VR headsets from a single image. A research team from Meta Reality Labs in Zurich shows impressive examples of how detailed VR worlds can be generated from photos or text descriptions.
Meta Quest: German studio brings Worms charm to mixed reality
Table Troopers is a multiplayer title for Meta Quest that brings the familiar Worms gaming experience into your living room. The combat takes place on a circular, rotating battlefield around which players gather.
New VR experience: Explore the Hindenburg and experience its crash
On April 1, you can board a historical replica of the Hindenburg and relive its final, fateful voyage in VR. The DLC "LZ 129 Hindenburg" for the virtual time travel platform TimeLab puts you inside the zeppelin during its Atlantic crossing.
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