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Alright, so here we are at the start of another week. Time for me to spill the beans on what’s hot and happening in the XR world—oh, but wait, there’s this whole non-news thing going around, and I gotta get into it. Lots of folks are bugging me about this Project Moohan. Why no buzz? It’s like Google’s playing it cool, which is odd. Maybe they don’t wanna oversell if the price is gonna be sky-high. Could be a major flop if they hype it up and then, bam, "VR is dead" rumors start flying because nobody’s buying. Just my two cents, though. Let’s watch what shakes out in the coming weeks.
Top Weekly Highlights
Meta’s Smartglasses Success
Diving into Meta’s latest quarter, numbers show Reality Labs is raking in the dough, up 5% from last year. But it’s not the Quest devices doing the magic. Nope, it’s all about the Ray-Ban Meta tech. People are snatching these up like crazy. Meta’s teamed with EssilorLuxottica to churn out more by year’s end. Luxottica’s data backs that up—Ray-Ban Meta sales are triple what they were last year. Artillery Intelligence gives us more: 600K of these glasses flew off the shelves last quarter, more than Quest 3 and 3S combined. Wild times!
Seems like there’s a shakeup in our XR world. I mentioned before, the mixed reality headsets didn’t quite catch on. No killer app in sight, really. Quest folks are mainly grabbing VR games—nothing mixed reality about it. Guess that’s why Meta ditched the previous Quest 4 design. Waiting on those Puffin/Loma lightweight glasses, but hey, 2026 feels like forever, right? Meanwhile, smartglasses are the hot-ticket item—stylish, light, affordable, and a nifty AI interface. Mr. Zuckerberg himself says these could be the key to the metaverse journey (oh boy, the ‘M-word’). Let’s see if glasses truly become the next big thing.
Other Cool Stuff
VR Session Sweet Spot
Big talk this week on how long we should mess around in VR. Meta’s research gives us a “just right” window—20 to 40 minutes. Less than 20? Too much hassle for too little playtime. More than 40? Headset starts to bruise your brain. Believe me, over an hour and my forehead feels like a brick. The gist? Make your VR game in chunks that fit this timeframe. Short levels, missions, whatever makes sense. And don’t confuse this with mobile games—totally different beast.
Brilliant Labs Halo Glasses
Brilliant Labs is at it again with Halo glasses, their latest brainchild. Super light at 40 grams and all-day battery life. Mic and camera baked in, AI assistant Noa on board. What’s wild? Noa remembers everything, like a digital elephant. Bone conduction speakers give you sound without blocking the world—kind of a neat trade-off. They’re open-source, too, stressing privacy—AI ain’t peeping real images, just mathematical voodoo. $299 to preorder them, and yeah, count me in for a test drive.
Tiny Yet Mighty XR Specs
Teaming up with Stanford, Meta’s tinkering with ultra-thin mixed reality glasses. Just 3 millimeters thick, and packed with cool tech like a Spatial Light Modulator. Creates trippy 3D light fields, so it feels like real depth. But don’t start piling up cash—they’re in research baby steps. Years away from store shelves.
More Avatars Fun
Meta’s sprucing up its avatars—now you can tweak hairstyles like crazy, thanks to HairCUP. It’s realistic enough to show off dozens of hairdos, useful for life—and maybe hair salons too. New gear’s rolling out for avatars to rock better customizations. Oh, and AI can dress your avatar if fashion befuddles you.
Alibaba’s Jump Into Smartglasses
Checking in from China: Alibaba’s getting in the smartglass groove. Quark AI Glasses on the horizon, powered by their own language model. Promises include calls, music, translations, and a camera. Details scarce, but expect more as 2025 looms.
VR Soccer Rewind
And hey, there’s this live VR gig—a 3D rendition of the Burnley vs Lazio match on Quest, set for August 9. No video, just data-driven 3D magic. Set that alarm!
TOALL Visual-X
Then there’s TOALL from China, dropping Visual-X glasses resembling a mini Vision Pro. They boast 4.5K resolution and a funky “golden view angle.” Early feedback? Hmm, not great.
DJI’s 360 Move
DJI debuted Osmo 360, a 360° cam entering the ring with Insta360. Pretty beefy with 8K/50fps capability at the same price point ($550). Let’s see how the rival handles this new twist.
Immersive Team Meetups
Finally, Microsoft is making waves with immersive events in Teams. Mesh tech’s finally being shown off, adding a 3D layer to boring ol’ meetings. But let’s be real—meetings will likely suck even in VR.
Content Pairings
Warpfrog teased their next VR game, boxing’s in early access, and CYBRID, a sci-fi shooter, joins Steam. VR life sandbox Little Planet goes free-to-play, and possibly, finally, Star Citizen’s VR mode is testing soon. DISC combines frisbee with air hockey, Besiege VR’s out on Quest, and the ever-late Syberia’s VR version shows a trailer. TMNT fans, watch out for a game trailer soon. And of course, check out Touching the Sky, a wingsuit skydiving 360° treat.
The Run-Down
The Quest Boundary System still has safety issues (yikes!), and runtime v79 brings minor tweaks. Tokyo’s XR Fair is revealing XR’s challenges. Also, early Bigscreen Beyond 2 users report some unreviewed topics.
Partner Punch
Finally, for a murder mystery, AR experience, check out Dunkelstein AR tabletop game! And the FM DUO cam, shooting VR in glorious 12K. Serious tech for serious biz.
Comic Relief
End with some chuckles—life in VRChat’s a trip, kids get rowdy, and we’re all in this together!
Do Some Good
Donate to the Red Cross for Ukraine support. Thanks to my awesome Patreon crew who keep the lights on around here.
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