Meta “Pauses” Third-party Headset Program, Effectively Cancelling Horizon OS Headsets from Asus & Lenovo

Meta “Pauses” Third-party Headset Program, Effectively Cancelling Horizon OS Headsets from Asus & Lenovo

Meta has “paused” its initiative to bring third-party Horizon OS headsets to the market. The company says it has shifted focus to “building the world-class first-party hardware and software needed to advance the VR market.” The News A little over a year and a half ago, Meta made an “industry-altering announcement,” as I called the

New Quest Update Brings Big Upgrades to Hand-tracking

New Quest Update Brings Big Upgrades to Hand-tracking

Meta has rolled out a new update to Quest that aims to drastically improve hand-tracking performance and reliability. The News The v83 update, which is rolling out now to Horizon OS, is said to increase reliability of hand-tracking in a number of cases, including during fast movements, when used for locomotion, and throwing virtual objects.

The Seamless Dream: Killing The VR Loading Screen

The Seamless Dream: Killing The VR Loading Screen

In games, nothing breaks player flow like a loading screen, and in virtual reality this problem is amplified tenfold. ‘Presence’ or ‘immersion’, the magical yet fragile feeling of ‘being there’, is what makes VR so special. When a player is suddenly teleported out of a fantastical world and into a cold, black expanse with a

Google is Rolling out Photorealistic ‘Likeness’ Avatars on Android XR to Compete with Apple’s ‘Personas’

Google is Rolling out Photorealistic ‘Likeness’ Avatars on Android XR to Compete with Apple’s ‘Personas’

Google is starting to roll out new photorealistic avatars which they call “Likeness”. Similar to Apple’s Personas, Likeness avatars are generated by scanning a user’s face, then animated it with input from the sensors on a headset. The avatars can be used to represent the user in video call apps, but Google doesn’t yet have

HTC ‘VIVERSE’ Immersive Social Platform Hits 1 Million Monthly-active Users

HTC ‘VIVERSE’ Immersive Social Platform Hits 1 Million Monthly-active Users

HTC announced today that its VIVERSE immersive social platform has reached 1 million monthly-active users, a major milestone. The platform is accessible on flatscreens and VR, so it’s unclear what portion of users are visiting with headsets. The News HTC’s Viverse is a user-generated immersive social platform, quite similar to Meta’s Horizon Worlds. It was launched