Meta Quest & VR news
Updated hourlyHand-picked headlines from the VR press: UploadVR, Road to VR, The Ghost Howls and the official Meta Quest Blog. Every story links straight to the original publisher.
EU Moves to Exempt Smart Glasses from Repairability Rules, Privacy Questions Remain
Although smart phones will soon require user-removable batteries in the EU, the European Commission is moving to exempt wearables, which includes smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart glasses. As reported by Politico, a so-called “legislative tweak” has cleared the way for…
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‘GOLF+’ Kicks Off Open Tournament This Week with VIP St. Andrews Trip Prize
Golf fans with a Quest headset will be able to compete for a pretty temping grand prize starting July 16th in GOLF+’s next big VR Open. Golf+ announced it’s partnered with The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) to bring an official VR Open experience, which is set to…
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Anduril Founder Quietly Teases Remarkably Compact AR Glasses
Palmer Luckey, the founder of military tech startup Anduril (also the founder of Oculus), quietly teased a pair of unannounced AR glasses that are presumably in development at Anduril. Despite their incredibly compact appearance, Luckey says they are not merely smart glasses…
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Lenovo Reportedly Shutters US-based XR Business Unit Amid Shift to AI Wearables
Lenovo has reportedly closed its XR business unit in the US, according to a report by Skarred Ghost. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report maintains Lenovo has shuttered its business-oriented XR unit in the US. As per the report, most of the affected employees were…
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‘Ghosts of Tabor’ Returns to Its Roots in 2024-era ‘Legacy’ Edition This Month
Combat Waffle announced it’s taking popular extraction shooter Ghosts of Tabor back to its 2024 roots with a separate version of the game, called Ghosts of Tabor: LEGACY. Ghosts of Tabor: Legacy is essentially set to be the 2024 version of the game, before the studio pushed a…
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Apple Publishes Detailed Technical Specifications for Third-party Vision Pro Motion Controllers
Following Apple’s announcement that VisionOS 27 will support third-party motion controllers for Vision Pro, the company has published a set of technical specifications and requirements for third-parties building such controllers. Published in the latest version of Apple’s…
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Steam Frame Launch Nears as Valve Releases ‘Great on Frame’ Store Page
Valve hasn’t mentioned the price or release date for its long-awaited Steam Frame standalone headset, although we seem to be getting suspiciously close. As spotted by hardware analyst Brady Lynch, Valve just published a new store landing page for Steam Frame content, which is…
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XREAL’s First Budget AR Glasses Go on Sale Internationally, Priced at $300
AR glasses maker XREAL today announced its ‘X by Xreal’ sub-brand (xbx) is officially bringing its first pair of budget XR glasses outside of China. Xreal today released its xbx a01+ in the US for $300, available across xreal.com, Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and Micro Center. You’ll…
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Former Oculus CTO John Carmack Puts up $1M for Official VR Ports of Id Software Titles
John Carmack, former Oculus CTO and co-founder of id Software, announced he’s still willing to put up $1 million of his personal money to help make VR versions of Id’s most famous retro titles-especially now that Microsoft has laid off a bulk of the studio’s employees. Having…
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‘Tomb Raider’ VR Reportedly Cancelled According to Leaked Images & Video
As reported by MP1st, a sizable leak from Vertigo Games reveals its now-defunct Amsterdam satellite studio was working on an official Tomb Raider VR title before the project was cancelled earlier this year. Vertigo Games Amsterdam was working on the unannounced Tomb Raider VR…
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‘Pistol Whip’ Studio Reportedly Developing “impossible to ignore” Multiplayer VR Game
Veteran VR studio Cloudhead Games, developer behind hit rhythm shooter Pistol Whip (2019), is ostensibly deep in development of their next title, which according to a recent job listing could be a multiplayer VR game that may also have a flatscreen mode. The studio’s listing for…
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Meta Closes Smart Glasses Privacy Loophole With New Camera-Killing Update
Meta is rolling out an update to its line of smart glasses that will disable the camera if the device’s capture LED has been tampered with or destroyed. Since the rollout of Meta’s second-gen Ray-Ban Glasses in 2024, physically covering the white capture LED on any of the…
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VR Design Unpacked: Why ‘Embodiment’ is More Important Than ‘Immersion’
Our series Inside XR Design examines specific examples of great XR design. Today we’re looking at the game Synapse and exploring the concept of embodiment and what makes it important to VR games. Editor’s Note: Synapse was released three years ago this week, but its insights are…
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HTC’s Revenue Stabilizes as XR Pioneer Pins Hopes on AI, Smart Glasses and Enterprise
HTC has been attempting a second act as an XR and AI hardware company for a few years now with mixed results. And while the once-dominant smartphone company is still the midst of a protracted revenue decline, HTC seems to have stabilized. As reported by Taiwan’s Financial…
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Smart Contact Lenses Move Closer to Reality as XPANCEO Expands JBD Display Partnership
Dubai-based smart contact lenses startup XPANCEO announced it’s expanding a partnership with China’s JBD to co-develop a new micro-display designed specifically for smart contact lenses. Previously, the companies co-developed a printed circuit board with integrated…
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Smart Glasses Startup Even Realities Secures Unicorn Status with $150M Funding Round
Even Realities, the China-based smart glasses company, has officially secured unicorn status with its most recent Pre-B financing round, bringing the company $150 million and a $1 billion valuation. The round, which was led by Meituan and Tencent, is said to be primarily…
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Veteran VR Shooter ‘Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades’ Finally Leaves Early Access
VR shooting simulator Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades (H3VR) launched its 1.0 release over the weekend, exiting early access after more than a decade on Steam. Veteran VR studio Rust Ltd has finally brought H3VR out of early access on July 4th-a fitting release date for the…
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