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Sony’s Standalone MR Headset Now Called ‘XYN’, Release Date & Pricing Still to Be Revealed

January 7, 2025 From roadtovr

Sony announced its previously revealed XR standalone for enterprise is now called ‘XYN’, which the company is targeting at spatial content creators.

Initially unveiled at CES last year, XYN (pronounced ‘zin’) packs in some impressive displays, offering 13.6MP (3,552 × 3840) per-eye using Sony’s own ECX344A OLED microdisplay.

The display is capable of 90 FPS and 1,000 nits (at 20% duty cycle), with 96% DCI-P3 color coverage, putting it above Apple Vision Pro in terms of resolution and color accuracy.

We got an opportunity to go hands-on with the pre-XYN prototype in July, back when it was still being referred to as the Sony SRH-S1 “content creation system.”

Here’s the short of it: on one hand, the headset’s ergonomics, flip-up design, and display clarity were all great. On the other, the system’s stylus-ring controller combo was very poorly tracked during our demo, and the content shown wasn’t well optimized for its internal Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset.

Beyond that, information is still thin on the ground. XYN’s price and release date are still uncertain, which is a baffling move as far as product announcements go.

What is known however is that its XYN Motion Studio PC companion software is coming out in March 2025, which supports connection with 12 ‘mocopi’ sensors for more seamless motion capture workflow.

mocopi senesors | Image courtesy Sony

Additionally, Sony is also launching what it calls its XYN Spatial capture solution, which converts images captured with a mirrorless camera and proprietary algorithms into high-quality, photorealistic 3D CG assets.

Notably, the headset itself is said to support “a wide range of third-party tools,” according to XYN’s press release.

That said, you probably shouldn’t expect XYN to compete with Quest on the lower end in terms of price-performance, as Sony’s standalone is targeting businesses and professional users. Notably, two color ways have been seen on the showroom floor at CES 2025 this week, with a black colorway for prosumers and a grey scheme for enterprise.

Filed Under: News, XR Industry News

Somnium Begins Shipping VR1 PC VR Headset in the US, Announces Incoming Price Hike

January 6, 2025 From roadtovr

Somnium Space, the Prague, Czechia-based social platform creator, has officially begun launching its PC VR headset, Somnium VR1, in the US. Additionally, the company announced its streamlining the number of available variants, bringing it to just three consumer-focused versions, and also increasing prices soon on its higher-end units.

The company says it’s now discontinuing a number of previously offered configurations of Somnium VR1, including Striker Edition, Classic Edition, Specter Edition, and Translucent Edition.

The Classic Edition was previously its entry level, priced at €1,900 (~$1,980 USD), which didn’t include eye-tracking. Now the company’s cheapest VR1 is the Visionary Edition, which does include eye-tracking, and is priced at €2,499 (~$2,600 USD). Notably, these prices don’t include local tax.

Image courtesy Somnium Space

“For those who have already purchased these discontinued editions — don’t worry, your orders are safe, and you will receive them as planned,” the company says in a new announcement. “In fact, owning one of these variants will make your headset even more exclusive and unique.”

Continuing, the company outlines the reasoning behind discontinuing those versions:

“This decision allows us to focus our efforts on delivering the Visionary, Ultimate, and Titan Editions faster and more efficiently, while continuing to meet the highest standards of quality you expect from us.”

Somnium Space Founder & CEO Artur Sychov conducting quality assurance

Somnium Space is also increasing prices of its Visionary, Ultimate, and Titan Editions. For now, it’s unclear what those new prices will be. The company says it’s keeping current prices until January 16th, 2025. Thereafter, new pricing will be announced and become effective on January 16th, 2025, the company says.

Here’s a recap of its variants and pricing structure as it stands today (tax not included):

  • Visionary Edition (VR, eye-tracking): €2,499 (~$2,600 USD)
  • Titan Edition (VR, eye-tracking, hand-tracking): €2,899 (~$3,020 USD)
  • Ultimate Edition (VR, eye-tracking, hand-tracking, MR passthrough): €3,499 (~$3,659 USD)
  • Military Edition (VR, eye-tracking, hand-tracking, MR passthrough): ???

“While we strive to make Somnium VR1 as affordable as possible, we also refuse to compromise on quality. The production process for these headsets has turned out to be far more complex than initially anticipated. As a result, we will be increasing prices for the Visionary, Ultimate, and Titan Editions,” the company says.

Somnium Space maintains orders made today are currently estimated to arrive in February – March 2025, with shipping regions including most of Europe, the UK and US.

Moving forward into 2025, the Somnium Space says it plans to eventually sell spare parts for the Somnium VR1, including items such as optical modules, main boards, electronics, cables, screens, and more.

Somnium VR1 Specs

  • Display: QLED Mini-Led Fast LCD – 2,880 × 2,880 per-eye
  • Field of view: 130° horizontal, 105° vertical. The VR1 can render up to 140° horizontally, though the actual FOV may vary slightly depending on face and eye shape.
  • Refresh rate: 72 Hz, 90 Hz, upgradeable to 120 and 144 Hz (experimental)
  • Local dimming zones: 576 per eye
  • Eye tracking: 120 Hz, with an open-sourced algorithm that can be used and modified for any use case
  • Connectivity: USB-C, DisplayPort 1.4, 3.5mm audio jack
  • IPD Range: 57 to 76 mm

Looking for a more in-depth look at Somnium VR1? Check out our hands-on from July 2024 to hear our impressions.

Filed Under: News, PC VR News & Reviews

Meta Officially Discontinues Quest Pro, Its First (and most expensive) Mixed Reality Headset

January 6, 2025 From roadtovr

Meta has officially discontinued Quest Pro, the company’s first mixed reality headset.

Meta announced back in September that it was winding down Quest 2 and Quest Pro sales. At the time, the company said remaining stock would be sold through the end of the year or until they ran out, whichever came first.

Now, in place of the Quest Pro order page, Meta is suggesting users to buy Quest 3 “for the ultimate mixed reality experience and premium comfort.” You can still buy Quest Pro’s ‘Touch Pro’ controllers however, as they support Quest 2 and above.

Released in 2022 at the eye-water price of $1,500, Meta hoped to use the headset to kickstart its mixed reality ambitions among consumers, as it was the first to offer color-passthrough, pancake lenses, and both face and eye-tracking—coming in strong contrast to the company’s other offering at the time, Quest 2.

Quest 2 (left) & Quest Pro (right) | Photo by Road to VR

Nearly a year after launch, it was apparent the Pro-level headset wasn’t appealing to users nearly to the degree Meta had initially hoped, prompting the company to knock Quest Pro down to $1,000. To complicate matters, high initial pricing of Quest Pro put a strain on developers, which resulted in very few compelling MR experiences out of the gate.

It was clear what was needed was a more accessible headset. In October 2023, Meta released Quest 3, which housed much of the tech seen in Quest Pro—minus face and eye-tracking, and at the starting price of $499.

Clamping down yet further on price-performance, Meta released Quest 3S a year later, which houses the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset as Quest 3, although including the same cost-saving Fresnel lenses and displays as Quest 2—marking the company’s most energetic push to capitalize on its mixed reality ambitions.

While Meta’s strategy to capture the console price-point with Quest has been a winning strategy thus far, what’s uncertain is whether the company will head back into the ‘Pro’ pricing structure anytime soon. The Information reported earlier last year that Meta was cancelling a potential Quest Pro follow-up, however Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth partically refuted those claims, noting that “there might be a Quest Pro 2, there might not be. I’m not really telling you, but I will say don’t believe everything you read about what’s been stopped or started.”

Filed Under: Meta Quest 3 News & Reviews, News

Pimax Reveals Dream Air Prototypes and Answers Key Questions

December 30, 2024 From roadtovr

With the reveal of Pimax’s upcoming Dream Air headset, the VR community at large had plenty of questions. We put those questions straight to the company, and also got a glimpse of early prototypes, a full list of specs, and an update on unreleased products.

Pimax is, at this point, a seasoned maker of VR headsets. But the company has faced recurring criticism regarding product polish, strategic focus, missed release dates, and announcing new products before fulfilling older promises.

The company’s latest product announcement, the compact Dream Air headset, naturally resurfaced these complaints, with many people asking how Pimax would do better this time around. So we sent many of the most commonly asked questions direct to the company. Here’s what we got back, including photos of Dream Air prototypes, a full list of specs, and an update on previously announced (but still unreleased) products.

Q: How confident is Pimax that Dream Air will be completed and ship in meaningful quantities by May 2025?

A: Internally, we’ve been developing the Crystal Super micro-OLED and Dream Air for over a year now (internally, they’re largely the same headset). We have a fully working optical engine, and think the remaining time to May is enough to get the rest done, similar to the timeframe of the Crystal Super’s development of the past year.

The Dream Air utilizes the same optical engine solution as the Crystal Super, along with its underlying technologies, but in a new form-factor design. You can read here more about how the Dream Air and the Crystal Super micro-OLED have the same technical components.

The main challenge is the supply of micro-OLED panels, and perhaps the ringless controllers. (We currently think that the first batches of the headset may ship with ringed controllers as on the Crystal/Light/Super, which we can exchange for ringless controllers later).

We’re confident of shipping around 200 to 300 headsets in May. This is also why we had to announce the headset now. (Several reasons addressed below.)

Q: Why was the headset announced so soon after Super? And why already open up pre-orders?

A: Several reasons. We announced the Dream Air now because we don’t want to announce this after the Super starts shipping, and then have users feel they would have ordered this one if they knew. We already see this remark now in our Discord, but actually—customers can still change their pre-order from the Super to the Dream Air if they wish.

Another reason is the scarcity of micro-OLED panels. Currently in the market of micro-OLED panels, demand firmly outnumbers supply, so the delivery times for when we place an order is long, several months. We open up pre-orders to get a better idea of how many headsets our users want, and also to place the order for the panels for the Dream Air to be shipped in May. This order needs to be placed before or in early January, as suppliers also take holidays during Chinese New Year.

The long wait time for micro-OLED panels isn’t unique to Pimax. We also see similar products from competitors with the same issue, and therefore they don’t offer refundable pre-orders.

That said, our pre-orders are refundable before shipping (and users also have a trade-in window once the headset arrives), and we have added a $1 reservation option.

Q: What do you say to people who think Pimax should focus on fewer products?

A: We have the strong ambition to be a multi-SKU company, as VR headsets are also quickly diversifying. Our focus is always on providing the ultimate experience, and for different use cases we’ll have the Crystal line, as well as the new Dream line.

That said, all our headsets share a lot of the same core technology, from software to hardware. All headsets are focussed firmly on PCVR. We have learned from the past (e.g. Portal, which wasn’t PCVR.)

Pimax has a 9 years history of making VR headsets, we own two R&D offices and are opening our second assembly line to support this multi-SKU strategy.

To provide multi-SKU using shared technology allows us to pour more resources into developing technology that benefits all headsets. It also prevents us from having just one huge sales peak in the year, and it spreads out orders across a whole year more evenly, which makes supply and production resources easier to manage (we own our own factory with our own staff). Peaks are generally really bad for efficiency.

Q: Any more headsets coming from Pimax?

A: We’ll update some old models, but there are no more headsets coming that are more advanced in specs than the Dream Air and Crystal Super, except for the 12K.

Q: How far along is the design of the Dream Air? Were the renders shown in the announcement just a mockup or a fully realized design? Is there a functional prototype yet?

A: The internals of the headset are fully designed, and we’re testing with a fully working optical engine, and software wise, everything is shared with the Crystal Super, including SLAM tracking of the headset and the controllers, eye-tracking, hand-tracking, and all settings in Pimax Play.

On the exterior: We are currently testing and developing this in the Crystal Super housing (micro-OLED optical engine), while we’re developing the Dream Air’s exterior housing.

Here is a look at two prototypes made during development.

Newer:

Image courtesy Pimax

Older:

Image courtesy Pimax

Update (December 31st, 2024): A prior version of this article mixed up the ‘older’ and ‘newer’ labels on the above prototype images, this has been fixed.

Q: Will Cobb [the standalone module for Dream Air] ship in 2025?

A: We have no exact ETA on Cobb yet. Cobb is an add-on for the Dream Air and we still want to add some features that we did not communicate in our Frontier announcement.

Q: What safety mechanisms are in place to ensure the auto-tightening headstrap can’t be dangerous if it malfunctions?

A: The main thing is that it’s strong enough to hold the lightweight headset, but not strong enough to hurt anyone. The internal straps are made of elastic rubber. (Also this is not new technology, the same is used in self-lacing shoes such as the Nike Auto Adapt.)

Q: Can the head straps be replaced, and how?

A: Yes, the head strap can be taken off at the stems

Q: Would we be able to see this running HorizonOS or AndroidXR in the future?

There are no plans for this. Internally it’s exactly the same headset as the micro-OLED optical engine of the Crystal Super, and so it runs with Pimax Play as a PC VR headset (also with OpenXR/OpenVR runtime and with SteamVR)

Pimax also shared a detailed list of specifications for the headset:

Pimax Dream Air Specs

Visuals
Display 2 × micro-OLED
100% DCI-P3 colors
Resolution per-eye 13MP (3,840 × 3,552)
Pixels per-degree unknown
Max refresh rate 90Hz
Optics Pancake
Field-of-view 102°H
Pass-through view Black & white
Optical adjustments Continous IPD (automatic)
Prescription lenses (optional)
IPD adjustment range 58–72mm
Input & Output
Connectors DP 1.4 (PC) to USB-C (headset)
1 × USB-C accessory port
Input Dream Air controllers (rechargable battery)
Hand-tracking
Audio In-headstrap speakers
Microphone Dual-microphone
Weight 200g
Sensing
Headset-tracking Inside-out (no external beacons)
SteamVR Tracking (external beacons) [optional]
Controller-tracking Headset-tracked (headset line-of-sight needed)
Eye-tracking Yes
Expression-tracking No
On-board cameras 4 × tracking
2 × passthrough
Depth-sensor No
Price
MSRP $1,900

Pimax Product Shipping Update

Q: Can you provide the latest estimated shipping time for all unreleased Pimax products?

A: The Crystal Super is ready to be demoed at CES 2025, especially the QLED 57 PPD optical engine which is shipping at the end of January. The 50 PPD optical engine and micro-OLED optical engine are also nearing ready, and shipping March and April respectively.

The non-local dimming version of the Crystal Light is coming out around June 2025, pushing down that price even further down.

The 60G Airlink for the original Crystal is also being demoed at CES2025, and has its external beta test starting almost any moment now. This is shipping in April 2025.

For the 12K, we cannot give an exact ETA now. When we announced it, we had solutions for each of the key technical challenges. Unfortunately, some of those solutions did not meet our quality requirements. Some just didn’t work out well, like a dual DP 1.4 solution, as well as a panel solution we can’t share more about.


More questions for Pimax? Drop them in the comments below.

Filed Under: PC VR News & Reviews, XR Industry News

Meta Offers Free Quest 3S Replacement Following Software Update That Bricked Some Headsets

December 30, 2024 From roadtovr

One of the worst things to happen on Christmas morning is downloading updates and charging batteries. Undoubtedly even worse though is downloading an update that then bricks your device before you can even use it. This apparently happened to a number of users last week, which Meta has responded by offering new devices and Horizon Store credit.

According to mass user reports that flooded Reddit on December 25th, some new Quest owners encountered a critical error after being forced to apply the latest update, with an error message stating “Your device is corrupt. It can’t be trusted.” From there, there was no way of resetting the headset, effectively bricking the device.

The issue appears to have been caused by applying Quest’s latest v72 update, which the company released earlier this month. User reports indicate it has affected new, but alsoold headsets that haven’t been updated in a while.

Here’s what Meta says in a user help thread addressing the issue:

“We’ve discovered a software update issue that caused some Quest 2/3/3S headsets to be unresponsive and unable to start up correctly. We are actively working on resolving the issue for all users, but in most cases, you are now able to use your device normally.”

Quest 3S (left), Quest 3 (right) | Images courtesy Meta

User reports suggested only a fraction of new headsets responded this way, although following a pause by Meta to pull its latest firmware update, new users are now likely in the clear if they still haven’t set up a new Quest. And for those with bricked headsets, Meta is sending out replacement units with some Horizon Store credit to smooth things over.

“We are aware that a limited number of Quest 3S devices are experiencing a software update issue that is causing headsets to be unresponsive and unable to boot up properly,” the company says in a ‘Next Steps’ thread for Quest 3S users. “If your device is affected by the issue, we’ll send you a replacement Quest device at no cost to you. We’ll also issue you Horizon Store credit as a token of our commitment to supporting you.”

While Meta was quick to respond, the damage was already done, prompting some to return faulty headsets to stores and hope their next device wasn’t afflicted with the same issue. Some users, such as Reddit poster ‘Physical-Slip5049’, says it ruined their son’s Christmas.

“I bought a never before used second hand Quest 2 from eBay as a Christmas present for my 9 year old son. He opened it Christmas morning, started it, and was forced to update it,” Physical-Slip5049 reports. “Having never used a VR headset before, I tried to reset it after following Meta’s own instructions. Now it’s hard-bricked. It’s been turned on for just 5 minutes in its entire 2-year life. My son spent 3 months waiting to play this but couldn’t use it when it came to the big day. He spent half of Christmas day crying and upset.”

Additionally, users are reporting that Meta is offering those with out-of-warranty headsets, such as Quest 2, with refurbished units to go along with store credit.


We’re following the after effects of this closely. Let us know in the comments below if you’ve been affected, and what steps Meta is taking to solve the issue. 

Filed Under: Meta Quest 3 News & Reviews, News

Pimax Announces Dream Air, a Compact VR Headset With One Totally Unique Feature

December 23, 2024 From roadtovr

The Pimax Dream Air headset represents a new area of focus for the company. While most of its headsets up to this point have been necessarily bulky to achieve their signature large field-of-view, the Dream Air aims to make a headset that’s compact but still feature-rich. One of those features—a headstrap that automatically tightens—would be an industry first.

Priced at $1,900 and purportedly shipping in May 2025, Pimax’s Dream Air headset aims to take on an emerging segment of compact high-end PC VR headsets like Bigscreen Beyond and the Shiftall MaganeX Superlight.

Image courtesy Pimax

But it wouldn’t be Pimax if it didn’t make additional ambitious promises which risk pulling the company’s attention away from delivering its products on time and as promised. For the Dream Air, that additional promise is an optional compute puck which the headset can plug into to become a standalone VR headset. The company is calling the puck ‘Cobb’, and says it will include a Snapdragon XR2 chip and battery. Oh, and don’t forget the optional SteamVR Tracking faceplate.

Speaking of pulling the company’s attention… the announcement of the Dream Air continues Pimax’s trend of revealing new products before delivering on those it has previously announced. The company’s Crystal Super headset was announced back in April 2024 and originally planned for a Q4 2024 release, but is now said to be releasing sometime in Q1 2025.

As for the Dream Air, it will purportedly be compact and also full of a wishlist of specs and features:

  • Weight of 200g
  • Resolution: 13MP (3,840 × 3,552) micro-OLED per-eye @ 90Hz and “HDR”
  • 102° field-of-view
  • Inside-out tracking
  • Motion controllers & hand-tracking
  • On-board audio
  • Optional prescription lenses
  • Eye-tracking
  • Automatic IPD and automatic strap tightening

That last one—automatic strap tightening—is a feature that hasn’t been included in any major headset to date. It’s an interesting idea considering the challenge of fitting a headset comfortably; many users want to crank their headset tight to their face so it won’t move, but the most comfortable way to use a headset is to balance tightness with stability.

The design of the auto-tightening strap also looks carefully considered. While we’ve only seen renders so far, it appears the tightening mechanism is hidden under fabric, making the tightening of the headstrap looks like it’s simply shrinking in place.

If the headset could effectively dial in the ideal tightness, it would be a boon for many users. Dream Air also has automatic IPD adjustment, which sets the distance between the lenses to match the user’s eye width (something most people also aren’t good at doing manually).

While it remains to be seen if Pimax can deliver something as svelte as promised, for now it looks like the company is flexing an industrial design muscle that’s been largely hidden by the utilitarian and boxy style of its previous headsets.

Image courtesy Pimax

However, Pimax isn’t giving up those boxy designs of yore. The company says that a compact headset is a new area of focus for the company, but it will continue developing its larger and wider field-of-view headsets.

Pimax is already taking pre-orders for the Dream Air, with a price of $1,900 and an expected release date of May 2025.

Filed Under: News, XR Industry News

Meta CTO on Wireless Compute Pucks for Quest: They Don’t Solve the Problem

December 20, 2024 From roadtovr

Reducing weight and increasing performance are two of the most important factors in pushing standalone XR headsets forward. While Meta has shown off its own Orion AR glasses prototype using a wireless compute unit, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth doesn’t think a similar setup is the magic bullet for standalone VR gaming.

Bosworth, who is also head of the company’s Reality Labs XR team, held another one of his Instagram Q&As earlier this week, where he typically delves into a wide variety of topics—some professional, some personal.

In the latest session, Bosworth expounded on the subject of wireless compute units, and how the company thinks they aren’t the right fit for its standalone VR headsets.

Meta Quest 3S | Image courtesy Meta

“We have looked at this a bunch of times. Wireless compute pucks just really don’t solve the problem. If you’re wireless, they still have a battery on the headset, which is a major driver of weight. And, sure, you’re gaining some thermal space so your performance could potentially be better, although you’re somewhat limited now by bandwidth because you’re using a radio,” Bosworth says.

Technical hurdles aside, Meta is primarily focused on building something accessible to consumers, with its latest Quest 3S selling for as low as $300 for the 128GB version. Bosworth continues:

“You’ve increased your cost dramatically, because even if your major silicon is in the wireless compute puck, you still need quite a bit of silicon to just power the displays and do the local corrections required there, and handle the stream of data. So it really ends up … the math doesn’t work, is what I’m saying. And it doesn’t end up saving you that much weight and dramatically increases your cost and complexity.”

Meta’s Orion AR Glasses Prototype | Image courtesy Meta

This comes in contrast to Meta’s Orion prototype, which does incorporate a wireless compute unit. Granted, Orion isn’t going to be productized due to its enormous cost—a reported $10,000 per-unit owing to its difficult-to-produce silicon carbide lenses, however it’s clear that in some cases wireless pucks do make sense—namely in delivering less immersive graphics to AR glasses.

Then again, Bosworth has said its first pair of AR glasses for consumers won’t hit at that Quest price-point when they land at some point in the future. Bosworth said back in September that such a device is “not going to be cheap,” noting however the company aims to make them accessible “at least in the space of phone, laptop territory.”

Filed Under: Meta Quest 3 News & Reviews, News

Google & Pico Adoption Further Cements OpenXR as Industry Standard, With One Major Holdout

December 18, 2024 From roadtovr

OpenXR is an open standard made to improve compatibility between XR software and XR headsets. Google—one of the biggest tech companies in the world—is adopting the standard right out of the gate, joining other major firms like Meta and Microsoft. Other players (like ByteDance recently) also support the standard, cementing it as not just an open standard, but an industry standard. And while the vast majority of major XR companies now support OpenXR, a major holdout remains.

Initially announced in 2017, OpenXR is an open standard that makes it easier for developers to build XR applications that can run on a wide range of XR headsets with little to no modifications. While major players in the space like Meta, Microsoft, Valve, HTC, and plenty more all support OpenXR, the industry’s big holdout is—can you guess? Apple.

Apple is somewhat notorious for rejecting industry standards and forging its own path; sometimes the company sticks to its own proprietary formats and other times ends up adopting the industry standard in the end.

Vision Pro not only doesn’t support OpenXR, but it doesn’t have built-in support for motion-tracked controllers (which most existing XR content requires). If Vision Pro supported OpenXR, it would be significantly less work for developers to bring their XR apps to the headset (though the lack of controllers still poses a major hurdle).

As ever, Apple is the odd one out.

Meanwhile, Google wasted no time confirming its newly announced Android XR platform will support OpenXR, making it easier for developers to port content that was built XR apps for headsets like Quest.

Google says Android XR is already compatible with OpenXR 1.1, and the company has built out some of its own ‘vendor extensions’ which are new capabilities that extend what OpenXR can do on specific devices. Vendor extensions sometimes go on to become part of future versions of OpenXR.

Last month Pico (ByteDance’s XR division) also announced that its runtime is now compliant with the OpenXR 1.1 standard on Pico 4 Ultra, with plans to bring support to Pico 4 and Neo 3 by mid-2025.

Pico also has its own ideas about where the standard should go in the future. The company recently presented a framework for standardizing the way that XR applications can run simultaneously so users can run multiple XR applications in a shared space. Pico says it’s advocating for this approach to the OpenXR working group, and industry body which guides the evolution of the standard.

With the addition of support from both Google and Pico, OpenXR has truly achieved industry standard status, even if the odds of Apple ever adopting it remain slim.

Filed Under: News, XR Industry News

Lynx Confirms Android XR For Next Headset, Sony & XREAL Also On-board for Google’s OS

December 17, 2024 From roadtovr

Although Android XR isn’t properly open-source for the time being, Google hopes the OS will run on multiple partner headsets. While Samsung is said to be the first to launch an Android XR headset, Sony, Lynx, and XREAL are also planning to use the operating system.

Meta announced earlier this year that it intends to open its Quest’s Horizon OS operating system to third-parties, but now Android XR presents another choice for headset makers.

According to Google, Sony, Lynx, and XREAL are on board with Android XR.

Sony SRH-S1 MR headset | Image courtesy Sony

For Sony’s part, its SRH-S1 enterprise-focused MR headset is very likely the first target for Android XR. When we went hands-on with the headset earlier this year, the company was tight-lipped about whether it was building its own platform and where users could source content from. Android XR makes a lot more sense for the company than trying to build out its own XR OS and platform.

As for Sony’s current and future PSVR headsets, we expect they’ll continue to be tied directly to the PlayStation OS rather than switch to Android XR.

Lynx R-1 MR headset | Image courtesy Lynx

Lynx R-1 is a long-in-development MR headset that has struggled to make it fully to market. Part of that struggle, naturally, is building out a software stack that does everything an XR headset needs to do.

Lynx founder Stan Larroque tells Road to VR the R-1 won’t adopt Android XR, but future headsets from the company will. Making this move could well put the company in a better position for the future, by reducing software development costs and giving its headsets access to a larger ecosystem of apps and content.

XREAL Air 2 Ultra AR Glasses | Image courtesy XREAL

As for XREAL—a company building AR glasses primarily made to provide a large floating screen that projects content from other devices—it’s not clear yet exactly how they will use Android XR. But a good bet is that it will be the basis for future devices from the company.

While both Meta and Google are open to allowing their XR OS to work on third-party headsets, they’re still the gatekeepers. Neither Horizon OS nor Android XR are actually ‘open’ at this point. Only hand-picked partners can build on either OS.

But now that both operating systems are in play, there’s increased pressure for both to strive to be the ‘more open’ of the two. That pressure could quickly lead one or both companies to make their XR OS properly open for anyone to use.

Filed Under: XR Industry News

Blackmagic’s New 8K Camera for Apple Immersive Video is Pre-ordering Now for $30,000

December 16, 2024 From roadtovr

Blackmagic Design has revealed full specs and details for its new URSA Cine Immersive camera, specially designed to shoot 8K VR180 footage for the Apple Immersive Video format. Pre-orders for the $30,000 camera are open now, with shipping planned for Q1 2025. A forthcoming update to DaVinci Resolve Studio (also made by Blackmagic) adds editing tools specifically for Apple Immersive Video, including support for calibration data from the camera.

Apple Immersive Video is a 180° 3D video format intended for playback on Apple Vision Pro. Early versions of Blackmagic’s URSA Cine Immersive are likely the cameras used to film Apple Immersive Video content currently available on the headset.

Now the camera is being made available commercially, with pre-orders available for a cool $30,000. Though certainly expensive, this is in-line with many other high-end cinema cameras.

The URSA Cine Immersive is specially made to capture Apple Immersive Video, featuring a pair of 180° stereo lenses, capturing 59MP (8,160 x 7,200) each, with 16 stops of dynamic range. The camera can shoot up to 90 FPS in the Blackmagic RAW format, which also embeds calibration data (unique to each camera) that’s carried into the editing process for more precise and stable footage.

The forthcoming update to the DaVinci Resolve Studio editing software will include features specific to editing footage from the camera:

  • Immersive Video Viewer: Pan, tilt, and roll clips on 2D monitors or directly on Apple Vision Pro
  • Seamless Transitions: Clean master files using metadata-based bypass for Apple Vision Pro transitions
  • Export Presets: Streamlined delivery to Apple Vision Pro-ready packages

Both Blackmagic and Apple hope the release of the camera and streamlined editing workflow will make it easier for filmmakers to capture and release content in the Apple Immersive Video format.

It’s unclear if the camera and editor will work equally well for capturing VR180 footage for playback on other platforms and headsets, or if there’s something proprietary to the Apple Immersive Video format that would prevent straightforward compatibility and multi-platform releases.

Filed Under: Apple Vision Pro News & Reviews, XR Industry News

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