VRSUN

Hot Virtual Reality News

HOTTEST VR NEWS OF THE DAY

Apple Vision Pro News & Reviews

Apple is Reportedly Developing Smart Glasses to Rival Ray-Ban Meta Glasses

From roadtovr

Apple is reportedly developing a new chip for an upcoming pair of smart glasses which is aiming to compete with Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, according to a recent Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman.

Apple’s smart glasses chip is reportedly based on the low-energy processors used in Apple Watches, which are being optimized for power efficiency and the ability to control multiple cameras.

The report maintains production of the chip is expected to start by late 2026 or 2027, positioning the device for a market launch within the next two years. Apple’s long-time chips partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is expected to handle production.

“Apple is currently exploring non-AR [smart] glasses that use cameras to scan the surrounding environment and rely on AI to assist users,” Gurman says. “That would make the device similar to the Meta product, though Apple is still figuring out the exact approach it wants to take. The iPhone maker also needs its own artificial intelligence technology to vastly improve before the company can roll out a compelling AI-centric device.”

As for Apple’s continued augmented reality efforts, Bloomberg reported in April that Apple CEO Tim Cook “cares about nothing else” than beating Meta to market with a pair of AR glasses, representing a multi-year challenge that goes far beyond creating a pair of smart glasses.

In short, smart glasses like Meta Ray-Ban Glasses can play audio, take pictures, make phone calls, and access a voice assistant. The latest version of the device, released in 2023, has been so successful though, Meta is reportedly set to release the next generation of the device to include a single heads-up display.

Meanwhile, the sort of all-day AR glasses companies like Apple, Google and Meta are hoping to build go several steps further. AR glasses overlay digital content onto the real-world, blending virtual objects or information with the physical environment through transparent displays, requiring more advanced sensors, displays, optics, processors, batteries, and cooling management to achieve.

Half the Size & Half the Price is What Vision Pro Needs to Take Off

From roadtovr

Apple has set the bar for UX on a standalone headset. As soon as the company can get the same experience into a smaller and cheaper package, it’s going to become significantly more appealing to a wider range of people.

Apple has billed Vision Pro as “tomorrow’s technology, today.” And frankly, that feels pretty accurate if we’re talking about the headset’s core user experience, which is far beyond other products on the market. Vision Pro is simple and intuitive to use. It might not do as much as a headset like Quest, but what it does do, it does extremely well. But it’s still undeniably big, bulky, and expensive… my recommendation is that it’s not worth buying for most people.

And that’s probably why there seems to be a broadly held notion that Vision Pro is a bad product… a rare flop for Apple. But as someone who has used the headset since launch, I can plainly see all the ways the headset is superior to what else is out there.

Saying Vision Pro is a bad product is a bit like saying a Ferrari is a bad car for not being as widespread as a Honda Accord.

I don’t know if the first generation of Vision Pro met Apple’s sales expectations or fell short of them. But what I do know is that the headset offers an incredibly compelling experience that’s significantly held back by its price and size.

If Apple can take the exact same specs, capabilities, and experience, and fit them into something that’s half the size and costs half as much, I’m certain the headset will see a massive boost in demand.

A more compact Vision Pro concept | Photo generated by Road to VR

Cutting it down to half the size would mean bringing it down around 310 grams; certainly not be easy but also not entirely unrealistic, especially if they stick to an off-board battery. After all, Bigscreen Beyond is around 180 grams. It might not be a standalone headset, but it shows how compact the housing, optics, and displays can be.

And half the cost would mean a price tag of roughly $1,750. Still not cheap compared to most headsets out there, but significantly more attainable, especially if Apple can market it as also being the best TV most people will have in their home.

This might seem obvious. Making any tech product smaller and cheaper is a good thing.

But my point here is that Vision Pro is disproportionately held back by its size and cost. It has way more to be gained by halving its size and cost than Quest, for instance, because Quest’s core UX is still very clunky.

Fitting the Quest experience into something half the size and half the cost would be nice, but the core UX would still be holding it back in a big way.

On the other hand, Vision Pro feels like its core UX is just waiting to be unleashed… halving the size and cost wouldn’t just be nice, it would be transformative.

Of course this is much easier said than done. After all, you might counter that the very reason why Vision Pro’s core UX is so great is because it costs so much. It must be the expensive hardware that makes the difference between Quest and Vision Pro.

While this is perhaps true in some specific cases, in so many more cases, it’s the software experience that makes Vision Pro excel in usability. For instance, we explained previously that Quest 3 actually has higher effective resolution than Vision Pro, but it’s the thoughtful software design of Vision Pro that lead most people to the conclusion that Vision Pro looks much better visually.

And when I say that Vision Pro will take off when it reaches half the size and half the price, I’m not even factoring in several key improvements that will hopefully come with future versions of the headset (like sharper passthrough with less motion blur and some enhancements to the software).

Apple has set a high bar for how its headset should feel and how easy it is to use. The question now is not if, but when can the company deliver the same experience in a smaller and less expensive package.

Report: Apple CEO “cares about nothing else” Than Building Breakout AR Glasses Before Meta

From roadtovr

Apple is rumored to be working on two versions of Vision Pro, however a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman alleges the Cupertino tech giant is aiming to beat Meta to the punch with a pair of AR glasses.

Citing someone with knowledge of the matter, the report maintains Apple CEO Tim Cook has put development of AR glasses as a top priority, as the company plans to release such a device before Meta.

“Tim cares about nothing else,” the source told Bloomberg. “It’s the only thing he’s really spending his time on from a product development standpoint.”

Creating the sort of all-day AR glasses Apple is aiming for is still a multi-year challenge though. Packing in high-resolution displays, a powerful chip and a high-density (but very small) battery for all-day power represents a number of technical challenges. And creating such a device at a consumer price point is arguably the biggest of them all.

Meta’s Orion AR Glasses | Image courtesy Meta

While Apple is reticent to go on record, Meta has been fairly transparent with its XR roadmap. In late 2024, Meta unveiled its Orion AR glasses, which the company hopes will lead to the productization of such a device before 2030, and priced “at least in the space of phone, laptop territory.” For now, Orion costs Meta somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 per unit, largely owing to its custom silicon carbide waveguide optics.

And although Orion itself isn’t being productized right away, Meta is well on its way in the XR space, having not only produced multiple generations of Quest standalone headsets, but also its Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, which are laying foundation for its AR glasses of the near future.

The smart glasses, built in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, have been very successful too—so much so that Meta is reportedly preparing a next generation of the device which will include a monoscopic heads-up display. Granted, those aren’t augmented reality glasses, but rather still smart glasses. You can learn more about the differences between the two here.

Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, Image courtesy Meta, EssilorLuxottica

For now, Gurman maintains Apple is working on new versions of Apple Watch and AirPods which will be embedded with AI-enabled cameras, however the Fruit Company is still internally debating whether to counter Meta with a pair of smart glasses of their own.

According to Gurman, Apple has been developing such a device designed to work with Siri and Apple Visual Intelligence, although the company is unsure whether it will allow the glasses to actually capture media, owing to the company’s stance on user privacy.

This follows a wider leadership shakeup at Apple, reported by Bloomberg last month, which also saw Apple’s Vision Products Group (VPG) redistributed across the company.

Tasked with developing Vision Pro, VPG was initially created in 2023, which notably departed from its “functional” management structure introduced by Steve Jobs in the early ’90s. Essentially, this puts Vision Pro’s product development back in line with the company’s other hardware, including iPhone, iPad, etc.

Vision Pro Update Adds Companion App, Improved Guest Demos, and Apple Intelligence Features

From roadtovr

Apple announced today that the latest update to Vision Pro, visionOS 2.4 is now available to the public. VisionOS 2.4 finally adds Apple Intelligence features to the headset, while adding an iPhone companion app to make using and sharing the headset easier, along with a new Spatial Gallery to curate spatial content for watching on the headset.

While the first Apple Intelligence features reached iPhones, iPads, and Macs back in October, 2024, Vision Pro was curiously left out. Not only did the headset not get any of the Apple Intelligence features, at that point Apple hadn’t even confirmed that the headset ever would get them.

That finally changes today with VisionOS 2.4, now available to the public, which adds the same Apple Intelligence features that users can access on other devices. That includes writing tools, like the ability to proofread, rewrite, and summarize text, and image generation tools like Image Playground and Genmoji.

View post on imgur.com

Beyond just adding the usual slate of Apple Intelligence features, VisionOS 2.4 directly addresses commonly cited pain points of using the headset.

Spatial Gallery App

View post on imgur.com

Spatial Gallery is a new app for the headset which includes spatial (stereoscopic) content curated by Apple. Think of it as a premier gallery of spatial photos and videos. While the content will change over time, at launch Apple says users can “discover stories and experiences from iconic brands including Red Bull, Cirque du Soleil, and Porsche; go behind the scenes with Apple Originals like Severance, The Studio, and The Morning Show; and listen to conversations with top artists like Bad Bunny, Charli xcx, and Keith Urban.”

Vision Pro Companion App for iPhone

Image courtesy Apple

Similar to Apple Watch, Vision Pro is getting a companion app that runs on an iPhone or iPad. The app highlights new apps and entertainment content available on the headset, without users needing to put on the device just to browse for new content.

The app also serves as a simple place to read up on tips & tricks for getting the most out of the headset, as well as finding important support information like version and serial numbers.

Guest User Improvements

Vision Pro smartly launched with a dedicated ‘Guest Mode’ to make it easy for headset owners to show off the headset to friends and family by calibrating the headset specifically for the guest, and gives the owner control over what apps the guest can access.

View post on imgur.com

VisionOS 2.4, in conjunction with iOS 18.4, now makes the process smoother by allowing the headset owner to start a Guest Mode session from their iPhone (rather than needing to put on the headset first). It also allows the owner to remotely start View Mirroring so they can see what the guest user sees in the headset. Previously this could only be started from within the headset, which meant needing to guide the guest user by memory through the menus to find the right button.

New Apple Immersive Video Content

Image courtesy Apple

Alongside visionOS 2.4, Apple is highlighting upcoming releases for its first-party Apple Immersive Video content with VIP: Yankee Stadium on April 4th, featuring an “all-encompassing look at how elite athletes, die-hard fans, dedicated staff, and epic moments make the Bronx ballpark legendary.”

Later, on May 30th, Apple is releasing Bono: Stories of Surrender, a documentary about the frontman of the band U2. Uniquely, this will be released on Apple TV+ as viewable both as a standard flatscreen video and on Vision Pro as an Apple Immersive Vide

Quest Update Reveals More Vision Pro Features Are Coming, Including FaceTime-Style Selfie Cam

From roadtovr

Meta’s upcoming Horizon OS release is bringing a few more of Vision Pro’s most useful features to Quest, including a video chatting selfie cam for avatars and possibly the ability to share windows with other users when in its Horizon Home social space.

Discovered by serial dataminer ‘Luna’, a beta version of Horizon OS v76 is packing in a few new features, including the very Facetime-inspired avatar selfie cam which can be used in video chatting apps.

Quest’s v76 update is currently available on the Public Test Channel (PTC), although Luna went a bit further to implement the avatar selfie cam in a sideloaded version of Discord.

Backgrounds currently aren’t available, Luna notes, however they’re said to include multiple default options, such as Abstract, Beach, Greenhouse, Home Office, Light, Loft, and Office.

Luna also uncovered a hidden tutorial for an upcoming ‘Navigator’ system user interface overhaul on Horizon OS. Teased at Meta Connect 2024 in September, the new UI system restyles the current dock-based UI to a more traditional launcher overlay—putting it more in line with the sort of icon-based app selection you see in Vision Pro and mobile devices today.

While the tutorial was discovered in v76 PTC, Luna suspects the Navigator feature will arrive in v77 or beyond, possibly as an Experimental feature.

Furthermore, Luna’s datamining revealed that strings in the v76 PTC of Horizon OS “suggest that Meta is working on the ability to share windows with other users in Horizon Home (and possibly Worlds),” which they maintain “will likely work similarly to SharePlay on visionOS.”

The string in question states it “[s]hares a panel so that other users in your world can see it”.

Granted, Quest users have been asking for these features since well before Vision Pro was released, although it was Apple’s $3,500 mixed reality standalone that has ultimately been the key driver in the company’s quest to further mold the console-style Quest into a general computing device.

To boot, since Vision Pro’s launch in early 2024, Meta has released a number of features in effort to bring Quest’s software closer to parity with visionOS, including spatial video playback, pinch-style gesture controls, and better passthrough on Quest 3.

Still missing in action though is Meta’s long-promised photorealistic Codec Avatars though, which the company first teased in 2019.

Codec Avatars | image courtesy Meta

Like Vision Pro’s photorealistic avatars, Meta researchers demonstrated that Codec Avatars could use smartphones to scan and recreate a user’s face—much like Vision Pro does today.

The key limiter though is Quest 3’s lack of eye or facial tracking, which could mean Meta is waiting to release Codec Avatars with its next high-end headset—the totally hypothetically and still unconfirmed Quest Pro 2. And if we were betting, probably some more Vision Pro-inspired features too.

Metallica Comes to Vision Pro in Immersive Performance This Week

From roadtovr

Apple announced it’s releasing an immersive concert experience from Metallica, landing exclusively on Apple Vision Pro this week.

The concert experience, simply dubbed ‘Metallica’, captures a performance in Mexico City which took place during the second-year finale of the band’s M72 World Tour. It’s set to include classic Metallica songs ‘Whiplash’, ‘One’, and ‘Enter Sandman’.

The concert was captured in Apple’s own immersive video format, which features 8K 3D video and spatial audio, putting viewers face to face with band members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo, and offering close ups of the Snake Pit, one of the most expensive fan zones.

Image courtesy Apple

To create the immersive concert experience, Apple built a custom stage layout featuring 14 of its Apple Immersive Video cameras using a mix of stabilized cameras, cable-suspended cameras, and remote-controlled camera dolly systems that moved around the stage.

Vision Pro owners will be able to jump in starting March 14th, however Apple says it’s also demoing a full performance of ‘Whiplash’ to in-store customers who reserve a Vision Pro demo.

“Apple Immersive Video transforms the way people experience storytelling, and we’re thrilled to collaborate with Metallica on a concert unlike any before it” said Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of Marketing Communications. “With Metallica on Apple Vision Pro, you feel like you’re right there: front row, backstage, and even on stage with one of the biggest bands of all time.”

This follows a steady release of immersive video content on Vision Pro, including new episodes of the Adventure and Boundless series, as well as a host of content such as Wildlife, an immersive experience featuring The Weeknd, and the headset’s first scripted short film, Submerged.

Apple Reportedly to Reveal “feature-packed” visionOS 3.0 Update at WWDC in June

From roadtovr

Apple is planning a “feature-packed release” for visionOS 3.0, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who says that Vision Pro’s operating system—and not new XR hardware—is going to be a focus at this year’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC).

Despite its high price and premium appeal, Apple hasn’t slowed down software updates for Vision Pro, which launched in February 2024 for $3,500.

Recently, the Cupertino tech giant has released a host of productivity features, including the long-promised ultra-wide Mac Virtual Display and the full suite of Apple Intelligence features in developer preview.

Now, Gurman reports Apple is gearing up to showcase visionOS 3.0 at WWDC, which typically takes place in June.

“All signs are pointing to the company’s Vision Products Group shifting its resources to other form factors,” Gurman maintains. “But Apple can’t just let the Vision Pro die out. It has invested too much and needs to keep churning out the device’s visionOS updates (the third edition will be a pretty feature-packed release, I’m told).”

There’s no indication yet what visionOS 3.0 could contain, although if it’s anything like visionOS 2.0, which was announced at WWDC 2024 last June, developers will likely be able to go hands-on as soon as it’s announced.

That said, information is still thin. One possible candidate for visionOS 3.0 could address the headset’s lack of motion controllers; Gurman reported last month Apple is currently working with Sony to adopt PSVR 2’s Sense Controllers as Vision Pro’s officially supported motion controller.

As for hardware reveals (or the lack thereof) at WWDC 2025, Gurman echoes previous claims made by Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo late last year, who reported that multiple Vision Pro follow-up are currently planned.

Gurman notes that Apple is planning a headset containing a new M-series chip (possibly M5), as well as cheaper versions of the headset. Contrary to Kuo’s report, which maintains an upgraded M5 version of Vision Pro is coming this year, Gurman claims we won’t see a follow-up headset from Apple in 2025.

Is Vision Pro Worth Buying in 2025? Our No-nonsense Recommendation

From roadtovr

Vision Pro, Apple’s very first headset, just turned one year old. Now that we’re into 2025, is it still worth buying? Read on for our no-nonsense recommendation.

Vision Pro isn’t worth the cost for most people.

Why: Vision Pro is an incredible headset by many measures. The interface, ease of use, and ecosystem integration are second-to-none. And while it has standout features like immersive FaceTime, support for almost all existing iPad apps, automatic 3D photo conversions, and an excellent ultrawide virtual monitor, the reality is that most people aren’t going to get $3,500 worth of value from the headset. There aren’t yet enough uniquely valuable use-cases or ‘killer app’ experiences to justify dropping that much cash on the headset.

To be clear, this assessment isn’t unique to the year 2025. Vision Pro was too expensive for most people on the very day that it launched. At a different price point, our recommendation would be very different. But for now, the cost will outweigh the value for most people.

Who should buy Vision Pro?

Like Apple CEO Tim Cook has said, Vision Pro is a glimpse into the future that you can get today. But looking through that time machine costs a pretty penny. If you’re someone with money to burn and a love for the latest tech, there’s probably no other product on the market today that can deliver the “wow this feels like the future” moments that Vision Pro can.

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

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.

Apple Vision Pro Gets Ultrawide Mac Virtual Display in visionOS 2.2 Release

From roadtovr

Previously only available in beta, Apple has now pushed its panoramic display feature to all Vision Pro users, bringing the choice of three virtual screen sizes when using Mac Virtual Display.

Mac Virtual Display initially launched with a single virtual screen size back in February, which also allowed users to have multiple app windows, although screen real estate was somewhat limited for a device opining to be a general computing machine first, entertainment device second.

Now, in visionOS 2.2, all Vision Pro users have access to two new display formats: ‘Wide’ (21:9) and ‘Ultrawide’ (32:9), the latter of which is said to allow for max resolutions “equivalent to two 4K monitors, side by side,” Apple said at its unveiling in June. Mac-side dynamic foveated rendering also keeps content “sharp wherever you look,” the company added.

In our hands-on test of the feature, we found it to be a huge value-add to the headset.

The feature requires a Mac computer with macOS Sequoia 15.2, which covers a pretty wide range of devices, including everything from 2017-era iMac Pros to the company’s latest M4 chip MacBooks.

Additionally, the visionOS 2.2 update also includes support for iOS’s Personal Hotspot feature, which the company says now lets you share the cellular data connection of your iPhone or iPad with other devices, including Vision Pro, effectively giving you access to 5G download speeds.