December is approaching and the big XR companies are busy as the holidays approach. Even though events are winding down for the year, barring a few standouts at the end of the year, XR companies are still platforming their ideas and roadmaps for the future.
That said, as the emerging industry Metaverse approaches, XR leaders are explaining how to integrate emerging technologies into the workplace and everyday life, and urging people to try them out for themselves.
Moreover, as the 2024 Metaverse wave approaches, the XR world is gaining more insight into the products and services XR leaders are developing for the new year.
Meta’s Nick Clegg brings together educators and businesses
Nick Clegg, Meta President, Global Affairs, recently posted a video on social media urging their corporate and education clients to use XR technology. In the video, he highlighted current use cases for XR technology.
This announcement comes as Meta strengthens its commitment to immersive solutions for the work and industry Metaverse. After the disappointing debut of the Quest Pro, Meta now includes the industrial Metaverse in its restructured advertising material.
Meta’s recent Connect 2023 event focused on consumer use cases for MR headsets and AR smart glasses, but it’s clear the company is working with enterprise end users to optimize its MR products for a broader range of use cases.
In a promotional video, Clegg noted, “Metaverse technologies like augmented and virtual reality have the potential to revolutionize the way we work and learn.” Clegg also explained how European companies today are using AR and VR to “improve industries and people’s lives.”
Clegg added:
European business leaders such as Lufthansa, Iveco, Alstorm, and Decathlon are already using immersive technologies to develop products, train employees, and engage customers. – Other fields, such as virtual medicine, are using Metaverse technology in groundbreaking ways to support healthcare professionals, educators, and students in fully immersive digital environments. The effects of the metaverse are real, and they are happening right now. – As metaverse technology continues to develop, more and more opportunities will open up.
Apple launches Vision Pro in March
According to Mark Gurman, senior technology analyst at Bloomberg, Apple plans to launch the Vision Pro MR headset in March 2022, despite having planned to launch the head-mounted display (HMD) in January. The Cupertino-based company made the change after encountering issues with deployment and finalizing device testing.
However, Apple plans to launch the premium headset in 2024, as previously announced by executives. Nonetheless, the device is expected to launch in June 2023 at a hefty price tag of $3,499, as first revealed at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).
The headset will launch first in the US and later in Canada and the UK. Analysts, including Gurman, predict that Apple will debut the Vision Pro headset at its spring event in March.
Immersive Technology Week Uniting the XR Industry
Immersive Tech Week unites the current XR industry to collaborate and network. The event takes place in Rotterdam from November 28 to December 1.
The purpose of this event is to demonstrate how XR technologies can be used in business and education. The show will feature leading XR companies and speakers who will share their insights on the industry as we head towards a potentially groundbreaking year. The VRDays Foundation is an event leader, having organized many successful industry events in the past to promote enterprise XR.
As 2024 approaches, industry leaders, companies, and vendors are driving hardware expansion and software development to accelerate device adoption. Immersive Tech Week aims to unite the industry and provide networking opportunities for attendees before the holiday period begins.
Xreal talks about the transformative effects of AI.
At a recent event held at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Jon Li, Head of Sales at Xreal, highlighted the enormous impact of AI across various business sectors. According to him, AI has become a significant area of interest among enterprise end users, from healthcare to security, due to its transformative effects.
Xreal has yet to integrate AI into its hardware, including its recently released Air 2 Pro device, but Jon Li’s comments suggest the company’s inclination to explore the possibilities of AI. This is not surprising, considering the far-reaching impact AI is having on all sectors.
Also speaking about Xreal’s hardware, Jon Li stated that the company’s goal is to make augmented reality accessible to everyone at an affordable price. He added that spatial computing is the next evolution in computing and how we interact with data, and Xreal aims to bring this to the masses.
Microsoft “promised” to trigger the announcement after the Altman shake-up.
Last weekend saw some big changes in the emerging technology space. OpenAI is currently CEO Sam Altman, will resign from that position. This decision comes after OpenAI signed a significant partnership with Microsoft in mid-2023. The association aims to leverage genAI technology for innovative workplace digital solutions. Despite news of Altman’s resignation, Microsoft confirmed that Ignite’s announcement would not be affected.
In social media posts Microsoft Satya Nadella Chairman and CEOsaid:
We are committed to our partnership with OpenAI and confident in their product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate on everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and our ability to continue to support our customers and partners. We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI’s new leadership team and working with them. And we’re excited to share that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman are joining their colleagues at Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources they need to succeed.
Satya Nadella recently confirmed that Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, will continue to play a key role in the company’s AI initiatives. Microsoft will leverage OpenAI’s new leadership team and Altman’s new internal role to further develop its AI roadmap, an integral part of Microsoft’s 2024 Industrial Metaverse Roadmap. Nadella’s comments suggest that Altman will still play a key role in Microsoft’s AI ambitions.