2024 is approaching and the XR industry never sleeps. With CES just around the corner, the AR/VR/MR market is already seeing many important developments in immersive solutions just a few days into the new year.
This week, Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Qualcomm, Meta, and Sony moved to optimize their product offerings and business operations.
XR vendors are highlighting the importance of 2024 in the XR space, with important factors such as Apple’s headset just a few months away and Microsoft’s Industrial Metaerse roadmap releasing its first products this month.
In the background, many startups and young XR companies were able to feel the shock wave of renewed interest in immersive solutions due to the investment of major overseas conglomerates.
XR appears to have a strong presence at CES 2024 this year. Before the immersive space becomes the focus of the week ahead, here’s how XR is taking its first steps this year.
Qualcomm partners with Google and Samsung for new 4K XR chipsets
Qualcomm Technologies has unveiled a new chipset called the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 platform, designed to improve the quality of XR displays, visuals, and overall user experience. We also plan to support users and companies using AR smart glasses with integrated AI functions.
The Snapdragon platform is the foundation for developing, deploying, and adopting AR/VR/MR applications. The XR2+ Gen 2 chipset lowers the barrier to entry for workplace AR/VR/MR with an affordable vendor option.
The chipset also helps advance consumer and enterprise-level XR use cases in headsets and smart glasses thanks to partnerships with Samsung, Google, Tobii, and Goertek that bring visual clarity to gaming and productivity applications.
Qualcomm is positioning XR2+ Gen 2 as a turning point in XR hardware design and innovation due to its groundbreaking features and specifications combined with its launch partners. Shahram Izadi, Vice President of AR at Googleexplains how developers can work with Samsung and Qualcomm to drive the future of immersive space XR with support for the Android ecosystem.
Qualcomm is working with more than five OEM partners, including Samsung, HTC Vive, Immersed, and Play for Dream, to leverage hardware in real-world environments and deliver positive outcomes from new technologies. Additionally, to continue OEM success, Qualcomm is developing MR and VR reference designs, which Goertek helped create and Tobii supported by integrating eye-tracking technology.
Microsoft Axes MR Platform
Microsoft recently announced that it would be discontinuing its Windows Mixed Reality platform. This decision comes after years of support for a platform that PC headset users can use to run AR/VR/MR applications.
This announcement raised concerns about the future of HoloLens 2, which has faced numerous challenges and controversies over the past two years. Last year, Microsoft shut down its long-running Metaverse platform Altspace VR and moved some of its development team to its Mesh platform.
However, it’s unlikely that the discontinuation of Windows Mixed Reality will lead to a decline in the company’s XR offerings. Microsoft appears to be focusing on improving its XR products and launching an industrial Metaverse platform that will support VR/MR services in the future. It will especially benefit the Mesh product, the 3D platform that will form the basis for Microsoft’s new VR/MR service scheduled to launch this month.
Meta unveils the most advanced XR technology
Andrew Bosworth, CTO and Head of Reality Labs at Metarecently spoke about Meta’s latest innovations in an in-house prototype AR smart glasses device, with plans to launch the product within 10 years.
While the company is deeply involved in Meta/Ray Ban hardware development, it is also involved in Project Nazare, a powerful prototype AR smart glasses product. Despite several rumors surrounding the upcoming device, little is known about its features.
But Bosworth’s recent comments provide insight into the device’s capabilities and how it could transform the industry.
Bosworth explained it this way:
In the world of consumer electronics, it may be the most advanced thing we’ve ever produced as a species.
In other news, Meta has reduced the cost of its Quest 2 models and accessories in a strategic move to encourage adoption of VR headsets following an initial surge in popularity.
Making VR headsets more accessible to consumers is critical to driving adoption and ubiquity across the industry. As your audience becomes more familiar with immersive technologies at home, it will be easier to introduce AR/VR/MR devices to decision-makers at work.
Due to Meta’s price drop, the 128GB Quest 2 is now priced at $249.99, the 256GB Quest 2 is now priced at $299.99, the refurbished 128GB unit is priced at $229.99, and the 256GB unit is priced at $269.99. The company is also cutting costs on Quest 2 accessories that come with it, including the Elite Strap, Carrying Case, Elite Strap (with battery), Active Pack, and Fit Pack.
Meta also said that with the new pricing model, the Quest portfolio “remains the most affordable way to get into VR and experience everything our industry-leading content ecosystem has to offer.”
GeniusXR collaborated with Sony to create Volumetric Capture Studio.
Sony recently partnered with GeniusXR and The Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation to create Volumetric Capture Studio. The studio aims to create digital twins of real-world objects and people to meet a variety of corporate and industrial needs. This partnership will enable both companies to expand the adoption of digital twin technology and develop new use cases for volumetric capture technology.
The partnership also pursues innovation in XR and volumetric capture use cases for the education, healthcare, and engineering industries. The studio will offer training and onboarding sessions for professionals interested in exploring digital twin technology and how businesses can leverage it.
The studio boasts volumetric technology that can significantly accelerate the creation of digital twins. The studio’s content creation platform is already equipped for new wearables, including AR, VR and MR devices, expected to launch in 2024.
The Levan Center of Innovation claims the studio can improve a variety of enterprise use cases. Marketing groups can use digital twins of physical equipment or training items to create immersive customer experiences for better sales results. The facility has a team of field experts and leverages Sony’s cameras and machine learning software technology to achieve these goals.