The Ghost Howls

MARCH 1, 2024

A new cycle of XR The Apple Vision Pro launch has been a disruptive moment for our industry (Image by Apple) As I said in a popular post a few months ago , I think we have entered a new cycle for immersive realities. Huawei and Pico are rumored to be working on an Apple Vision Pro competitor).

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The Ghost Howls

JUNE 13, 2022

Image by Apple). Apple has not announced any glasses at WWDC. Every year, we have the same ritual: we wait for an event by Apple, hoping to hear some news about an upcoming XR device, then nothing happens in this sense, we are disappointed and so we hope for a new reveal next year. Top news of the week. Other relevant news.

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Top news of the week (Image by Apple) Many people are analyzing the Apple Vision Pro… including the ones at Meta Here you are with the usual huge roundup of news about the Apple Vision Pro (a roundup in a roundup). This week both Zuck, the CEO of Meta, and Boz, the CTO of Meta, expressed their opinions on the Apple Vision Pro.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 5, 2021

The rumors on the Apple Glasses are intensifying. It is not a secret that Apple is working on an XR device: the mystery is when it is going to release it and what it will actually be. The hype is rising, and Apple is playing with it. (My usual terrible image to wish you Happy Easter, if you celebrate it). Top news of the week.

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The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Samsung is one of the most important smartphone brands, and probably one of the few brands in the world that can try to compete with Apple. But this headset looks to me arriving a bit too late and already chasing the Vision Pro, so probably Apple will win the first round. This means that iPhone users can not enjoy WebXR yet.

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XR Today - Virtual Reality

JUNE 13, 2022

For years, the company has been helping brands to unlock next-level promotional opportunities with AR ad campaign creation, and Oculus experiences. Perhaps the biggest competitor to Google in terms of mobile AR advertising opportunities, Apple has also been making significant strides in this disruptive landscape.

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The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 14, 2023

But the news of the day is that Meta should assemble only around 1000 units and keep the glasses for internal usage and demos. This is a very useful resource for all of us XR developers that are going very soon going to experiment with Mixed Reality applications on a headset by Meta, Apple, or one of their competitors.

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The Ghost Howls

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Some months ago, we all read that letter where Zuckerberg claimed wanting to get complete control of the hardware and software stack so that Facebook shouldn’t depend on external companies, like Google or Apple for the SO, or phone manufacturers for the hardware. Oculus releases hands tracking SDK, official Link cable for Quest and more.

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VRScout

JUNE 9, 2017

Apple finally talks about VR while taking a (very solid) swing at AR, Walmart will use virtual reality to train employees, you can grow better weed with AR + AI, and Q1 VR headset sales…. APPLE ACTUALLY TALKS ABOUT VR. APPLE TAKES A (VERY SOLID) SWING AT AUGMENTED REALITY. However… we’re still waiting for those apple AR glasses.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 10, 2022

The PlayStation 5 demo for Matrix Resurrections was able to showcase that very well, and the great news is that the city of that demo will be released for free as a sample of the engine. As a Unity developer, I am a bit envious of all of this. Image by Apple). Apple WWDC is back in June. News worth a mention.

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The Ghost Howls

JUNE 14, 2021

in the morning, but in the end, the first alpha demo is over and it will launch as promised on June, 16th! This week we had another report from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, that is said to very reliable in rumors about Apple (even if he only made wrong predictions about Apple Glasses, but this is none of my business).

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The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 1, 2020

In the interview with me, he talked about many topics, like the rumors he heard on Apple Glasses, on the Oculus Quest 2 , the America vs China war, XR entrepreneurship, Tesla, and more! But of course, the technology is still not there: the Oculus Quest is still uncomfortable, we can’t read texts in it, and so on.

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UploadVR Between Realities podcast

JUNE 19, 2017

I am standing in a virtual living room rendered via Unity. My experience in that Unity-based living room and other demos, using what Varjo is calling the “20/20” prototype, shows that they are working in the right direction. They retrofitted an Oculus Rift with an extra layer of lenses inside the unit.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

This has been a hectic week for the leaks on the upcoming new Oculus Quest Pro device. Marky Z hinted that the device should feature eye and face tracking, and recent findings in Oculus Quest 2 runtime confirm this. I also thank everyone of you that supported me in this journey! Top news of the week. Image from Imgur).

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 26, 2020

While Oculus is getting all the glory for the Quest, its competitors are not sleeping. Huawei has upgraded its sleek VR glasses and now they support 6DOF movement and 6DOF controllers that are very similar to the Oculus Touch. Notwithstanding all this hate, the Oculus Quest 2 is selling very well. Other relevant news.

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ARPost

JULY 15, 2021

Curated by the analyst, writer, and venture capitalist Mathew Ball and partners, the index includes companies like Cloudflare, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Unity. When we talk to people and want to do a demo, they still don’t have a headset readily available,” he said. That’s largely because the metaverse (arguably) doesn’t exist yet.

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

And it also makes me super-happy that no one is about Facebook and Apple… I was getting pretty bored in writing newsletters only about these two companies! This week I have discovered that there is a VR demo where you can stand in front of two of these MetaHumans in VR , and I have also tried and reviewed it!

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Road to VR

OCTOBER 22, 2016

First, Nate Mitchell announced during his Oculus Connect 3 keynote that Oculus will be supporting the WebVR ecosystem with the React VR framework and a VR-enabled browser called Carmel. There’s been a couple of key developments in the evolution of WebVR during the month of October. LISTEN TO THE VOICES OF VR PODCAST.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Facebook has started today enforcing the “Facebook login” rule , asking Oculus users to merge their Facebook and Oculus accounts. So I imagine a Quest 2 where you can avoid having a Facebook account, but you can’t use the Oculus Store, or all the most important apps and games , and so you are de facto forced to use it.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 2, 2020

To make you understand how these features are incredible, Qualcomm has stated that “the [XR2] reference design has 2x the CPU and GPU performance, 4x more video bandwidth, 6x higher resolution and 11x AI improvement compared to our current widely adopted XR platform [the Oculus Quest ]”. Oculus fixes two of the greatest issues of Oculus Link.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 27, 2020

We’re looking for a Unity dev for a freelance gig lasting 1–2 months, ideally from Italy or a nearby country (for easier management). It is in Italian, but basically it says that we’re looking for a Unity dev with preferred experience with VR and/or multiplayer games. Maybe Oculus planned to showcase Del Mar at GDC.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 21, 2021

The shape of the controllers is slightly different than the one of the Oculus Touch, though, and there is a ring that surrounds the wrist of the user. There is also “finger-tracking” a la Valve Index , but just for the thumb, index, and middle finger (so, it is more a la Oculus Touch).

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Leapmotion

DECEMBER 22, 2015

Today in the last of our 3D Jam spotlight series, check out these VR demos that take you to the edge and leave you breathless. Requires: Windows, Oculus Rift. Requires: Windows, Oculus Rift. Requires: Windows, Oculus Rift. Requires: Windows, Oculus Rift. Requires: Windows, Oculus Rift. Alien Planet.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 26, 2018

Oculus Go showcased. The Oculus Go (Image by Oculus). At GDC, the Oculus Go has been one of the main characters. First of all, Oculus has showcased all its main technical characteristics : I advise you to read the post dedicated to that on Oculus blogs , where Chris Pruett introduces you to them.

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 26, 2021

He stresses that he wants his metaverse not to be like these ones… but I also have to remember you that currently, Oculus is the most closed VR platform. Oculus Quest 2 goes 128GB and MR. The Oculus Quest 2’s update pace is always impressive: every month we have new features to play with. Image by Facebook).

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 20, 2020

Last Oculus Quest update shows hints of an Oculus MR ecosystem. Facebook is continuously updating the Oculus Quest , its most successful device, and this week it has rolled out the runtime v16. I think that this update, together with the last ones, marks the beginning of a mixed reality ecosystem that is being built by Oculus.

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The Ghost Howls

JUNE 29, 2020

Original image by Oculus). Oculus kills the Go and opens to content on Quest. In the end, the time of the Oculus Go has come. Devices like Oculus Quest , Pico Neo 2 , and Vive Focus Plus have proven that 6DOF VR is more interesting and has far more retention. Apple adds spatial audio to AirPods.

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

Apple now lets add you add “buy” button to AR Quick Look. A piece of simple news, but a very important one, has hit the AR industry this week: Apple now lets companies add custom buttons (usually the “Buy” one) to AR Quick Look. Add custom environments to your Oculus Quest… if you can.

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XR Today - Mixed Reality tag

JUNE 1, 2023

pic.twitter.com/fJxPbnHv2Z — Kent Bye (Voices of VR) (@kentbye) May 31, 2023 Following the demo, the real-life Inbar explained that he aimed to tackle the narrative in the mainstream media that the Metaverse was “dead.” Many have hosted panel discussions, demos, and presentations for the three-day event.

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 24, 2023

But I hope you’ll enjoy this newsletter coming from the world of the undead anyway… Top news of the week (Image by Apple) Apple starts accepting applications for Vision Pro devkits Apple has started accepting applications from interested developers to get a Vision Pro to develop XR experiences.

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Upload VR

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Apple Vision Pro is a very impressive fusion of hardware and software, but it's by no means perfect. Apple Vision Pro Specs, Features & Details Apple officially revealed the full Vision Pro specs when opening preorders today. And Apple did not send UploadVR a review unit, we bought our own. All of that is great.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 13, 2021

It was too early for Unity, but they taught me about C++, C#, Java, OpenCV, OpenGL and other fancy development stuff. In that period, the Oculus DK2 ordered by Gianni arrived, and he told me that I should go to his office to try that device, and my reaction at that time was like “Oculus what??”

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UploadVR Between Realities podcast

AUGUST 11, 2017

It released with the launch of the HTC Vive in early 2016 and Facebook’s Oculus Touch controllers for Rift late in the year. They recall demos of Owlchemy’s Job Simulator, Google’s Tilt Brush and Valve’s early robot demo, each of which made excellent use of those hand controls.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 27, 2023

Of course, Epic is completely against Apple and its vision of its own walled garden. Epic also announced a few interesting things, like a tool to record facial animations for MetaHumans that run on an iPhone; and Fab, the Unreal version of the Unity Asset Store, where the developers can find many tools and multimedia elements put on sale.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

References found in the Oculus Quest 2 firmware by users Reggy04 and Basti564 highlight how the Quest 2 Pro should have: Eyes tracking Facial expressions tracking Eye relief knob Granular IPD adjustment External charging station. Apple VR headset may feature a 3000PPI microOLED display. Apple Event was not about AR, like, at all.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 22, 2021

Regarding the glasses, I have not big hopes for true AR glasses, but I think that thanks to Facebook and Apple, finally we’ll have some important smartglasses entering the market , making the mainstream think about wearing something on their face to enjoy notifications from the phone. Phone AR will be always more popular.

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XR for Business Podcast

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

Unity Technologies just went public. Alex: [laughs] There really is this challenge, especially with the inability to do live software demos, the danger is always that everything looks like slideware if you're not able to meet somebody in person. And Unity's, I think started. So I think there's a huge boom there. Alex: Huge news.

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