The Ghost Howls

JULY 14, 2019

Apple has killed its AR glasses project… maybe. A piece of unexpected news has shaken the XR communities this week: according to a report on Digitimes Taiwan, Apple has abandoned its AR/VR glasses project and all the members of the team have been re-allocated in other teams. AR is still alive, Apple will still release its AR glasses.

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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

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Do you remember this post of mine from one year ago when I showed you that it was possible to do some kind of “hacking” of the Oculus Quest using the adb command line tool? A video version of this article… if you want you can watch the video… otherwise, go on for all the textual explanation!

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Road to VR

JANUARY 6, 2022

Developer Luboš V released a video showing off some of the hidden features that lurk within v37 of the Quest firmware. Check out the video below: The v37 update is now available on the Public Test Channel for Quest 2, however the features seen above aren’t accessible. Apple keyboard support. Voice assistant history menu.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

During all these months, I had the occasion of reading on Linkedin about all his cool prototypes and enterprise solutions that he and his colleagues have developed inside the company, ranging from 360 videos to hand-tracked training solutions with the Quest, not to mention XR entertainment solutions for airplane passengers.

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

The news is interesting for three reasons: Smartwatches and smartglasses are closely related; This shows how Facebook is working on all kind of wearables , so it has a broader scope than just making AR/VR glasses. Then it could update them very fast and make them as powerful and successful as the Oculus Quest.

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The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 17, 2019

Everyone has seen the video of the whale in the gym and Magic Leap is one of the XR companies having obtained more money. Image by Oculus, from Road To VR). John Carmack leaves Oculus. In a surprise move that no one was expecting, the god of programming John Carmack has decided to leave Oculus. Other relevant news.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 15, 2021

Apple already made hardware, so it already had the infrastructure to build it and just added XR people on top of this infrastracture, while Facebook could not). In September, the new Facebook Avatars will come and substitute the current Oculus avatars. Apple AR headset may have been delayed to 2025. But it is impressive anyway.

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The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 24, 2020

Oculus devices will require a Facebook login. The enormous piece of news of the week is tha t Facebook has communicated that from October, 20th, all people that want to use an Oculus device for personal use will have to use their personal Facebook account to log in. Top news of the week. Image by Tweakanalogy). The same on Twitter.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

In two days there will be the Facebook Connect, an Apple event and a Sony event about PS5! If you remember well, this platform is based on a modified version of the Snapdragon 865 (3 generations after the 835 of the Oculus Quest) and supports features like eye tracking, high-quality passthrough AR, and 5G. Top news of the week.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 6, 2021

Its specs make it more powerful than Oculus Quest 2: 2K x 2K resolution per eye 90Hz refresh rate Qualcomm Snapdragon XR 2 chipset 8GB DDR4 RAM Mechanic IPD adjustment with exact setting of your measure. It seems a very good headset , apart from the terrible exterior design that looks like the son of an Oculus Quest 2 and a Vive Cosmos.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 10, 2022

All these tools look amazing also for the creation of very realistic VR experiences, but actually, we should hold our enthusiasm: both Nanite and Lumen are not available for VR yet, and Epic has not announced any kind of improvement of the workflow for development for Oculus Quest 2, either. Image by Apple). Apple WWDC is back in June.

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InstaVR

JULY 8, 2019

Similar to Android, you’ll need to be an approved Apple Developer to publish to the latter. Self-distributing iOS apps is somewhat complicated by Apple being a closed development environment. Oculus Go . We have extensive guides written for sideloading and for using the internal Oculus Store. Oculus Quest.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Every year I make this prediction game about what Facebook is going to announce at Oculus/Facebook connect, and this year won’t be an exception! Oculus Rift 3. Oculus Quest 2 Pro / Oculus Quest 3. Facebook is going to announce the Oculus Quest 2 Pro. Updates on Oculus Store. New Facebook Name.

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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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AllThingsVR

AUGUST 24, 2016

3 Moves Oculus is Borrowing from Apple’s Marketing Playbook Even if you’re an Android fanboy, there’s no denying that Apple knows how to market. Some Apple haters might go so far to say that marketing is the only thing Apple does well—otherwise how have they managed to turn ‘copied ideas’ into billions?

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 19, 2020

This has been the week of the launch of the Oculus Quest 2, and this event has been so big that basically, it will take half of this roundup to describe. Facebook releases the Oculus Quest 2. Even if with the Quest 1 was possible to play Oculus Go games, this support has been abandoned on the Quest 2. Top news of the week.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 26, 2020

My impression is that in the best case, this Deca is the new Pimax, a company with great ambitions, a good spirit, but no idea on how to execute, and this will lead to delays, confusion in the logistics, higher prices than expected, etc… And this is just the best case. Other relevant news. A new FCC listing appears for an HTC Vive headset.

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The Ghost Howls

MAY 1, 2023

More info News worth a mention (Image by Antonio De Rosa) Apple headset in the final sprint of production It couldn’t be an XR newsletter without a mention of the Apple headset! And this will be beneficial for everyone in the field. Otherwise, it may be the beginning of a wonderful season for this new headset.

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AR Insider

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

The tech industry is looking to replace the smartphone — and everybody is waiting to see what Apple comes up with. I n 2007, Apple unveiled the iPhone. Apple didn’t invent the smartphone — companies like Palm and Blackberry had been selling them for years. Triangulating Clues in Apple’s AR Roadmap.

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 21, 2019

Original image from Oculus). Oculus Rift and Gear VR have sold 10M units. At the beginning of the week, Jack McCauley, one of the founders of the Oculus startup, had claimed in an interview with CNBC that Facebook VR will never succeed. Of course, he was not only talking about Oculus but about VR in general.

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The Ghost Howls

JUNE 23, 2019

The most important info shared Friday is a (weird) video with the external new design of the device. Oculus has teased the OC6. Oculus has just announced the dates for the Oculus Connect 6. Oculus is going to announce something not only about VR but also about AR. Other relevant news. Image by Upload VR).

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

These are pretty cool, also because the Snapdragon XR 2 is much more powerful than the 835 mounted by the Oculus Quest. Watching the video of the experience, with the mother being able to see her daughter again and crying, it’s so incredibly moving. On the web, there have been many debates around this video. I really hope so.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 19, 2020

Oculus Go price cut down to $150. Facebook has permanently cut down the price of the Oculus Go to $150 , the same price that made it sell incredibly well on Amazon during the Cyber Monday. More info (Oculus Go price cut) More info (Xiaomi laying off the team dedicated to Go). How big is the FOV of the Valve Index?

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 26, 2021

If you want to watch the video of the recording, you can find it here: And now, let’s start speaking about the best AR/VR news of the week! 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. Top news of the week. Image by Facebook).

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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! Popular Twitter leaker WalkingCat has leaked two trailer videos about two AR glasses by Samsung. But most probably they are just concept videos , maybe for internal presentations.

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The AR Show

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Bobak is a serial entrepreneur with a core theme running through his entrepreneurial experiences: how to create better ways for people to find and utilize information based on the context of where they are and what’s around them. Bobak also worked for a while as a program lead at Apple.

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The Ghost Howls

DECEMBER 14, 2020

The actions coming from the US are not much related to VR and Oculus, but mostly to the social space. This could also mean splitting the Facebook Reality Labs into a separate company (a new Oculus?), In Germany, instead, the legal action regards the mandatory Facebook login for Oculus Quest 2. Oculus Rift S now costs $300.

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The Ghost Howls

DECEMBER 4, 2023

More info (HTC Vive Ultimate Tracker — Road To VR) More info (HTC Vive Ultimate Tracker — Upload VR) Valve releases its own version of Quest Link Out of the blue, Valve has launched Steam Link, which basically is… Oculus Air Link offered directly by SteamVR. This would show the level of polish of the upcoming Apple headset.

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Road to VR

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

This is why I wanted to share this video. I recommend getting an Oculus Quest as its quick and easy to use, and the lack of tether is great for games with lots of motion. Tip: If you have an Apple Watch, Apple has added a ‘Fitness Gaming’ workout type recently. I want to inspire others to give this a shot.

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The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 2, 2021

More info (Facebook announces 128 GB Quest 2 and silicone cover) More info (How to request your free Quest 2 cover) More info (Upload VR on the number of distributed facemasks) More info (Only 80K recalled units in Japan) More info (NWN’s estimates on Quest 2 sales). Facebook is evaluating the integration of Oculus Move with Apple Health.

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The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

More info (Quest 2 deal) More info (HP Reverb G2) More info (Star Wars Squadron) More info (Official blog post on how to watch Oculus Connect 6) More info (HTC Sales). New rumors about the upcoming Apple headset. As for all Apple rumors, take this with some kilos of grains of salt. I hope that it won’t just be a video….

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 4, 2021

I have to say that this “leak” comes in a very timely fashion , by chance exactly at the moment when Facebook was building the hype for Oculus Quest 2 Pro , convincing so some people to wait for Valve’s moves before buying the new Oculus headset. This week we had three big news regarding the VR gaming world.

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The Ghost Howls

MAY 8, 2023

T he event will be presented by Oculus Studios Executive Producer Ruth Bram like last year, but introduce new pre-event and post-event sessions. The first one is that since the Gaming Showcase is happening on June, 1st, it seems positioned in a way to make Meta perform some announcements right before the Apple WWDC.

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

PSVR 2, Apple XR visor) and games, will be fundamental to understand its evolution and its potential. A leaked image from the Oculus team shows that the company is working to implement body tracking inside the Oculus Unity SDK. First of all, it was just a prerecorded 180 video , so nothing special. Other relevant news.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 12, 2021

Some weeks ago, a group of 12 indie development studios decided to launch the first bundle dedicated to App Lab experiences for Oculus Quest. The user could buy the bundle and get access to sideloadable versions of the games, with the promise of a free key for when the game would have been approved by Oculus on App Lab.

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