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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Apple AR Oculus Augmented Reality 171

The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 30, 2022

It is also promoting the metaverse everywhere, also on mainstream media: yesterday a friend of mine who doesn’t work in tech told me to have seen a TV spot here in Italy about the metaverse. It’s the natural evolution of technology. Tim Cook says that Apple is not interested in the metaverse to distinguish itself from Meta.

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Magic Leap Apple Technology Microsoft 545

The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 15, 2023

And yes, also an Oculus Rift DK2 7 years is a lot of time. I’ve gone through many evolutions of the technology and the market. For sure many other Apple keynotes, which now I’ll be forced to watch because now I have to follow the updates of the Vision Pro. That thing you see on my face is my beard.

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Machine Learning Apple Italy Course 341

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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Unreal Apple Government Data 434

The Ghost Howls

MAY 27, 2021

I mean, yes, it’s dead… I like to put on my dead Oculus Quest 2 to play dead beautiful games like InDeath: Unchained and have dead fun. VR is growing every month, and is running towards mainstream adoption as all dead technologies do. So disappointed that Italy was not in the top 10. Those journalists are dead right.

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360 Video Apple AR Video 536

The Ghost Howls

MARCH 23, 2020

Jokes apart, before starting, let me send a big hug to all of you that are in quarantine because of the coronavirus and thank all the people that in these days have cared about me after having heard the sad news about Italy (Simon, David, Daniel, Suzie, Mark… John that has been so kind… Sebastian, and many others!). Top news of the week.

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Oculus Magic Leap AR Augmented Reality 205

The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

If you were wondering, we in Italy do not celebrate Thanksgiving, but I would love one year to participate in its celebration hosted by an American family. You can buy headsets at a discounted price, or accessories, or even lots of games on Steam, Viveport, and Oculus Store! Apple XR headset may have great processing power.

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Machine Learning AR Apple Oculus 374

The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

I think I’ll miss the joys of summer (and all the trophies that Italy has won), but at least I’ll be able to enjoy again some delicious hot chocolate Before leaving you to the news of the week, I’m happy to announce to you that I’ve been selected as a speaker for AWE US 2021 ! Apple VR headset may feature a 3000PPI microOLED display.

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AR Nigeria Apple Oculus 507

The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 22, 2021

Now it’s time to make some forecasts about its companion technology, that is augmented reality! This won’t be the year of AR : exactly as I said for virtual reality, let’s not hype the technology and think that this is the year when mainstream adoption of wearable AR glasses is going to happen.

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Augmented Reality Magic Leap AR Apple 489

The Ghost Howls

APRIL 18, 2022

Anyway, today should be a vacation in Italy, but here I am writing this roundup for you, so if you want to show your appreciation, don’t forget to make a donation on Patreon ! It lacks all Oculus Exclusive titles like Beat Saber and Population One, but its store is becoming anyway interesting. Top news of the week.

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Europe Tools Apple HTC 323

The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 2, 2021

What a fun thing, this is the power of the intern… no, sorry, of the metaverse. (And if you were wondering, yes, I’m very happy about the two amazing gold medals that Italy won yesterday at the Olympics!). So he said that if you want to attach to it an Oculus Quest, technically you can. Top news of the week. Image by Facebook).

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Groups Japan Machine Learning Canada 387

The Ghost Howls

MARCH 29, 2021

It’s a sunny lockdown day here in Italy, the sun is shining and the trees are blossoming. Well, I think that if a game can be on the top-downloaded lists on various platforms like Xbox and Oculus Quest, for sure it has the X-Factor to thrive and earn many millions. Apple XR headset may weight less than 150g.

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Apple Las Vegas Italy AR 405

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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The Ghost Howls

MAY 17, 2021

technology (with support for Steam VR 1.0 Especially eye-tracking is the special feature here since it would make the PSVR2 the first consumer-oriented device to use this technology. Roblox CEO hints at the Oculus Quest as a future platform. Some intriguing news on the Oculus Quest. News worth a mention.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 13, 2020

Well, if the rumor becomes reality, this would mean that all next Apple devices will have both front and back depth cameras, for high-precision Augmented Reality and 3D reconstruction. Well played Apple. And this is possible because they both have big cash cows: Oculus has Facebook’s advertisement, and Valve has the Steam game store.

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Augmented Reality Virtual Reality Apple Tools 399

The Ghost Howls

DECEMBER 4, 2023

I’m back to Italy after my trip to Helsinki! 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.

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Unity Arizona Ukraine Apple 339

The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

Oculus Quest 2. The biggest announcement of the event has been for sure the Oculus Quest 2, that Facebook has not only revealed but also launched. Oculus Quest 2 is a great piece of technology. Then Oculus will move the whole experience to 90Hz. The magic of the Oculus Quest 2 (Image by Facebook).

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Oculus AR Data Gaming 545

The Ghost Howls

JULY 19, 2021

It’s a nice summer day here in Italy, and I hope things for all of you are going well. Facebook knew it, so it planned to use a technology that used infrared light to analyze brain oxygen levels. A total disaster, even using invasive technology, that is drilling the skull. Top news of the week. Other relevant news.

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AR Technology Data Gaming 518

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. The technology can be so powerful, but it must be used the right way. Considering that this number doesn’t count the Quest users connected via Oculus Link, the actual number of VR users on Steam is even higher.

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Hand tracking AR Augmented Reality Oculus 434

The Ghost Howls

MAY 20, 2021

Italy, Canada, and China together to create an amazing video about these VR glasses! The kit is composed by: An inside-out tracking add-on , that you attach to your glasses so that that they can track themselves (positional tracking) and the controllers; Two controllers that are very similar to the Oculus Touch. That’s a wrap!

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China Controllers Video Course 522

The Ghost Howls

MAY 4, 2020

While in Italy we get ready for the “Phase 2” of the lockdown, I write the best AR/VR news of the week just for you! In any case, this is good: more people bought a VR headset, and other ones got more engagement with the technology , maybe after months of having left the headset in the closet. Top news of the week.

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Virtual Reality Machine Learning Augmented Reality Oculus 228

The Ghost Howls

JULY 4, 2022

Inflation here in Italy is ramping up, and the impression I have is that we are entering into a recession phase. Of course for some ad-based tech companies, the current economic situation is not the only problem, but there is another big one which is Apple and its new privacy features embedded into iOS. And there’s more.

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Machine Learning Eye Tracking Unity Hardware 390

The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 27, 2019

I’m back in Italy, and finally, I can eat again some good pasta… even if I will miss ?? Image by Oculus). Oculus Quest may have sold only 400,000 units. The Quest is selling well, and Oculus itself didn’t expect billions of sales. Bloomberg publishes new hints on Apple glasses. for breakfast a lot!

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Magic Leap AR Samsung Oculus 174

The Ghost Howls

APRIL 27, 2020

Another busy week has passed by, and here in Italy we just got the news that lockdown measures will start to loosen from next week, but the road to go out as we wish is still long. 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).

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Course Magic Leap AR Oculus 272

The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Coronavirus is back in Italy and from yesterday we’re having new restrictions like a night curfew, some kind of shops closed, etc… I hope that you and the people you love are safe. While Oculus is getting all the glory for the Quest, its competitors are not sleeping. Other relevant news.

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HTC Oculus Conference China 416

The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 20, 2021

I expect all these trends to continue in 2021, for a year that will see the growth of the technology on all its sides (software and hardware). The Oculus Quest 2 is selling incredibly well because it offers the right combination of affordable price, good hardware, and a good software ecosystem. The Quest will still be the king.

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Virtual Reality Trends China HTC 528

The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 16, 2021

The pandemic has hit also one of the most important technological expo of the year, the CES, that this year was held digitally. My bet is that, given the talent of these people, they won’t even arrive at this stage, and will be bought by some major headset manufacturer , like Apple or Facebook. The evolution of CREAL glasses.

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AR Google Augmented Reality Course 491

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). Image by Microsoft).

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Sony Controllers AR Haptic 437

The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 10, 2019

If you will be in Italy, please come visiting me! Is Apple partnering with Valve on AR? A report by DigiTimes claims that Apple is partnering with Valve for the production of its AR glasses. More info (Apple and Valve partnering) More info (Road To VR’s skeptical editorial on the news). Image by Eurogamer).

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Augmented Reality Google Machine Learning AR 165

The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

HTC has launched a new headset, we have another confirmation of Apple glasses, we read about the first hands-on on Kura glasses, and many other things have happened! And all of this when in 10 days there will be the Oculus Connect 6, where there will be announced something cool for sure… I’m rather thrilled while I write this e-mail!

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AR HTC Google Microsoft 169

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 ]”. More info (The8thWall) More info (Danilo Pasquariello).

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Hand tracking AR Oculus HTC 239

The Ghost Howls

JUNE 1, 2020

They should guarantee better tracking both for the headset and the controllers; The controllers are smaller and seem a mix between the Oculus Touch and the WMR 1 controllers. I don’t see this device stealing the scene from Oculus, since Oculus is cheaper, but I’m quite sure this new headset will be able to grab a good market share.

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Magic Leap AR China Unity 238

The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 16, 2022

This is ridiculous, not only because the Pro costs a lot of money, but also because it is sold as a “work device” I don’t know how things work where Zuck lives, but here in Italy, a typical workday is 8 hours, not 2. Unless Apple kills it, of course… Productivity ecosystem. Other productivity applications.

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Microsoft Eye Tracking Controllers Video 453

The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 31, 2021

Here in Italy we were not used to celebrating it when I was a kid, but children now have fun dressing up and asking for some sweeties from their neighbors. Even if Google is quite silent about AR and VR lately , the company is still into immersive technologies. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify. Google is still into XR.

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Hand tracking Sony Hardware AR 334

The Ghost Howls

APRIL 25, 2022

The game should be called Assassin’s Creed Nexus and feature 16 missions including the most famous assassins: the first leaked one has been Ezio who will perform a mission in Italy, but there should be also Ezio, Kassandra, Connor, and Haytham. News worth a mention. “You Air Bridge manual leaks online. News from partners (and friends).

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Gaming Hand tracking Virtual World Haptic 273

The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 29, 2019

Before starting with the interview, a little disclaimer: my consultancy agency New Technology Walkers is collaborating with prof. Me participating at the press conference of Rome Reborn, in Italy. The Oculus Rift shipped in spring 2016. At the moment, this means solutions such as the Samsung Gear VR and the Oculus GO.

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Virtual Reality Study Education Oculus 259

The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 13, 2021

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??” You can clearly see from the videos that we did our first demos inside the Oculus samples scenes. From it, ARKit has born, I guess.

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Virtual Reality Unity Course AR 441