Well, hey there! So, the week kicks off and I’m here, rambling on about what’s shaking in the land of XR. Let’s dive straight in, alright? But oh, wait, is there a buzz floating around about Project Moohan? And yet… crickets. Sorta strange, yeah? Google’s not exactly out there with trumpets and banners. Maybe it’s the pricey tag? Who’s to say. Hype it too much and when the sales don’t match up, folks start with the "VR’s toast" chant. Just some food for thought from yours truly. Anyway — or, hang on — let’s just see what unravels in the next bit.
Biggest Scoop of the Week
Meta’s diving deep into its purse and guess who’s swimming? Smartglasses! Revenues are kicking up by 5%. But not thanks to Quest gadgets ’cause those nosedived. Ray-Ban Meta glasses? Flying off shelves like crazy. Even the folks at Luxottica are doing a happy dance, watching sales triple compared to last year. Rumor has it, those glasses hit around 600K sales last quarter, beating out the Quest 3 with some nifty 500K. Maybe we’re witnessing a shift here? VR headsets just ain’t cutting it. People buy Quest 3S to play good ol’ VR games like Gorilla Tag. Mixed reality who? Meta’s flipping the design of the Quest 4 and the game’s now all about lightweight smartglasses. Who knows what awaits us in 2026 with Puffin/Loma. Meanwhile, these glasses – chic, snazzy, and they play nice with AI. Zuckerberg’s out there saying glasses will outsmart us all someday. Metaverse, anyone? We’ll see if these smartglasses are leading us to a world of tech peepers… or maybe not.
Other Juicy Tidbits
Quick mention about Meta chiming in on VR time. They say 20-40 minutes is just right – like Goldilocks, you know the story, right? Anything shorter isn’t worth the fuss; longer, and your skull feels the pressure. Been there, heard ya, Meta. Oh, and don’t go fooling yourself into stretching your VR game sessions to 40 mins tops. Please don’t. Meta is onto something else.
Brilliant Labs tossed out their Halo glasses. All-day wear, feather-light, and with a memory that rivals elephants. Noa, the AI, got its brains fully loaded to remember, think, remind. Bone conduction speakers try to balance between hearing the world and the not-so-great audio quality. In a nutshell, fragile but promising. And spoiling the surprise? They’re open-source. Gotta love that openness. $299 and they’re yours, but hush, limited stock. I’m eager for a tinker.
Then Meta and Stanford waved their magic wand over ultra-thin XR glasses. Isn’t it weirdly wonderful how tech doesn’t wait around? 3mm gravel-crunch thinness, packed with a spatial light modulator, painting some 3D wizardry directly to your eyes. No headache-inducing 2D views here, folks. Yup, it’s once upon a future prospect, though.
And the Little Nibbles
Heard Meta’s tweaking Avatars? Hairstyles galore, change your look in a blink. There’s a sprinkle of AI dressing you up too, Avatar fashion at its finest. Alibaba’s venturing into smartglasses too, introducing Quark AI Glasses. They’re set for a 2025 debut. Flagging down anyone waiting with bated breath.
More whispers? Quest is buzzing with a football match VR recreation – Burnley vs Lazio. Live and 3D, not your regular couch potato experience.
New gear alert – TOALL pushing their Visual-X glasses, and DJI’s thrown its hat in the 360° cam ring. And here’s an amusing twist – Microsoft is bringing Immersive Events to Teams. Yawn or yay? Jury’s out.
On the Content Front
On the gaming aisle – WarpFrog playing around with a new VR game’s skeleton; CYBRID bringing back some vintage vibes; Little Planet simulating life virtually — for free. Even Cloud Imperium is teasing us with a Star Citizen VR promise that’s been a decade in the making. Better now than never?
A Quick Laugh
Catch a giggle or two in VRChat. The chaos, the quirk, the screams – because kids, well, they’re everywhere.
Spread the Goodness
Before I go off the rails, let’s not forget. Support the Red Cross for Ukraine, folks. Every bit of help counts. Thanks to everyone backing me on Patreon – you guys rock. And hey, wanna say thanks here? Swing by, lend a hand.
That’s it. Packed with truth, oddities, and random musings. Until next week, stay fabulously human.
