Between Apple’s iPhone announcements and Facebook’s non-branded “smart” glasses, this week was all about putting more cameras out into the world.
1. Apple’s iPhone Event
Apple announced 4 new iPhones this week, the iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max. There were also updates to the iPad and Apple Watch lines, but overall the company has paid most attention to boosting the lifespan of the battery and the quality of the cameras.
Apple has put a lot of focus into boosting the quality of their cameras, and in the processing (including the artificial intelligence behind the scenes that makes your images amazing).
In terms of AR/VR, I’m afraid there isn’t much to discuss. With iOS 15 announced months ago, there were no software surprises to be had. In terms of hardware, the LIDAR scanner is once again exclusive to the Pro devices, so it looks like I’ll be shelling out an additional $200. But that also includes the 120Mhz framerate screen, also a Pro exclusive.
2. Facebook’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
Facebook last week launched their “smart glasses” device in a partnership with Ray-Ban. As expected, there is no visual display, just dual 5MP cameras a few microphones, and Bluetooth speakers, requiring a Facebook app on your phone to interface with.
Oddly, though, Facebook is keeping their name off of this, branding them simply as “Ray-Ban Stories”.
The reviews have been rather mixed, mostly leaning towards the position of “OK, but why?”. There might be some competition to be had here with the Snapchat Spectacles (though not the LATEST version which actually features 3D visuals but is not yet for sale and only available to developers).
The pro seems to be that Ray-Ban did their job and fit the hardware inside of cool looking sunglasses. The cons range from so-so audio, to the frustration of taking photos and videos without the assistance of a viewfinder, to the obvious privacy implications of what we would have until recently have been called “spy glasses”. Facebook has replied that they created these “with privacy in mind” and as an example point to a tiny LED that is on when the glasses are recording, but given the company’s overall track record in this area, plenty of reviewers have been skeptical.
https://mashable.com/review/facebook-rayban-stories-smart-glasses-review
3. Quest Pro headset rumors?
Digging a little deeper this week, there were a few stories that suggest that a next generation of VR devices are probably on the horizon. Often times the “leaks” that come out regarding upcoming hardware versions and features are discovered by developers poking around inside of firmware updates. And this makes sense – hardware companies have a long lead time where they must develop the support libraries and often times these make it (albeit undocumented) into the official releases lying quietly in wait until the feature or hardware in question is announced and released.
One reddit user this week found reference to both a Quest Pro, as well as to “face and eye tracking” systems inside the decompiled firmware. The Quest Pro is not a new concept, this has been teased by Andrew Bosworth (head of Facebook Reality Labs) earlier this year, but with the caveat that it would not ship in 2021.
https://uploadvr.com/quest-pro-face-eye-tracking-oculus-firmware/
The eye / face-tracking would certainly be useful if to systems like the “codec avatar” research that Facebook’s lab here in Pittsburgh has been undertaking, which seeks to create a lifelike avatars that mimic your actual expression. (Seriously, check out the video – it’s wild).
Another upcoming feature discovered by another redditor seems to be an enhanced guardian system, one capable of identifying intrusions into your player volume. If a person, pet, or object enters inside the chaperone system, their shape or outline will appear in your world to let you know not to kick your pet or loved one.
https://uploadvr.com/space-sense-quest-2/
4. Speaking of VR meetings…
One potential use of the “codec avatar” is to have more realistic immersive conferences. (Because if there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s that we need even more Zoom!)
Facebook this week announced a Zoom partnership, integrating the video conferencing software into their own VR conferencing system “Horizon Workrooms”.
While the integration appears to still be early in the development process, most of the interaction is centered around enhanced whiteboarding capabilities. Having the potential to control whiteboards with a more natural controller (or hand-tracked) interface is an interesting proposition for improving the quality of these types of interactions.
No word yet on when this feature will be released, but Horizon Workrooms already has some pretty impressive features on its own, including a virtual version of your desktop, as well as your actual keyboard and hand tracking so that you can operate in a mixed-reality setting.
https://uploadvr.com/facebook-zoom-horizon-workrooms/
5. Come fly with me…
Microsoft Flight Simulator has been a fan favorite for decades, and the most recent generation has been wildly popular due to it’s photorealism and accuracy. In December of last year, they increased that realism by adding immersion with a VR viewing mode. Unfortunately, this was viewing-only – requiring the player to use the mouse & keyboard to control the craft. News this week from the development team strongly suggests that the release of a VR control update are imminent, likely arriving in mid-November. This may be the release that tips this into the “must have” category of VR games.
https://uploadvr.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-vr-controller-support-coming-mid-november/