AR

If you’re spending $3,499 to be one of the first 70,000 or so people with Apple’s Vision Pro, we can probably assume you own a recent iPhone. But just in case, 9to5Mac points out details from an Apple email explaining the online ordering process.

Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo closely follows Apple’s production plans and is saying that for the February 2nd launch day, “Apple will produce 60,000 to 80,000 units of Vision Pro,” with around 500k shipping in 2024.

The RayNeo X2 Lite AR Glasses come in at “just around” 60 grams, according to a press release, which is about half of the X2’s 120g weight, Mashable says. The glasses are tentatively set to launch in Q3, Mashable reports.

Last week Qualcomm announced a new AR/VR chip and reference design aimed at competing with Apple’s upcoming headset; yesterday Xreal (formerly Nreal) debuted some new spatial computing glasses with the same goal. And today the two companies announced a multiyear partnership that could include:

That’s according to Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter in Bloomberg.

Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset can play back stereoscopic 3D video shot on iPhone 15 Pro, and CNET’s Scott Stein got to load up some of his own spatial videos on a Vision Pro and watch them:

ByteDance reportedly scrapped it after sales of last year’s Pico 4 “fell far short of ByteDance’s expectations,” according to a report by The Information. The last headset still hasn’t launched in the US, as political heat has stayed on ByteDance and its other well-known project, TikTok.

Look, there’s nothing wrong with taking your phone to the ceramic throne so you can relax, read, and relieve... but a virtual reality headset? That’s next level.

Meta VP of engineering Don Block has been leading the operating system development for its augmented reality glasses project, codenamed Nazare, planned for release in 2024. Now Reuters reports the former Microsoft engineer is stepping down, citing a Meta spokesperson saying it was for personal reasons and that the upcoming product roadmap will not be affected.

It’s an exclusive partnership, Android Central reports, meaning that Meta would be the only company that gets to use the chips. That said, Meta’s first pair of AR glasses might be years away, so it could be awhile until we know how capable the customer silicon is.

Not your TV, though.

The three companies announced an Android AR / VR headset in February but with few details. UploadVR and Korean business outlet The JoongAng report rumors of a late 2024 launch, after Apple introduces its Vision Pro.

One of the questions about how Vision Pro users will be able to share content with people who don’t have their own $3,500 headset may be answered, as MacRumors points out code discovered in Apple’s visionOS 1.0 beta 4 release about mirroring content to other devices and sharing via AirPlay or FaceTime.

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith spotted a fun little note today on the download page for the Xcode 15.1 beta that says a Mac with Apple Silicon is required if you want to develop for visionOS.

Remember the whole microscandal about Zuck’s VR legs?

Zuck just talked about productivity apps on the Quest 3, including Microsoft Office. I swear to god, if you stick me in a virtual Excel hellscape, I will yeet myself from existence.

Tomorrow, Meta will explain why you should pay $500 for a Quest 3 at Meta Connect... and I’m starting to wonder if Lego will be part of the pitch. See the blocks in Zuck’s image below? They’ve got trademarked Lego logos on top!

In an interview with Brian Tong on the Apple Blitz XL podcast, Apple VP of sensing and connectivity Ron Huang explains that while the second-gen AirPods Pro earbuds also have the H2 chip just like its new USB-C model, the new ones are capable of communicating at 5GHz instead of just 2GHz.

The new MonHun AR game from Capcom and Niantic is officially available ahead of the original September 14th release, according to Android Police. You can grab it from Google Play and the App Store.