Virtual reality

ByteDance’s Oculus challenger Pico lays off hundreds, halts aggressive expansion

When Pico launched its Oculus Quest challenger in China last year, it did so with great optimism. Light (295 grams) and affordable ($420), the virtual reality headset released by the ByteDance-owned m

Mark Zuckerberg went 33 minutes without saying ‘metaverse’ at his keynote

When Meta rebranded from Facebook two years ago, the word “metaverse” went mainstream. Even people outside the tech world wondered if we would soon start to socialize via virtual reality h

Meta’s Horizon Worlds is rolling out on web and mobile

After more than a year and a half in development, Meta is bringing Horizon Worlds out of the headset. The VR social app has started rolling out for some users on web and mobile in early access, Meta s

Meta Quest adds new avatar customization options, an unsend message feature and more

As part of the v57 software update for Meta Quest headsets, the company announced Monday a bevy of new features — including more avatar customization options, an unsend message feature, group li

Meta avatars are finally getting legs (in beta)

It’s time to beta test Meta’s greatest technological innovation since the News Feed: legs. Now on Meta Quest headsets, you can download an update that lets you walk on two feet, just like

Hidden forces and sliding screens trick the senses to make VR feel more real

The next big thing in VR might not be higher resolution or more immersive sound, but an experience augmented by physical sensations or moving parts that fool your senses into mistaking virtual for rea

VLGE opens SDK for its no-code virtual world builder aimed at fashion, beauty and art industries

We’ve seen the rise of no-code and low-code platforms being applied to any number of applications and use cases. What would happen if this thinking were applied to metaverse-style virtual worlds? Wh

Goodbye VR, hello AR, and can AI be more human, plz?

Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. It seems like the fizzle has gone out of the VR conversation altogether, as every manufacturer and conversation is refocu

VR is dead

That’s because VR is missing the one crucial thing that could’ve taken it from “cool toy” to “must-have device.”

Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks on China cast shadow over Meta’s VR quest

As Meta sets its sight on introducing its virtual reality headsets to the Chinese market, Mark Zuckerberg’s contentious remarks about Beijing in the past may pose a major obstacle to his China d

Meta launches new VR subscription ‘Meta Quest+’ for $7.99

Meta Quest users can subscribe to a new service that gives them access to the top two titles every month. Dubbed Meta Quest+, the virtual reality subscription costs $7.99 per month or $59.99 annually.

How to watch Apple unveil its AR/VR headset, iOS 17 and more at WWDC 2023

Today’s the big day, and we’re expecting big things — well, one really big thing for sure. Apple will kick off WWDC 2023 at 10AM PT Monday June 5 with its customary keynote. As ever, the

A brief history of VR and AR

By the time Howard Rheingold’s “Virtual Reality” was published in 1991, the Sensorama was already a “slowly deteriorating” relic stashed away in a cabana next the pool at its invento

The other DWI: Driving while immersed

I believe that putting virtual reality headsets in cars will kill people. VR is the most distracting medium ever invented.

We tried out Canon’s VR calling app Kokomo

When you think Canon, you might think cameras, scanners, printers and such. At CES this year, the company did a stride toward the softer side of tech, taking a broader view of what imaging means. Toda

Peacock subscribers can now stream content on Meta Quest devices

At Meta Connect 2022, the tech giant announced a three-year partnership with NBCUniversal that would bring Peacock to the Meta Quest virtual reality headset. Today, the streaming app is now available

A decade later, this VR treadmill is finally ready to ship

As free promotion for hardware startups go, one would be hard pressed to point to something better than a $175 million Spielberg film. “It was actually Warner Bros. that had reached out to us to get

Review: PlayStation VR2 is a huge leap that still can’t escape its niche

The PlayStation VR2 is a simultaneously exciting and disappointing development in the virtual reality space. Well-specced, easy to set up and reasonably light and comfortable, Sony’s latest stil

Meta Quest users can now tap and swipe in VR without controllers

Today, Meta announced new improvements to the Quest platform as part of the v50 OS update, including an experimental feature called “Direct Touch,” which lets users tap and swipe with their bare h

Former Salesforce exec Bret Taylor is teaming up with Google AR/VR vet Clay Bavor on mystery startup

When Bret Taylor announced he was stepping down as co-CEO and co-chair at Salesforce in November, it was easy to be cynical about him saying he wanted to go build again. Well, guess what? He wanted to
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