Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR)

bHaptics has announced the TactGlove, a haptic glove to allow you to touch things in VR. The company will demonstrate the gadget at CES 2022 in collaboration with Hand Physics Lab and Unplugged VR.

VR headsets and accessories are discounted in time for the holidays at HTC VIVE. The sale includes the Cosmos Elite, Pro and Pro Eye devices, alongside accessories such as the Deluxe Audio Strap, with discounts of up to US$300 (~€266).

Oppo has announced the Air Glass, which is an assisted reality smart glass that works with Oppo smartphones and smartwatches. The Air Glass, which will be a China-exclusive for now, is powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100 SoC and uses a Spark Micro Projector with micro-LEDs to project information and notifications onto the sapphire crystal.

The 2021 Chinese International Public Security Expo will take place in late December. Huawei's HiSilicon division is slated to be headed to the event with its latest development: a new image-signalling processor (ISP). This new dedicated chipset is now said to stand out in its category with a new architecture.

The Wemax Go is a DLP projector rated to throw an up to 120-inch image with HDR support and a maximal brightness of 600 ANSI lumens. However, unlike most products with such specs, it is also designed to be just 1 inch in height. Its maker, asserting that it is the thinnest product capable of the ALPD standard, has put it up for crowdfunding on Indiegogo.

Oculus has released another set of features, including a tool allowing voice recognition in VR apps. Other tools launched in this v35 update include a spatial anchor feature for locking content in place between sessions and the ability to record yourself while you are playing in VR.

Sony has announced availability and pricing for the inaugural Airpeak drone. The S1 is rated as the "world's smallest" drone that can still carry a full-sized mirrorless Alpha-series camera. It is up for pre-order from now, to be shipped later in December 2021.

Masterpiece Studio software is now available for free, but only for non-commercial use. The programme enables you to model in 3D and animate through virtual reality, with tools to let you texturize, rig and skin your models and more.

Volvo has partnered with Israeli-based Spectralics for the development of optical technology that takes ‘heads-up’ display tech to the next level. The technology uses multi-layered thin combiner (MLTC) film embedded in a windshield to provide an AR overlay of the driver’s view as a driver aid.

Dyson has released an Oculus app to allow customers to experience its products in virtual reality. The VR experience gives you the chance to understand how the products work and try them out in a virtual environment. Dyson's virtual store currently contains beauty tools such as the Supersonic hairdryer and the Airwrap, plus the Dyson cordless V15 Detect vacuum cleaner.

Apple is expected to unveil its first AR headset sometime in 2022, according to Ming-Chi Kuo. He adds that it will perform on par with an M1 Mac and might not require an iPhone/iPad to operate. It could also feature two 4K OLED panels from Sony.

Software developer Niantic and bank card company Fold have built an AR experience that allows you to find and win bitcoin. The game is currently being rolled out in a limited beta, with more features, such as bitcoin trading, to be released in the coming months.

HTC VIVE has unveiled an update for Focus 3 headsets, which were released earlier this year. The improved features include increased play area and map sharing abilities.

With the acquisition of all the artist tools, core pipeline, intellectual property and engineering talent from Weta Digital, Unity is set to become the premier video game engine to power future metaverse projects.

Niantic, famous for developing games like Pokemon GO, has released an Augmented Reality Developer Kit (ARDK) for people who want to build AR games. The ARDK is available for free and allows developers to build upon Niantic's core technologies.

The New York Times reports that Meta may be planning retail stores to showcase its devices, including Oculus VR headsets. According to sources close to The Times, plans for these stores began last year, with Meta expected to open its flagship store in California.

The v34 Oculus Quest update from Meta has been announced. The update will be rolled out for Quest and Quest 2 devices. It includes improvements to features such as Voice Commands, plus a new tool called Space Sense, though this is only available on Quest 2 headsets.

Several leaked videos suggest that Facebook could unveil an upgraded Oculus Quest headset at its annual Connect event later this week. The videos show several new design features, including a sleeker front panel and revised controllers with cameras instead of tracking rings.

The free games coming to PlayStation Plus service subscribers in November have been leaked. Among them, there is a well-received PlayStation VR game, a remaster of a PlayStation 3 action RPG, a social deduction party title, and a Rocket Arena-type game from Electronic Arts. It’s expected the games will become available for free from November 2.

New rumors suggest that Apple may not release its first VR headset until late 2022 at the earliest. It has been predicted that the delay has been caused by Apple's complex design for the headset.

Thunderbird is an augmented reality (AR) -focused start-up supported by the display-centric OEM TCL. Now, the two brands have unveiled something apparently three years in the making: the new Smart Glasses Pioneer Version, with a groundbreaking color micro-LED display geared toward an optimal AR experience.

Acer's new L811 laser-powered device is directed at those wishing to project their own 4K HDR10-compatible movies at home. For those who would prefer a monitor that could also support some image-editing work, there is the 27-inch CB273U IPS monitor. For more "serious" display needs, however, the OEM has now also announced pricing and availability for the Nitro XV272U KF.

Evan Blass has leaked HTC's next VR headset, the Vive Flow. Set to be announced tomorrow, the Vive Flow will launch for US$499 and will begin shipping in early November.

The game Red Light, Green Light, as seen in the Netflix horror show Squid Game, is now playable in VR. This simple game lets players experience the game shown in the first episode of the TV series on Facebook Quest headsets.

Canon has announced the RF5.2mm f/2.8L, created with the dual fish-eye lenses needed to convert a single DSLR into a VR content-creation machine. This new binocular accessory is compatible with the EOS R5, and confers 180-degree 3-dimensional stereoscopic recording in up to 8K on the flagship camera.

Besides the Vapour platform, the leaked source files also reveal something called VapeWorld that is built on the Unity engine and looks like a VR chat game with 3D Twitch chat emotes. Additionally, the existence of a “metaverse” folder could suggest Amazon's plans to integrate NFT and other crypto tokens with Vapour.

Nreal has unveiled the Nreal Air, a budget pair of augmented reality glasses. This headset is designed for consumers to watch TV and play games on a big-screen display on the move. The Nreal Air glasses are due to launch in December 2021.

MediaTek has unveiled a new "high-performance" series dedicated to the latest standard of wireless connectivity. It now consists of the Filogic 830 and 630, the line's first examples of system-on-chips (SoCs) and network interface cards (NICs) respectively. They are slated to confer top-end Wi-Fi specs on devices such as PCs, smart TVs and peripherals.

Xiaomi has surprised with the unveiling of its new Smart Glasses. The new device features bleeding-edge technology including a microLED display that the company claims can achieve a peak brightness of 2 million nits.

Tim Cook could be planning one more major product release as Apple CEO before stepping down from the role. The report comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman who said Cook may step down before a share deal matures in 2025.

Renowned tech evangelist Robert Scoble has posted a tweet claiming that Apple’s long-awaited Apple Glass AR headset is due to make its first appearance at WWDC 2022. It will be joined by a new iPod that is said to be integral to the new AR experience.

The Witcher: Monster Slayer is an AR-enabled game reminiscent of Pokemon Go. The title is set to launch on iOS and Android on July 21.

Racks of multiple cameras in the same smartphone just don't cut it any more...or so the OEM Vivo seems to believe, based on its latest patent. It depicts a mobile device with a cavity large enough to house its very own miniature drone. Therefore, consumers of the future might be able to buy their own cinematic set-up and Android in one.

Sony has already confirmed that it plans to release another VR headset, but a new report has gone much further. Reportedly, Sony has settled on a launch window and multiple specifications, including a display supplier.

Currently, Xiaomi's most premium Android smartphones include the Mi 11 Ultra and Mi Mix Fold. However, the renowned leaker Digital Chat Station claims to have information on an impending successor that could blow even these super-flagships out of the water. It will apparently do so with cutting-edge tech such as ultrawide-band (UWB) and under-display technology.

Huawei has reportedly patented an in-house controller for virtual reality (VR) applications such as gaming. It is depicted as having a fairly standard form-factor, and possibly as coming in blue or black, in its new CNIPA documentation. Therefore, the OEM might be about to unveil products for this market.

Qualcomm has now released its fiscal performance report for the second quarter of 2021 (2FQ2021). The OEM claims to have made a total of US$7.9 billion in terms of revenue, ~$1.8 billion of which is its net income. Most of this has come from its semiconductor-producing arm, which has posted a 137% growth in pre-tax earnings year-on-year (YoY).

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) had indicated that its flagship Consumer Electronics Show (CES) might be able to return to a live format in 2022. Now, the group has confirmed that this is indeed the case. Therefore, the conference will be held in its classic Las Vegas setting through January 5 to 8 of next year.

The putative new Vive Air virtual reality (VR) headset has leaked out - and in a fairly unusual way, too. The global iF Design foundation has inadvertently revealed its features and looks in honoring the product with one of its 2021 awards. However, its maker, HTC, denies that it will launch any time soon.

Sony has launched its latest 4K projectors aimed at the home cinema market. The two new SXRD units are rated for native 4K resolutions and have the same X1 processor found in many high-end BRAVIA TVs. The higher-end model has an ARC-F lens for image quality that goes right to the edge of the window it throws.

The Air 2S is the successor to the DJI Mavic Air 2, even if it has new and snappier branding. It also has a sensor of 1 inch in size, which outdoes its forebear by a good margin. The new CMOS supports up to 5.4K recording at up to 30fps, and allows for zooming while in flight. The DJI Air 2S starts for US$999 from now.

The major Computex industry event is now confirmed to take place in 2021. It will do so in "hybrid" form this year, which means a blend of onsite and virtual presentations and resources. This entire show will run from May 31 to June 30, 2021, and is slated to see participation from prominent OEMs, AMD and Intel included.

Not much has been heard of HTC since it launched its Desire 21 Pro in January 2021. However, the OEM reportedly intends to stay in the smartphone industry for at least the rest of this year, with new 5G devices ready to go from the second quarter (2Q2021). HTC may also consolidate its presence in the enterprise-grade virtual or augmented reality (VR or AR) sector with new hardware and services.

Some Realme fans might already be aware of Realmeow, this OEM’s recently-unveiled visor-rocking feline mascot. Now, some official-looking Twitter accounts allege that this character is to become much more to the brand. In fact, it is due to be rolled out as a smart assistant soon.

Please note this was a joke article posted on April Fools' Day in 2021.
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The ubiquitous chip-design IP-holder Arm perceives the future as one in which processing demands will trend strongly towards AI and data-security needs while moving away from general computing. The company aims to meet it with its latest v9 architecture, packed with advanced support for pursuits such as machine learning (ML) and digital-signal processing (DSP).

Sony has unveiled its new PS5 VR controllers that feature a completely new design and some exciting features such as finger detection, adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and more. Its price and availability will be revealed later.

Industry analyst Ming Chi-Kuo offered up an eyebrow-raising prediction in a recent research note. Kuo believes that Apple will release augmented reality contact lenses by the mid 2030s, potentially transforming the way people engage with technology and the world around them.

Bethesda and id Software have ported Doom 3 to the PS VR. The game will feature newer textures, VR friendly combat/movement, and include The Lost Mission and Resurrection of Evil campaigns. Doom 3 VR Edition will be available for purchase starting March 29.