Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR)

Luke Ross has released a VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077, available via Patreon. The mod lets you experience driving and photo modes with head-tracking, 3D effects and more.

VR company holoride will use HTC Vive Flow glasses when it launches its in-car experience technology later this year. The entertainment merges XR with the vehicle's movements for an immersive experience without inducing motion sickness.

Congratulations on securing your Meta Quest headset and welcome to the metaverse. Believe it or not that’s not the cringiest thing you’ll hear this year. Just wait until your stepbrother tries to explain how he’s minting and selling NFTs in the metaverse even though he still cannot explain what blockchains are.

Design-wise, the PlayStation VR2 headset is taking quite a few cues from the PS5 console itself, while the hardware upgrades include a 4K HDR display with 90 / 120 Hz refresh rate and foveated rendering, plus haptic feedback, eye tracking and more.

Motorola has unveiled a neckband that features a mmWave 5G modem, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, various sensors and speakers. Relying on a 5,000 mAh battery, the neckband is intended to enhance the AR and VR experience on the go.

The European Union Court of Justice (or CJEU) has implemented a new law by which data pertaining to users in its jurisdiction has to stay there. Meta has taken issue with this, indicating that the measures are incompatible with the way it deploys Facebook and Instagram within the bloc. Therefore, the EU just might become more of a Meta-free zone soon.

Digital cameras are often the medium of higher-end online and social content, and are projected to get even more versatile and innovative as time goes on. Despite this, however, its market is now thought to decline by hundreds of millions of US dollars by 2025. This might be driven by fragmentation and competition from other device categories.

Volkswagen has finally previewed its new bus - the first of its kind to be electric. It has been revealed to have a design somewhat like the original's hallmark shape - however, it will be outfitted with considerably more up-to-date tech. They include an AR heads-up display, LED headlights and a new kind of wheel.

RedMagic, which has been building its brand of flagship Android smartphones over the last few years, now seems to have ambitions to expand its gaming ecosystem beyond this platform in 2022. The OEM is now slated to do so with its inaugural monitor, not to mention a VR headset, that might debut alongside the 7 series of mobile devices in the near future.

The latest software update, v37, has been released by Oculus. The update includes multiple productivity features and aims to ease the navigation of the environment.

MediaTek has confirmed that it is working to support the roll-out of Wi-Fi 7 already. These products are projected to incorporate new and upgraded specs for improved speeds and bandwidths compared to Wi-Fi 6 or 6E. MediaTek aims to have its first examples of its new chipsets and components on the market by 2023.

Apple's upcoming AR/VR headset will feature an M1 Pro SoC, dual 8K displays, and advanced audio. The headset is likely to be priced around the US$2,000 mark, according to known Apple watcher Mark Gurman. Gurman also notes in his latest newsletter that the Apple headset will focus on gaming, multimedia, and communications. He even predicts a few possible names for the device including Apple Vision, Apple Reality, and Apple Sight.

Apple Glass, AR glasses that the company is rumored to be working on, may come with lenses that adjust to correct users' visual defects. According to a patent granted to Apple, multiple electrodes are used to adjust the physical properties of liquid crystal lenses, allowing the lenses to mimic prescription lenses.

AmazeVR, a virtual reality concert platform, has recently raised US$15 million in funding. The company’s first VR show with Megan Thee Stallion will be available in theaters in the US this year.

Mojo Vision has made two announcements at CES 2022; that it has received a further US$45 million of investment and that it plans to partner with several fitness companies, including Adidas Running. The company is working on a smart contact lens, which will overlay data onto the real world.

Sony will have a new virtual reality headset about five years after the PlayStation VR hit the shelves. It just previewed the PSVR2 features by tipping brand new Sense controller features, 'stunning visuals,' and an exclusive Horizon Call of the Mountain title written specifically for the PlayStation VR2 launch. Sony also released the first Horizon Call of The Mountain VR trailer, indicating that the PSVR2 launch is near.

Software developer praydog has released VR mods for Resident Evil 2 and 3 on GitHub. The mods allow you to play the games in first-person VR, with lifelike weapon action such as physical knife damage.

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.