Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR)

Intel unveiled its upcoming vision processing unit (VPU) for edge computing devices. Dubbed Keem Bay, the new chip offers major improvements over existing VPUs from Nvidia and Huawei. Additionally, Keem Bay offers better performance with a significantly lower power draw.

Snap Inc has officially launched its new Spectacles 3. The Spectacles 3 feature dual built-in cameras that can shoot photos and video in 3D at up to 60fps with the ability to overlay 3D AR-style effects.

Pokémon GO remains one of the world's most popular augmented-reality (AR) mobile games. However, it has a persistent discrepancy as a title in this ecosystem, which is a lack of Pokéstops, particularly in more isolated regions. Therefore, its maker Niantic is about to launch a more global method of taking user suggestions for additional such item-sources in the future.

VR on smartphones is all but dead following the end of Samsung’s Galaxy VR ambitions and Google’s recent announcement that it has ceased development for its Daydream VR platform. However, in an inkling of hope for those who were sold on the idea, Google has open-sourced its Google Cardboard VR headset design so that it might have a second life.

Pokémon GO will be getting a live AR multiplayer feature sometime soon. Currently called "Buddy Adventure," the feature will allow two players to interact with each other's Buddy Pokémon in real-time through their smartphone cameras. The feature is based on developer Niantic's real-time AR networking technology.

Qualcomm's Venture division has announced the implementation of the 5G Ecosystem Fund, a source of investment worth up to US$200 million. As the name suggests, it will help support start-ups involved in new, innovative and potentially lucrative applications of the new mobile-data standard. The company also intends the new fund to help get 5G in devices besides smartphones.

LG's South Korean telecomms company has announced the debut of its new app, "U+ AR Shopping". It enables users to transform the content of 2 popular TV shopping channels into augmented reality (AR) experiences. Consumers can then leverage them to visualize and manipulate their potential purchases in 3D.

The Nubia Red Magic 3S is a slight improvement over the Red Magic 3. The updated handset sports a faster Snapdragon 855+ SoC and UFS 3.0 storage. All other factors, including the price tag, are the same as the older Red Magic 3. The Red Magic 3S is available starting at US $479

Nvidia’s successor to the Turing architecture powering its current line of Turing based RTX 20 series GPUs isn’t far away. According to the latest rumors, the graphics powerhouse will be releasing its new chips based on Samsung’s 7nm EUV process in the first half of 2020.

There have been multiple reports of Pokemon GO handing out strikes preventing play to those who own certain Redmi devices. This pattern has been linked to MIUI 10.3.2.0, a recent firmware update for the phones affected. Niantic, the AR game's developer, has announced that it is now working on trying to revise them.

Google has announced the re-institution of its Shopping service, albeit for users located in the US only. The company claims that the renewed feature can analyse millions of retail listings and other data in order to show customers the best deals. It is also now possible to order the resulting items directly through Google.

Facebook has announced several updates for its Oculus Quest standalone headset that are likely to greatly broaden its appeal. The company has announced that it is introducing wired PC support for the headset as well as hand tracking that extends its capabilities significantly.

facebook is certainly not the first to try its hand at augmented reality smartglasses, but with the help of Ray-Ban parent company Luxotica, the social media giant will market its upcoming AR tech as a true smartphone killer. The smartglasses will also integrate cameras plus an AI voice assistant, and will work in conjunction with a ring-like device that enables motion sensing.

HTC has confirmed that Yves Maitre, a former executive at the telecommunications company Orange, is its new chief executive officer (CEO). His predecessor, Cher Wang, will remain at the Taiwanese OEM as the head of its board. This executive will focus on products such as the VIVE XR ecosystem and the HTC 5G Hub.

Latest reports claim that the upcoming Windows Core OS will offer a modular low-level platform running on desktops, laptops, VR machines, consoles and foldable devices. On top of it, Microsoft plans to add different variants of Windows to enable all the necessary features without any compromise.

The Apple U1 chip is new hardware that controls ultrawide band (UWB) energy transfers between devices. This enables compatible products to locate each other and exchange data in a way non-U1-enabled counterparts cannot. These new features are exclusive to the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

NVIDIA has introduced a new mobile Quadro RTX card, the mobile Quadro RTX 6000 at IFA 2019. The specifications of the mobile Quadro RTX 6000 are yet to be officially disclosed, but NVIDIA's performance numbers show that it performs within 10% of that of its desktop counterpart. NVIDIA is working with partners to create mobile workstation laptops based on its Ace Reference Design and a total of 39 RTX Studio laptops and desktops will be made available.

Headlining Dell’s announcements at Gamescom is an all-new G series gaming desktop. The new Dell G5 Desktop is designed to be an attractive but affordable and upgradeable gaming machine with up to Intel Core i9 CPUs and either Nvidia (GTX/RTX) or AMD Radeon RX GPUs.

Linux laptop seller System76 recently announced a new workstation. The Adder WS, which is set to release on August 8, is the retailer's first laptop with a 15.6-inch 4K OLED display. The laptop will also pack a power Core i7 or Core i9 CPU and an Nvidia RTX 2070 GPU into its chassis.

UPDATE 8/2: Intel has responded with a clarification of Raja Koduri's statement. See below. In a recent interview with a Russian YouTube tech channel, Raja Koduri (chief architect at Intel) stated that Intel's upcoming Xe GPU will start at a competitive $200 and that at least some models will use HBM. While it's unlikely that the $200 entry-level Xe GPUs will have HBM (due to the high cost of HBM), the GPUs are looking more competitive than ever.

Taiwan's DigiTimes reports that Apple has killed its plans for an AR headset citing supply chain sources. Samsung, however, seems to be ploughing on with its AR headset efforts filing a new patent for a foldable headset.

Vuzix has filed a new patent with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). It will inform future smart glasses made by this OEM, particularly regarding their use in augmented reality (AR) applications. Vuzix also claims that it will help the company use the latest materials in the spectacle-making industry, as well as the most up-to-date AR sensors.

Announced in early November 2017 and released as a Beta back in April/May (New Zealand/Australia), Harry Potter: Wizards Unite finally became available for the general public — on both Android and iOS — on June 21. However, this mobile location-based augmented reality title is still reaching new markets as we speak.

Samsung has just allegedly trademarked a product called "Make & Play 3D", which apparently involves a time-of-flight (TOF) module that brings depth-sensing to devices such as smartphones. This suggests that upcoming releases from this OEM may have such a next-gen module. The Galaxy Note 10 may be as good a candidate as any for this upgrade.

A micro-display is a panel that may be made of conventional materials such as OLED or LCD, yet are 2 inches at most on the diagonal. They are incorporated into everyday devices such as digital cameras, and in emerging categories such as heads-up or head-mounted displays. The latest research suggests that their market will be worth US$3.42 billion in the next 6 years.

The video-game industry could accrue as much as US$179.1 billion by 2024. This is in line with a new market-research report on the subject. This valuation may be driven by conventional platforms such as mobile devices, PCs and consoles; however, VR and AR are also likely to have an increasingly large influence on the space.

Viveport Infinity is a service that pulls together VR experiences from numerous different publishers for a single monthly fee. To this end, "Beyond the Wall", an HBO/Game of Thrones product, launches on this platform tomorrow (May 31, 2019). It may offer customers the opportunity to explore Westerosi vistas in a virtual manner.

Bose has launched an all-new range of premium noise cancelling headphones. The first to hit the market is the new Headphones 700 that packs in 11 levels of noise cancellation.

Qualcomm is at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) to launch its new Snapdragon Smart Viewer Reference Design. It is a reference VR headset based on the XR1 Platform. This device has a DJI display, up-to-date controllers, interfaces and a Standalone Mode.

The Quest is Oculus' first all-in-one virtual reality (VR) headset. It is available for sale from today (May 21, 2019). It is also a truly wireless VR set, and uses the company's imaging and touch-sensor technology to deliver this. The Quest starts at US$399 for a model with 64GB of on-board memory.

According to a new report, the virtual reality (VR) gaming market will grow from its most recent US$10.3 billion valuation to one of $40.2 billion in 2024. This is likely to be driven by advancements in VR equipment design and function. However, the cost of the same is also thought to be what is holding this market back at present.

According to a patent filed with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), Intel may be considering the manufacture of its own smartphone. This device may follow the dual-display trend set by Vivo and Nubia, and also allegedly has "360-degree" cameras. The patent is dated May 14, 2019.

The latest report by the market analysis group Grand View Research indicates that the laptop market will be worth US$108.91 billion worldwide by 2025. This is based on data collected from 2014 to 2019, and shows that the segment for the 2-in-1 category is projected to exhibit the most effective growth between then and now.

An executive for Slightly Mad Studios has admitted that the future development of the Mad Box console is looking “questionable”. Slightly Mad, which is the company behind the Project CARS series of games, revealed it was planning on producing a console that could offer incredible VR support amounting to 60 FPS per eye, or 120 FPS in total.

Facebook’s Oculus has announced that its two newest VR headsets will begin shipping on May 21. The Oculus Quest is the company’s first all-in-one VR gaming system while the Oculus Rift S is the successor t the original Oculus Rift headset and is targeted at more serious VR gamers with decent PC gaming rigs.

Apple already announced its Apple Arcade gaming service, and Samsung clearly does not want to miss on this big opportunity, as the gaming industry is enticed by streaming services like the Google Stadia. Samsung's upcoming PlayGalaxy Link service should be announced soon, and rumor has it that the Korean giant could also launch a gaming smartphone along with it.

Today (28 April 2019), Nikon opens its "Capture the Savings" event. It offers "instant savings" on products such as the award-winning Z Series full-frame camera bodies, as well as the D-series DLSRs and many types of Nikkor lenses. Most of these deals are available until 1 June 2019.

Nintendo's latest earnings report covers the years ending March 2018 and 2019. They show generally positive results, including a 13.7% year-on-year increase in net sales. The text of this report also states that the release of Pokemon Shield, Pokemon Sword and the Link's Awakening remake are indeed set for this year.

A trio of IT researchers affiliated with Facebook have created a new method to turn a video of an individual performing a series of actions (e.g. a dance) into a 3D 'game character'. This character - and its associated movements - can then be transposed onto a new background. The researchers assert that this background could interact with said character.

Mark Cerny, lead architect behind the PlayStation 4, has confirmed several details about the specifications of Sony's next-generation console. The PlayStation 5, as it is rumored to be called, will run on an AMD APU consisting of a 7 nm Zen 2-based CPU and a Navi-based GPU that will support real-time ray tracing and 8K resolutions. The PS5 will also include a lightning-fast SSD that should drastically cut down on load time.

It’s a big day for Star Wars fans. The first trailer for the Episode IX, officially titled “The Rise of Skywalker,” has landed, along with the first game-play trailer for the new “Vader Immortal” VR game and leaked artwork from Respawn’s “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.”

Sony has revealed in a PlayStation blog post that 4.2 million PlayStation VR headsets have been sold worldwide up to March 3. The PlayStation VR device was released in October 2016 and had passed one million sales by June 2017. A new Iron Man VR game has also been announced, which should help Sony shift a few more PSVR units.

Oculus and HP have unveiled their latest VR headsets during GDC week in San Francisco. The new headsets are a step up their previous efforts and feature improved optics, comfort and overall performance.

Nvidia's own game streaming service is currently featuring more than 500 game titles, and users will be able to bring more games from platforms like Steam. Backed by new RTX blade servers with scalable RTX 2080 performance and blazing fast connections all across the world via the GeForce Now Alliance, Nvidia is aiming to provide the smoothest gaming experience for more than a billion systems that do not integrate gaming GPUs.

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset has been surveyed as the most popular VR hardware utilized by Steam users. The rival headset from HTC, the Vive, also has a commanding share of users, but it has seen the gap between itself and the Oculus Rift widen over the last month. Also getting a worthy mention is Windows Mixed Reality, which can be utilized by owners of Microsoft HoloLens smartglasses.

Some companies have developed transparent displays to the point where they may be the immediate future of head-mounted, heads-up and state-of-the-art shopfront technology. A new analysis has shown that their market may be worth US$2.591 billion by 2023. This market will be made up of see-through OLEDs and LCDs in a range of display sizes.

Ming-Chi Kuo is back to stick another thorn in Apple’s side with more news about Apple’s future product plans. This time around, Kuo has revealed that Apple’s rumoured augmented reality glasses could be coming as soon as late 2019 or early 2020.