Multiplatform VR Megathread

[PEB]

Apple looks to be going the HTC external battery route with their VR/AR design that will have huge capacity like 3 times that of an Iphone and will be dynamically replaceable like the HTC headset. The difference is it will not be using a traditional USB-C port to connect to the headset instead a magnetic round link port to connect too. The other side where the battery located will have a more traditional connector. This thing had heavy design work done by Jon Ivy before he left to start his own design firm. Jon was responsible for pretty much every major product Apple produced including the iMac G3, iMac, iMac Pro, iPhone, potentially iCar or whatever they will call it "led to Jon leaving the company" and the Apple AR headset. He was the one who demanded that the battery and potentially the compute unit to be located off the head. 6DOF is rumored to be a breakthrough design with depth camara or camaras and hand tracking to be like a watch band.

Before people question this: This is not the actual headset but an estimation based on leaks from within Apple. Much of this is from within Apple as we get closer to the release of Apples first headset. It's been 5 years from the rumored headset to the release of it. It seems that Tim Cook has decided that the product needs to be released as they continue work on next generation of it.

 

[djacobox372]

I'm not saying VR won't be 'a thing' in the future, but for now and as it has been in the last decade, all of the overly complicated VR headsets will be viewed like.....

Somehow, and someway, they're going to have to figure out how to streamline the process to the point its just something you can put on your head, comfortably, for more than an hour or two.

Pancake lenses and reliable eye tracking for accurate convergence is all that's needed to make it as comfortable as needed for prolonged use.

As for the Steel Battalion controller.. that's viewed as awesome these days.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

As for the Steel Battalion controller.. that's viewed as awesome these days.

Yeah, as an extremely niche and cumbersome accessory.

Nice to look at, but very few would like to own it, but makes you think 'What If...'

 

[PEB]

No eye tracking but over 2500 X 2500 micro OLED panels and slightly smaller FOV but it is custom fit per person takes away a lot. Now image similar size with 4K per eye and mico OLED panels and better then pancake optics with 140 degree field of view and 2 to 4 times the computing power as well as high resolution passthrough with Apple AR headset.

 

[PEB]

 

[ookii]

This is the general consensus that many are waiting for the Quest 3 or Valve Index replacement. Both expected to cost more then the product they are replacing. In the case of the Quest 3 Mark said expect it to cost more due the optics an the addition hardware.

Quest 3 I could see the range of around $500 to $750. Not less than the Quest 2 128 gb version but nothing more than the Quest Pro of $1000. The Valve aint going to be cheap at all and probably will have comparable price to the Vive Pro and Pimax probably will run around $1500 includes both controllers and could be used as standalone

 

[PEB]

Quest 3 I could see the range of around $500 to $750. Not less than the Quest 2 128 gb version but nothing more than the Quest Pro of $1000. The Valve aint going to be cheap at all and probably will have comparable price to the Vive Pro and Pimax probably will run around $1500 includes both controllers and could be used as standalone

I hear that Pimax is getting good reviews for pre production units but still having issues with hand tracking and eye tracking seems to be put on the back burner for now as they seek to focus on PC gaming right now. Valve is rumored to be standalone with an XR or Snapdragon APU due to hand and face tracking software specifically designed for it. Valve also is rumored to be based on the same LG micro-OLED as Apple though I don't know if these will be 4K per eye. Samsung been rumored to be developing an actually long time worked on headset designed to wide FOV pancake like optics with 120 degree FOV. Facebook knows the new benchmark for under 1,000 dollar headsets is the Sony PSVR 2 with its very clean fresnel optic vs smaller pancake but more expensive solution but key is OLED panels "Facebook is rumored to be working with LG on mass producing millions of these micro-OLED panels meaning will cost more then the Quest 2.

 

[Phlog]

I've had the PSVR2 for a couple of weeks now, and whilst I've found horizon and no man's sky pretty great, gran turismo 7 is as close to a gaming experience of nirvana as I've ever had.

I've always been a fanboy of gran turismo so assume that's colouring my interpretation, but wowee, that game is amazing.

I'm driving so much better than I ever have, my awareness of the car and track is vastly improved as is my throttle and steering control when losing traction.

I just put 2hrs into that, I can see it's going to be the only way I race from now on.

It's the experience I've wanted since I was 16yrs old in the 90s.

 

[PEB]

I've had the PSVR2 for a couple of weeks now, and whilst I've found horizon and no man's sky pretty great, gran turismo 7 is as close to a gaming experience of nirvana as I've ever had.

I've always been a fanboy of gran turismo so assume that's colouring my interpretation, but wowee, that game is amazing.

I'm driving so much better than I ever have, my awareness of the car and track is vastly improved as is my throttle and steering control when losing traction.

I just put 2hrs into that, I can see it's going to be the only way I race from now on.

It's the experience I've wanted since I was 16yrs old in the 90s.

It seems Sony bet big and it paid off hopeful this trend continues in this space. Micro-OLED is the future for headsets and I predict all headsets in 2024 will be micro-OLED.

 

[PEB]

 

[PEB]

 

[PEB]

 

[PEB]

It seems gaming is not going to be primary focus of Apple new XR/VR headset. It looks like stereo optical 3D video production in the headset.

Your going to be able to do editing within Final-Cut Pro while wearing the headset. Seeing your changes as they will in the Apple verse no idea what it will be called.

Joint working within the space. There is going to do eye tracking an face tracking an you will need an iPhone sorry android.

I guess at first what could be the best gaming headset is going to be more productivity an social application at first.

 

[PEB]

If there’s one person responsible for the modern resurgence of interest in virtual reality, it's Oculus founder Palmer Luckey. And even he appears to be blown away by the upcoming Apple Reality Pro VR headset.


Luckey was the wunderkind mastermind behind the original Oculus Rift VR hardware, bringing it to market via crowdfunding efforts in 2012. Its success (and potential) would see it fall under the radar of Mark Zuckerberg’s then-Facebook company, which purchased Oculus in 2014. Though Luckey would leave the company to focus on defense tech company Andruil Industries, Facebook would go on to change its name to Meta and reposition its focus to gravitate around virtual reality and the ‘metaverse’ from which it pulled its new name.

So Luckey, though now removed somewhat from the public eye of consumer tech, remains an influential (if controversial) figure in the virtual reality industry. And he’s given Apple’s new VR hardware his seal of approval. In a one-sentence tweet, Luckey states ‘The Apple headset is so good.’

 

[PEB]

"Apple is rumored to introduce its first mixed reality headset next month. And while we’ve heard a lot about this new device, some details remain unclear – like its name and what operating system it will run. After registering the “xrOS” trademark earlier this year, Apple has now registered a wordmark with the same name – which suggests that the new platform will be called “xrOS.”"

 

[PEB]

 

[PEB]

"
Yesterday, eMagin announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung. The transaction is valued at $218 million.

In a few years, OLED microdisplays could replace the liquid crystal displays (LCDs) found in almost every current VR headset. This new type of VR display is smaller, more energy efficient, and allows for extremely high pixel density and brightness, high contrast, and lifelike colors.

efficient, and allows for extremely high pixel density and brightness, high contrast, and lifelike colors.

The US company eMagin has developed a special OLED microdisplay that doesn’t use color filters and thus achieves a particularly high luminance. The company calls it a Direct Patterning Display (DPD).

In early May, eMagin demonstrated an OLED microdisplay that achieves 15,000 nits. Combined with a pancake lens, VR headsets could still reach around 1500 nits. For comparison: Meta Quest 2 offers about 100 nits, Playstation VR 2 about 250 nits. Both with classic Fresnel lenses, which absorb relatively little light.

Samsung Display: A good partner for eMagin
The company unveiled a 4K display a year ago, rumored to be co-developed with Valve. Other large companies are also said to have shown interest in the technology."

Interesting Samsung Co partnership I guess the compan can operate independently? So others can buy these panels. Because Apple an Sony seemed to be locked into holding their panel technology?

 

[PEB]

Get your wallet out lol. Apples XR headset announcement. If this is the time they are pulling a fast on on Facebook. Facebook planning on launching their Quest 3 June 14 or something ahead of Apple’s originally thought of announcement.



"
The event lands on June 5, and its keynote starts at 10am PDT, the classic time window for Apple’s big tech launches.


This is at the beginning of the WWDC show, Apple’s developer conference. Apple is expected to launch the headset at the show, as reported numerous times by Bloomberg and others."


https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrew...vr-headset-likely-launch-date-identified/amp/

 

[PEB]

Apparently Apple got Mark nervous an is seeking access to Magic Leap wave guild patents for a new headset AR headset.

"“Magic Leap” is like the Bloody Mary of the virtual reality wearables space. Say the name three times in front of a mirror (or while wearing a pair of VR goggles), and suddenly the company notorious for big AR hype is back in the light of day. This time, Metaverse evangelist Meta is cozying up to Magic Leap to get its hands on some of the company’s visual tech, all ahead of Apple’s expected headset announcement early next month."

 

[PEB]

Quest 3 I could see the range of around $500 to $750. Not less than the Quest 2 128 gb version but nothing more than the Quest Pro of $1000. The Valve aint going to be cheap at all and probably will have comparable price to the Vive Pro and Pimax probably will run around $1500 includes both controllers and could be used as standalone

Primax has begun shipping Crystal to selected customers hopefully you're one. I am getting the Primax 8K sent to my house tomorrow by noon. I bought it because I have all the tracking hardware, 200 degree FOV an 450 dollars off.


In other news:

"
Apple has sent invitations to its upcoming WWDC keynote to select media outlets, including Road to VR.



Apple has historically not invited XR media to its events, let alone commented in any way on its XR R&D that has been reportedly happening behind the scenes at the company for years.

Road to VR is among the XR media outlets who have received an invitation to Apple’s WWDC keynote for the first time. Our friends at UploadVR confirmed the same.

It’s difficult not to interpret the invitations amidst the growing number of reports that Apple plans to reveal its first XR device at the keynote which takes place on June 5th at 10AM PT.

Apple’s official entrance into the XR space has been rumored for years, with many expecting it to be a boon for the industry thanks to Apple’s penchant for solving usability challenges, one of the core issues that has held XR back from more mainstream usage. Much speculation has happened about whether the company will lean most into AR, VR, or MR."