A Cheaper Quest Is Coming In 2024

Good morning folks!

The Quest 3 embargo ended yesterday, which means VR reviewers have posted in-depth reviews of the device. The general consensus is that the Quest 3 is absolutely worth your money at $500.

Almost all reviews have mentioned the fact that even though it’s much more powerful than its predecessor, we still lack apps that make use of its full potential. Here are reviews from UploadVR, The Verge, & Road To VR.

Headlines for people in a hurry:

• 🤑 Meta To Ship A Cheaper Headset In 2024 Without Controllers

• 🥽 Apple Facing Weight & Sight Challenges With Vision Pro

• 📈 Lynx R1 Increases Price To $1300 & Shifts Business

• 🏎️ Lenovo Partners With Formula 1 To Implement VR

Read time: 3 minutes

TOP STORIES

META

Losing Control! Meta To Remove Controllers In Their Cheaper 2024 Quest Device

So imagine this. It’s a high-level meeting at Meta HQ and they’re desperately trying to come up with ideas to create a cheaper Quest device. Out of the blue, one genius yells out, “Let’s take out the controllers.” Everyone applauds!

At least that’s how I imagine that conversation went! The company's internal roadmap, which leaked earlier this year, hinted at a new headset launch in 2024, aiming to capture the VR market with an "attractive price point."

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests that this new headset might resemble the Quest 3 but will incorporate less expensive components. The goal here is to achieve the $300 price point of the Quest 2 and retire the device. To make this feasible, Meta is contemplating shipping the headset without controllers, and selling them separately. To their credit, Meta has vastly improved their controller-free hand-tracking tech. Plus, their vision is to make controllers "optional" for many experiences.

APPLE

Apple Struggling To Fix Vision Pro Issues

According to Mark Gurman, Apple is working very hard to address two big issues with its VR/AR headset, the Vision Pro: weight and prescription lenses.

People who had the chance to try out the Vision Pro complained that it was a bit heavy and that it was not easy for people with different kinds of prescription glasses to use the device. For the next-generation Vision Pro, Apple plans for a drastic reduction in size and improvement in efficiency, so it won't require such a big external battery pack.

Having a battery pack for Vision Pro was never on Apple’s mind however the hefty weight forced Apple to make such a move. Another area where they’ve tried to reduce weight was with the lenses, making it difficult for people with glasses to use the device.

Their solution is custom lens inserts based on people’s prescriptions. However, people are still wondering about the logistics. How is it possible for each Apple store to have so many different prescription lens inserts in stock for everyone? I guess we’ll have to wait a few months to know.

LYNX

Back To Business! Lynx R1 Price Increases To $1300 As They Shift To Business Consumers

The Lynx-R1 headset, usually priced at $850, will now set buyers back by $1300. Why the price hike? Well, the startup is shifting its business strategy.

Originally announced in 2020 as a business-centric product priced at $1500, Lynx later aimed for the consumer market with a significantly reduced price tag. Now, the company is essentially saying “Sike, just kidding” and is reverting to its original business-focused approach.

The reason for the price increase is attributed to rising manufacturing costs and the need to see returns on low sales volumes. Despite the setbacks, Lynx remains optimistic about its product, emphasizing its unique features like open periphery and high-quality passthrough, which they believe makes it more appealing to businesses than competitors like Quest 3

NEWS FLASH

SPORTS

Virtual Reality To Boost F1 Engagement

• 🏎️ Lenovo & Formula 1: Lenovo teams up with Formula 1 to supercharge fan experiences using VR. Dive into the race like never before!

• 🎮 GTA San Andreas in VR: It’s been 2 years and still no update about the GTA game.

• 🎵 Synth Riders Update: Synth Riders rolls out a mixed reality update, making your dance sessions even more immersive.

• 🏢 Meta's Business Move: Meta launched a subscription service for enterprises on Quest and was announced at Connect 2023.

• 🎮 Quest 2 Storage Squeeze: Quest 2 game file sizes are bulking up due to Quest 3 upgrades.

• 🏊 VR in Pools: Ballast Technologies brings VR to swimming pools at Crystal Lagoons venues. Swim and explore virtual worlds!

• 🎭 Ready Player Me's AI Boost: Ready Player Me enhances its avatar platform with geometry-aware AI texturing.

BOOKMARKS

Immersive Articles From The Web

• 3 Things People Hate About The Quest 3.

• Apple’s Approach to Immersive VR on Vision Pro is Smarter Than it Seems—And Likely to Stick!

• Apple Vision Pro Displays Capable Of 100Hz Refresh Rate.

• Meta Quest 3’s Mixed Reality Broadens Workplace Appeal.

IMMERSIVE EVENTS

HACKATHON

PICO Dev Jam Starts On Sep 25th

The 2023 PICO Dev Jam is on the horizon, presenting a golden chance for devs to flaunt their prowess and groundbreaking concepts. This global online hackathon, dedicated to redefining the limits of XR, is open for registration from September 25th.

From October 2nd to November 10th, participants are invited to submit their ingenious projects, highlighting the vast capabilities of the PICO SDK. On December 10th, victors from diverse categories will be unveiled, with a whopping $15,000 in prizes at stake for each region.

WRAP UP

MEME OF THE DAY

“Umm…Can I do both?”

Have a great week folks.

Did any of you notice that I used the wrong emojis in the Headline for Thursday’s newsletter? I usually just edit the previous newsletter in a template form but forgot to change the emojis to their relevant news stories. The worst part was I used the 😍 when talking about Meta laying off employees. It goes without saying that I should be put in jail!

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