Siemens Invests €1B In VR

Good morning folks!

Missed us last week? Well, VR on vacation right now (see what I did there?) but the industry news doesn’t stop. So we thought we’ll hop in this week and update you on the latest VR news today and Friday. There’ll be no newsletter next week (I know, we’re sad too) and regular programming will resume on Sep 5.

Headlines for people in a hurry:

• 🥽 Meta’s New Hand Tracking Almost As Good As Controllers

• 🍎 Apple’s Vision Pro Spotted With A 1TB Storage Model

• 📰 Sandbox VR Earned $23M Revenue From Ticket Sales

• 🤖 Siemens To Invest €1Billion In Industrial Metaverse

Read time: 3 minutes

TOP STORIES

APPLE VISION PRO

Apple’s Vision Pro Reportedly Spotted With A 1TB Model

French tech news website iPhoneSoft reports that a source who tried Vision Pro at one of Apple's public developer labs saw the 1TB figure listed as the storage in the device's Settings app.

That’s great news as more storage enables apps and games to use higher-quality textures, audio, and other assets. Meanwhile, the highest-storage variant of other headsets available in the market is 256 GB.

There are some VR games that can require up to 40GB of space, so it’s great that Apple has thought of these restrictions beforehand.

However, what’s really on everyone’s mind is that the Vision Pro starts at $3,499 and that must be a 128GB or 256GB variant. So if that’s the case, what will be the price of the 1TB model? $5k or even $6,000? That’s more than an average American’s monthly salary!

META UPDATES

Meta’s New Hand-Tracking “Almost As Good As Controllers”

Ever since Apple announced that hand-tracking will be the default mode of navigation in the Vision Pro, Meta has been working hard to make their hand-tracking much better.

The latest v56 update is a big step in that direction. Announced in July, the v56 update has begun rolling out to Quest headsets and boasts a ton of cool improvements for a smoother experience.

It’ll provide up to 40% latency reduction in typical use and up to 75% during fast movements! Also, developers can now build apps that can use hand-tracking mode and controller mode at the exact same time.

Meta said in a statement, “Thanks to Hands 2.2, you can feel confident knowing your app’s users will enjoy a great experience regardless of whether they play with hands or controllers.”

VR ARCADE

Sandbox VR Earned $23 Million In Annual Revenue From Ticket Sales

Virtual reality experiences have been the talk of the town, but Sandbox VR is not just talking; they're raking in the moolah.

It’s been so successful, Sandbox VR says the experience has now surpassed $23 million in ticket sales across 30 locations and is projected to make $100 million in lifetime sales.

Offering a blend of gaming, movies, and theme park vibes, Sandbox VR is crafting experiences that people are willing to pay for.

And with numbers like these, it's clear they've hit the sweet spot. So, next time you're looking for a VR adventure, you might just find yourself in their sandbox.

NEWS FLASH

GAMING

Ghosts of Tabor Nets $3M Even Before Quest Store Release

The multiplayer shooter game, "Ghosts of Tabor" announced that they crossed $3M in revenue even without being searchable on the main Quest Store.

They first released the game in beta via App Lab in March. It’s an extraction-based survival game, which combines player-versus-environment (PVE) and player-versus-player (PVP) combat. The team attributes their success to direct marketing, community-building, and early player engagement. The official Quest Store release will happen next year

🖐️ Immersed Vision: Immersed's new Visor headset boasts both hand and eye-tracking capabilities, setting it apart in the VR market.

🎮 Ruinsmagus Debut: The VR RPG "Ruinsmagus" has officially launched on PlayStation VR 2, offering players a magical adventure.

🔫 Army Tech: The US Army has received 20 prototypes of the IVAS 1.2 variant from Microsoft, marking a significant step in military AR tech.

🔄 Leia Buys Dimenco: Holographic display tech company Leia Inc. has acquired Dimenco, expanding its 3D display capabilities.

👔 Ralph's Metaverse Move: Ralph Lauren's CEO, Patrice Louvet, emphasizes the brand's focus on the metaverse and sustainability to appeal to Gen Z.

UNREAL MONEY

FUNDING REPORT

Siemens Invests 1$ Billion Into The Metaverse

Siemens is making a significant investment in the industrial metaverse, with plans to pour billions into Europe and the U.S. The company intends to invest about one billion Euros in Germany alone, with 500 million Euros earmarked for a new technology campus in Erlangen, which will serve as the epicentre for their Industrial Metaverse activities.

This move is part of Siemens AG's broader global investment strategy, which will see a total of two billion euros invested across Europe, the U.S., China, and Southeast Asia.

Siemens views the industrial metaverse as a pivotal tool for future innovations, with the Erlangen campus set to be a hub for R&D and a production center for the Industrial Metaverse. CEO of Siemens AG, Roland Busch, emphasized the company's aim to revolutionize production methods through the metaverse, making them more efficient, flexible, and sustainable.

WRAP UP

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Have a great week folks.

How was the news today? It’s time for me to get out of here. I’m writing this at the beach and I think I have sand in my laptop. Whoops. See you on Friday.

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