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A person uses an iPhone 12 Pro with a LiDAR scanner on it last October. Photo by Bloomberg.

TI Reality Check: The Common Ground Between an Apple Car and AR Device

By Mathew Olson · April 8, 2021 11:10 AM PDT

What do two Apple projects—its autonomous vehicle and augmented reality technologies—have in common? Seemingly not much, other than the intense secrecy surrounding both of them. But a new patent Apple won on Tuesday suggests at least one common technical ingredient between them. The U.S. patent describes an approach to computer... What do two Apple projects—its autonomous vehicle and augmented reality...

An image from Google's new Sodar AR app. Photo by Google

TI Reality Check: Pokemon Go Pushback and AR Experimentation

By Mathew Olson · April 7, 2021 11:01 AM PDT

Niantic might have crossed a line in terms of how much it can reasonably ask of Pokemon Go players with its special Easter-timed event. Players are reportedly feeling pressured to spend money in order to collect one Pokemon in particular, which touches on a sensitive issue about loot boxes and gambling-like behavior in gaming. The Pokemon... Niantic might have crossed a line in terms of how much it can reasonably ask of Pokemon Go...

A marketing image from Hologate.

Google Entertainment

TI Reality Check: Location-Based VR Sees a Comeback

By Mathew Olson · April 6, 2021 11:02 AM PDT · 1 comment

In the early months of the pandemic, when little was known about how easily the virus could spread, location-based virtual reality was facing an existential crisis. It was hard to fathom how businesses built around having groups of customers gather in a room to use shared equipment could avoid trouble. But as vaccination rates rise and more... In the early months of the pandemic, when little was known about how easily the virus could...

An image used to promote Apple’s upcoming WWDC event.

TI Reality Check: An Audio Solution for Zoom Fatigue?

By Mathew Olson · April 5, 2021 12:30 PM PDT · 2 comments

An image used to promote Apple’s upcoming WWDC event.

AR/VR Apple

TI Reality Check: An Audio Solution for Zoom Fatigue?

By Mathew Olson · April 5, 2021 12:30 PM PDT · 2 comments

For about a year now, I’ve been participating on and off in a weekly Zoom social gathering. Folks filter in throughout the day, and most of the time is spent in small, manageable breakout groups of four to five people for 20 minutes. Between those periods, we reconvene in the main room, and aural hell breaks loose. It doesn’t need to... For about a year now, I’ve been participating on and off in a weekly Zoom social gathering....

Microsoft’s HoloLens-based headset for the military. Image: Microsoft

Microsoft Facebook

TI Reality Check: Microsoft’s Augmented Army

By Mathew Olson · April 1, 2021 11:00 AM PDT

Within the augmented reality industry, there is a general assumption that wearable devices won’t catch on with the broader public until designers and engineers manage to pack all the necessary components into compact glasses that don’t cost too much. But those constraints don’t apply to devices with the military in mind, where... Within the augmented reality industry, there is a general assumption that wearable devices...

Magic Leap's headset. Photo by Magic Leap

Venture Capital Microsoft

TI Reality Check: More Moves at Magic Leap, and Goodbye PlayStation Move

By Mathew Olson · March 31, 2021 11:02 AM PDT

Magic Leap’s quest to bulk up its leadership roster after falling on hard times continues: Anuj Gosalia, a veteran of Microsoft, Facebook and Google, is joining as Magic Leap’s Chief Software and Cloud Officer. Gosalia’s team will focus development of Magic Leap’s enterprise software, a new direction for the startup in... Magic Leap’s quest to bulk up its leadership roster after falling on hard times continues:...

Niantic released a partial view of an early design of AR glasses.

Facebook Entertainment

TI Reality Check: A Tease of AR’s Future and a Look at VR’s Past

By Mathew Olson · March 30, 2021 12:34 PM PDT

Today, AR techies have a glimpse of what the next wave of augmented reality glasses might look like, thanks to Niantic and to a new scoop from The Information’s Alex Heath revealing Snap’s first-ever AR-equipped glasses. For a few years now, Snap has sold consumer smart glasses capable of taking pictures and video, but the plans we... Today, AR techies have a glimpse of what the next wave of augmented reality glasses might look...

A virtual gathering on Rec Room. Image: Rec Room

TI Reality Check: What Rec Room Reveals About the VR Market

By Mathew Olson · March 29, 2021 12:46 PM PDT

A virtual gathering on Rec Room. Image: Rec Room

Entertainment E-commerce

TI Reality Check: What Rec Room Reveals About the VR Market

By Mathew Olson · March 29, 2021 12:46 PM PDT

Are investors warming up to VR? After last week’s crowning of Rec Room as VR’s first software unicorn, which came hot on the heels of Roblox’s monumental direct listing, I’m wondering how much we can attribute either success story to faith in the future of immersive tech. Neither game platform is VR-exclusive, and the... Are investors warming up to VR? After last week’s crowning of Rec Room as VR’s first...

A screenshot of VRChat. Image from VRChat

Startups Facebook

TI Reality Check: Making Body Tracking More Accessible

By Mathew Olson · March 25, 2021 11:23 AM PDT

For many people, the feeling of immersion that VR apps strive for can be shattered in an instant when the virtual bodies of their avatars don’t respond to the movement of their real bodies. While a number of tech companies are working on solving this problem, an especially interesting new startup, Tundra Labs, on Monday will open up orders... For many people, the feeling of immersion that VR apps strive for can be shattered in an instant...

A Rec Room screenshot. Image provided by Rec Room

Venture Capital Startups

TI Reality Check: A VR Unicorn and Pikmin Particulars

By Mathew Olson · March 24, 2021 11:01 AM PDT

Virtual reality software has a unicorn: Rec Room, creator of the free-to-play social and gaming platform by the same name, announced it has raised $100 million in new funding at a valuation of $1.25 billion. The new round of funding, led by Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures with participation from Madrona Venture Group (all existing investors),... Virtual reality software has a unicorn: Rec Room, creator of the free-to-play social and gaming...

Screenshot of “Half-Life: Alyx.” Image: Valve

Facebook Entertainment

TI Reality Check: Why VR Needs More Than a Single ‘Killer App’

By Mathew Olson · March 23, 2021 12:11 PM PDT · 5 comments

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the release of Half-Life: Alyx, a new installment of the Valve PC game, one built exclusively for virtual reality. While the Half-Life series, launched in the late 1990s, isn’t as popular as giant gaming franchises like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, it has made a big mark in gaming. Earlier... Today marks the one-year anniversary of the release of Half-Life: Alyx, a new installment of the...

A Mojo Vision AR contact lens. Photo provided by the company

TI Reality Check: Is the World Ready for AR Contact Lenses?

By Mathew Olson · March 22, 2021 11:31 AM PDT · 1 comment

A Mojo Vision AR contact lens. Photo provided by the company

Venture Capital Startups

TI Reality Check: Is the World Ready for AR Contact Lenses?

By Mathew Olson · March 22, 2021 11:31 AM PDT · 1 comment

Just over a year ago, a startup called Mojo Vision emerged from stealth mode with prototypes for augmented reality contact lenses. That’s a category of devices that could display interactive content for people who wear them, while also giving them enhanced vision, such as the ability to zoom in on objects. Last month, Mojo Vision revealed... Just over a year ago, a startup called Mojo Vision emerged from stealth mode with prototypes for...

A prototype of Facebook’s neural interface wristband. Image: Facebook

TI Reality Check: Facebook’s Ambitions for AR Interfaces

By Mathew Olson · March 18, 2021 11:29 AM PDT · 1 comment

Earlier this week, Facebook gave journalists a glimpse of the progress that the company’s researchers have made toward developing a neural interface for AR glasses, a method of controlling software based on reading nerve impulses via the wrist. The technology builds off the work developed by CTRL-labs, a company Facebook acquired for $1... Earlier this week, Facebook gave journalists a glimpse of the progress that the company’s...

Vive Facial Tracker. Image: HTC

TI Reality Check: Why Duct Tape Is Still a Leading VR Accessory

By Mathew Olson · March 17, 2021 11:22 AM PDT

I’ve been seeing a lot of excitement from VR enthusiasts over HTC’s new Vive Facial Tracker. At $130, the price won’t scare away people who have already dropped thousands of dollars on VR gear. And the tracker offers users the kind of face-tracking features—namely, a way to have more expressive avatars in online social... I’ve been seeing a lot of excitement from VR enthusiasts over HTC’s new Vive Facial...

An Ikea mobile AR app for furniture shopping. Photo from Ikea

Startups Microsoft

TI Reality Check: Mobile AR Isn’t Just a Stepping Stone

By Mathew Olson · March 16, 2021 11:15 AM PDT

Welcome back! I have a feeling the topic won’t come up too often in this newsletter, but let’s take a moment to talk about AR and non-fungible tokens or NFTs—the new fad sweeping cryptocurrency circles and the art collector world (for more on the broader NFT craze, read The Information’s Sam Lessin on the capital and... Welcome back! I have a feeling the topic won’t come up too often in this newsletter, but...

A customer wearing a pair of AirPods Max headphones at an Apple store in South Korea. Photo by Bloomberg

TI Reality Check: Time to Talk About AR Audio

By Mathew Olson · March 15, 2021 11:01 AM PDT

A customer wearing a pair of AirPods Max headphones at an Apple store in South Korea. Photo by Bloomberg

Venture Capital Startups

TI Reality Check: Time to Talk About AR Audio

By Mathew Olson · March 15, 2021 11:01 AM PDT

Welcome back! The visual side of VR and AR captures the bulk of the attention, but audio merits a lot more discussion than it gets, something that a recent Apple patent reminded me of. First though, let’s talk about one kind of audio technology that’s on the market today: smart hearing aids. While hearing aids are today mainly used... Welcome back! The visual side of VR and AR captures the bulk of the attention, but audio merits a...

A Google Cardboard VR viewer in 2015. Photo by Bloomberg

Startups Microsoft

TI Reality Check: What Happened to Google in AR and VR?

By Mathew Olson · March 11, 2021 11:02 AM PST

Welcome back! We kicked off my first week running Reality Check with a Mark Zuckerberg interview about Facebook’s big plans for the future in AR and VR. Now I’d like to take a look at another company, Google, that seems to have much less going on in the category. Last week, UploadVR noticed that Google has stopped selling its... Welcome back! We kicked off my first week running Reality Check with a Mark Zuckerberg interview...

A marketing image from Roblox.

TI Reality Check: Roblox, Epic and the Platform Wars to Come

By Mathew Olson · March 10, 2021 11:01 AM PST · 2 comments

Welcome back! Today’s big story for the shape of what augmented and virtual reality might become is the public listing of Roblox. If you’re an American parent with school-age kids, there’s a very good chance you know what Roblox is. Roblox supports PC VR headsets, but it’s primarily a business that has evolved around more... Welcome back! Today’s big story for the shape of what augmented and virtual reality might...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at an Oculus event in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

TI Reality Check: Zuckerberg on Head Drilling, Neural Interfaces and Face Tracking

By Mathew Olson · March 9, 2021 11:01 AM PST · 1 comment

Welcome back! Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t often give long interviews about the scope and ambition of Facebook’s AR and VR projects, as he did for the podcast we published on Monday (listen here, transcript here). So I hope you’ll allow me to indulge in a deeper dive into a couple points from the interview in today’s... Welcome back! Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t often give long interviews about the scope and...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Mark Zuckerberg Talks the Future of AR and VR in The Information’s Reality Check

By Mathew Olson · March 8, 2021 7:02 AM PST · 4 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg Talks the Future of AR and VR in The Information’s Reality Check

By Mathew Olson · March 8, 2021 7:02 AM PST · 4 comments

Welcome to the first installment of The Information’s Reality Check, our new newsletter devoted to augmented reality and virtual reality—the first of many newsletters we are launching in the coming months. Why a whole newsletter on AR and VR, you ask? Well, the coming war between Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and many, many... Welcome to the first installment of The Information’s Reality Check, our new newsletter...