Big XR News from EndeavorXR, Meta, IGS 2022, and Conquest VR

As 2022 rounds off, the extended reality (XR) sector continues to grow. Despite stocks of major immersive firms such as Meta and Snap facing drops amidst the most recent tech bubble pop where social media stocks fell across the board.

In the wake of 2023, many XR devices are hitting the market, bringing the new generation of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) products to consumers and enterprise end-users.

XR devices like the Meta Quest Pro and PICO 4 entered the public space; new competitive devices are driving innovations and increased consumer awareness of integrated XR technologies.

With new and upcoming devices, buyers are becoming more aware of available options – and integrated hardware like eye-tracking, hand-tracking, and MR visuals – entering the XR space without relying on a single company.

The increased competition also comes following the rise of the Metaverse. As 2022’s hot tech buzzword, the emerging Metaverse brought interest and speculation. Many observers criticised Meta’s approach to the hot tech, bringing an air of caution to “walled-off gardens” and promoting an open, interoperable future for Metaverse platforms.

Although, despite the holiday season fast approaching, the immersive industry never stops. As the Consumer Electronics Show is just around the corner, the holiday period is a better time than ever for XR firms to stand out amongst peers to paint an image of XR in 2023.

How Meta is Approaching the Future of Work

Major immersive firm Meta invited XR Today to join its future of work discussion and Quest Pro Demo session earlier this month.

During the event, at its Kings Cross Office in London, Steve Hatch, Meta’s VP for Nothern Europe, explored how the Menlo Park-based firm is reacting to increasingly commonplace remote and hybrid working environments.

The VP noted how some individuals saw flexible or remote work as a perk, a benefit, and even something seen as lesser. Although, he was quick to say how modern organisations now recognise the benefits of flexible work environments, as Hatch thinks that people-orientated workflows are the only way for a company to succeed.

Meta is helping companies digitally transform a business’s communications and operations using VR tools. Conventional enterprise collaboration solutions like Zoom and Mircosoft Teams empower international workers. Although video conferencing is not without its faults, according to Meta, immersive solutions can help reduce video conferencing problems.

Meta is pushing its immersive product portfolio as an enterprise tool. The firm is looking to evolve traditional remote communication with MR collaboration spaces, integrated video conferencing software, and spatial audio playback.

Meta’s Horizon Workrooms MR collaboration application increases engagement with immersive features, assisting workers wanting to participate in more profound digital collaboration opportunities.

EndeavorXR’s Amy Peck Speaking on 2023 Tech Trends

Last Monday, on the sidelines of her keynote speech at the Immerse Global Summit (IGS) 2022 event in Miami, Amy Peck, Founder and Chief Executive of EndeavorXR, spoke to XR Today to discuss XR trends going into 2023.

Amongst her takeaways, Amy noted the dichotomy between metaverse creation for consumer and enterprise-facing companies.

She also said that Metaverse and Web3 were becoming overused terms, noting how companies aim to reflect “real-world limitations of [Web3] technology.”

She said:

A lot of companies have very lofty goals for 2030, and they won’t reach them without these technologies. They offer not only the opportunity for critical monitoring with digital twins and artificial intelligence (AI)-backed, also closed-loop optimisation strategies, but can also simulate outcomes so that you can improve processes today and meet those goals in the future, which is the near future

Conquest Pro VR, the Next Step in Spatial Audio?

Last week, XR Today got hands-on with the Conquest Pro VR spatial audio headphones for the Meta Quest series, HTC VIVE Focus 3, Varjo, and Pico Neo 3 headsets.

Conquest VR holds a storied history of XR innovation starting 25 years ago, focusing on additional visual and spatial audio components for VR devices.

The device attaches to a compatible headset and produces spatial audio frequency with a low and high of 20 – 40,000 Hz.

Spatial audio systems and accessories can deepen immersion and drive engagement during virtual meetings or training scenarios.

Conquest Pro VR headphones can assist virtual learners by providing a better contextual immersive experience that plays sounds which reflect user movements and actions.

Conquest VR sells its product for $179, and various headset owners can pick up the accessory to enhance a VR gaming, collaboration, Metaverse, and training scenario.