Big XR News from Meta, Apple, Immersive Tech Week, Xreal, and Microsoft

December is approaching, and the big XR players are staying busy as the holiday approaches. Events are also closing for the year, excluding a few end-of-year stand-outs, but XR firms are still platforming ideas and roadmaps for the future.

Namely, with the rising industrial Metaverse approaching, XR leaders are outlining the methods of integrating emerging technology into the workplace and everyday life – urging people to get hands-on with the technology.

Moreover, with the 2024 Metaverse wave approaching, the XR world is gaining some more insights into products and services that XR leaders are developing for the new year.

Meta’s Nick Clegg Calls Out Educators and Enterprise

Nick Clegg, the Meta President of Global Affairs, recently posted a video on social media, urging enterprise and education customers to use XR technology. In the video, he highlighted some current use cases of XR technology.

This announcement comes as Meta reinforces its commitment to immersive solutions for work and the industrial Metaverse. Following the disappointing debut of the Quest Pro, Meta now includes the industrial Metaverse in its restructured advertising material.

While Meta’s recent Connect 2023 event focused on consumer use cases of MR headsets and AR smart glasses, it is evident that the company is working with enterprise end-users to optimize its MR product for broader use cases.

During the promotional video, Clegg noted that “Metaverse technologies like augmented and virtual reality have the potential to revolutionize the way we work and learn.” Moreover, Clegg explained how European companies use AR and VR today to “improve industries and people’s lives.”

Clegg added:

European business leaders such as Lufthansa, Iveco, Alstorm, and Decathlon are already using immersive technologies to develop products, to train employees, and engage customers. – Others, like virtual medicine, are using Metaverse technologies in groundbreaking ways to support medical professionals, educators, and students in fully immersive digital environments. The impact of the Metaverse is real, and it’s happening today, right now. – As Metaverse technologies continue to progress, more and more opportunities will open up.

Apple to Release Vision Pro in March

According to Bloomberg’s senior tech analyst Mark Gurman, Apple plans to introduce its Vision Pro MR headset in March 2022, despite previous plans to launch the head-mounted display (HMD) in January. The Cupertino-based company made the changes after it faced challenges with distribution and finalizing device testing.

However, Apple remains on track to release the premium headset in 2024, as previously announced by the executives. Nonetheless, the device will come at a hefty price tag of $3,499, as initially revealed at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June 2023.

The headset will first be available in the United States and later released in Canada and the United Kingdom. Analysts, including Gurman, predict that Apple will showcase the Vision Pro headset during its spring event in March.

Immersive Tech Week to Unite XR Industry

Immersive Tech Week is uniting the current XR industry to collaborate and network. The event takes place in Rotterdam from November 28th to December 1st.

The event aims to showcase how XR technology can be used in enterprise and education, with an exhibition hall featuring major XR firms and speakers who will share insights into the industry as it heads towards a potential landmark year. The VRDays Foundation is leading the event, having organized many successful industry events to promote enterprise XR in the past.

As 2024 approaches, industry leaders, firms, and vendors promote hardware scaling and software development to accelerate device adoption. The Immersive Tech Week aims to unite the industry and provide a networking opportunity for attendees before the holiday period begins.

Xreal Speaks on the Transformative Effect of AI

During a recent event at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Jon Li, the Head of Sales at Xreal, emphasized the profound impact of AI in various enterprise sectors. According to him, AI has become an area of significant interest among enterprise end-users, ranging from healthcare to security, due to its transformative effects.

Although Xreal has not yet integrated AI into its hardware, including its recently released Air 2 Pro device, Jon Li’s comments suggest the company’s inclination to explore AI’s possibilities. This is not surprising, considering the widespread impact of AI on every sector.

Furthermore, while speaking about Xreal’s hardware, Jon Li stated the company’s goal is to make augmented reality accessible to everyone at an affordable price. He added that spatial computing is the next evolution of computing and how we interact with data, and Xreal aims to bring it to the masses.

Microsoft “Committed” to Ignite Announcements Following Altman Reshuffle

Over the past weekend, there was a significant change in the emerging technology sector. OpenAI announced that its current CEO, Sam Altman, would be stepping down from his position. This decision came after OpenAI teamed up with Microsoft for a significant partnership in mid-2023. The association is aimed towards leveraging genAI technology for innovative workplace digital solutions. Despite the news of Altman’s departure, Microsoft confirmed that Ignite’s announcements would not be affected.

In a social media post, the Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, said:

We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners. We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI’s new leadership team and working with them. And we’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success.

Satya Nadella has recently confirmed that Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, will continue to play a crucial role in the company’s AI initiatives. Microsoft is set to leverage OpenAI’s new leadership team and Altman’s new internal role to develop its AI roadmaps further, an essential part of Microsoft’s 2024 industrial Metaverse roadmap. Nadella’s comments suggest that Altman will remain important in Microsoft’s AI ambitions.