Neowin

Meta has officially kicked off pre-orders for its latest generation VR and AR headset: The Meta Quest 3. The hardware features the new Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 to boast major performance boosts.

The certification shows that the hardware product from Valve has a "1030" designation. It could be a revamped Steam Deck, a new version of Valve's VR headset, or something completely different.

Meta has announced a range of updates that it's making to avatars across its ecosystem. Notably, you can now use your avatar as a filter while you have video calls on Messenger and Instagram.

Valve has released SteamVR 1.26 with automatic controller rebinding. It said that this will smooth game releases and lighten the work that game developers need to do to make their games work well.

A new monthly subscription called Meta Quest+ is now available for Meta Quest VR headset users. The VR subscription service will give access to two new titles for a fee of $7.99 per month.

Meta announced that kids aged 10 years and above will be able to use Quest VR headsets and play their favorite games. However, it will require parents to set up a managed account for their preteens.

Apple is set to unveil its mixed reality headset at WWDC 2023. It is rumored manufacturing cost exceeds $1,500. Also, the price will be much more than its competitors like Meta Quest Pro.

Apple's heavily rumoured Mixed-Reality headset has reportedly been demoed to it's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater within the past week in a 'key milestone' for the company.

IDC has forecasted that VR and AR headsets will experience lower growth in 2023 than previously expected. Through 2027, however, the sector is expected to see 32.6% growth each year.

Ofcom is planning to unlock more mmWave bands to help improve mobile data speeds in congested areas. It will also help networks handle upcoming, data-heavy technologies such as virtual reality.

Meta has revealed its AR products roadmap for the next four years, during which the company will finally launch the much-awaited AR glasses that could potentially be the successor of smartphones.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has officially dropped its lawsuit against Meta's acquisition of VR fitness company Within, in the first major loss for FTC commissioner Lina Khan.

The report claims that the long rumored mixed reality headset from Apple has been hit with some development issues, and that a planned April reveal has been pushed back until WWDC in June.

A U.S. court has declined a request to halt Meta's acquisition of VR fitness company Within, dealing a major blow to the FTC. It's unclear if the regulator will continue the fight in other avenues.

Following disappointing pre-order figures for its expensive PlayStation VR2 headset, Sony has reportedly cut initial shipment forecasts by almost 50%. The new hardware costs more than a PS5.

Legendary game developer John Carmack (Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Quake) has resigned from his role of "Consulting CTO" at Meta. The former executive was leading the Oculus VR team at the company.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that mass shipments of the company's first AR/VR headset could be delayed to the second half of 2023. This is reportedly due to software-related issues.

Apple is looking to hire more people to help it with its VR and AR headset ambitions. It comes at a time when economic conditions are tough and companies are looking to layoff staff, not hire more.

Info-Tech Research Group has said the metaverse will likely disrupt the retail sector in a big way in the years to come. It found that retailers, however, found it difficult to know where to start.

Researchers at MIT have developed a fascinating machine learning model that leverages sound to accurately map an environment and also determine the acoustics of the room at different locations.

At IFA 2022 in Berlin, Meta and Qualcomm have signed an agreement. Qualcomm already makes custom silicon for Meta's VR headsets and will continue to do so for the future Quest lineup of devices.

During an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the next VR headset from Meta will be announced at Meta's Connect conference in October.

Meta has responded to the FTC's lawsuit against its acquisition of VR fitness studio Within in strong words, saying that the regulator's claims are based on speculation and ideology, not evidence.

The Meta Quest 2 standalone virtual reality headset is soon receiving a major price hike. Both the 128 GB and 256 GB versions, refurbished units, as well as accessories are seeing the increases.

The free-to-play battle royale Ghost Recon Frontline and the virtual reality Splinter Cell spin-off are two of the four titles entering Ubisoft's cancelled games list after years of development.

Meta virtual reality headset owners soon won't have to be linked to a Facebook account when using their hardware. Meta accounts and Meta Horizon profiles are replacing the old system.

As part of the v40 software update, Meta is testing End-to-End Encryption in Quest VR Messenger app, and has rolled out features such as Mono Audio, sound level balancing, and even App Unlock.

Researchers have developed "Mouth Haptics" using ultrasonic transducers which can deliver experiences that are felt with the mouth. The system could unlock new sensations such as kissing and licking.

Meta is coming up with its first ever retail store on May 9 in its campus in Burlingame, California. Customers can get familiar with Meta's vision of the metaverse and also play with their hardware.

During the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase today, Innersloth and Schell Games gave another look at Among Us VR. Aside from new gameplay, the title now has a holiday 2022 launch window attached to it.

Skydance Interactive today gave a first look at its upcoming virtual reality action and survival game The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Chapter 2 during the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase.

A couple of new reports citing surveys have revealed that teens aren't super-interested in the metaverse with less than half of all respondents showing an interest in purchasing associated hardware.

Meta has outlined two new ways that creators on the platform can earn an income. The first is the ability to sell in-world items such as accessories, and the second is creator bonuses.

Immerse yourself in the 3D virtual world with 10 hours of content on Metaverse, XR interaction toolkit, VR pointers, AR game development, and more, or check out the hundreds of other deals!

Rumors of Apple readying its mixed-reality headset for launch in 2023 have been doing the rounds for the last couple of weeks. But a new report claims Apple may surprise us by releasing it this fall.

Motorola and Verizon have unveiled the 5G XR Neckband which is designed to promote a hands-free AR and VR experience. Pricing and availability for the device have not yet been shared.

Mozilla has given its Firefox Reality project to Igalia who will relaunch the browser as Wolvic. Igalia expects Wolvic to launch on some VR app stores starting next week and Firefox Reality will go.

Meta has updated its avatars to be more inclusive of people with certain disabilities. NFL fans can also equip their avatars ready for Super Bowl LVI which is set to take place on February 13.