The XR Weekly Briefing (01/15/2025): XR Devices Dominate CES, Quest 3S Leads Console Sales in 2024, and More!

After an exciting and fruitful stint at CES, I’ve returned to Italy buzzing with enthusiasm. It’s still hard to digest that I was part of such a significant tech event. While the journey took a toll on me physically, the happiness and inspiration I gained outweighed any discomfort. It was a rewarding experience from all angles—whether as a blogger, a tech enthusiast, or an entrepreneur. This week’s focus will largely be on CES, but there’s also remarkable news beyond the event worth sharing. Let’s dive into it! (And apologies for the slight delay in releasing this newsletter; catching up with everything post-Vegas has been quite the challenge!)

Top Highlights of the Week

Abundance of XR Innovations at CES

CES remains the year’s biggest tech spectacle, especially for XR tech, and this year did not disappoint. The event had a dedicated section for XR companies, attracting many industry experts. This niche sector continues to flourish. A plethora of smartglasses, often integrated with AI, was showcased—like the sleek Ray-Ban Meta glasses you see above, or the Halliday glasses sporting a tiny display. Goertek unveiled new design blueprints for smart and AR glasses, possibly setting a trend for more companies to create similar products.

Although there weren’t any groundbreaking revelations for XR, NVIDIA and Sony made some notable announcements. NVIDIA introduced its RTX 50 graphics cards, promising to elevate PCVR performance further, with the top-tier model priced at $2000. Their cloud streaming service, Geforce Now, will also launch on Quest, Pico, and Apple Vision Pro, allowing MR users to play flat games on vast virtual screens.

Sony launched XYN, a vague yet promising range of XR products for creatives. They introduced a new version of their previous enterprise headset that’s now more expensive and discussed advanced body tracking with Mocopi sets and a new tool for digitizing real-world objects. While the details were sparse, it’s promising to see Sony’s commitment to XR technology.

Interestingly, HDMI’s new 2.2 standard with its 96Gb/s bandwidth might tempt headset makers to revisit HDMI connections. I posted a detailed look at the devices I tried at CES, like the Shiftall MeganeX SuperLight 8K and the Pimax Crystal Super. My standout favorite was the Play For Dream headset, which I’ll review soon. Amanda Watson also lauded this device, and I was thrilled to meet her at CES. For those unable to attend, I filmed a walkthrough of the XR section, linked below. Even though CES wasn’t groundbreaking for XR this year, it was still pretty solid.

Other Noteworthy News

Meta Quest 3S Tops Amazon Console Sales in 2024

To my delight, the Meta Quest 3S dominated the console sales chart on Amazon US in 2024. It wasn’t just the leading VR device, but the highest-selling console against all others throughout the entire year, only debuting in October. Remarkably, it was also the third most-sold item in the Video Games category.

The Quest 3S evidently had a striking holiday season. In addition to its Amazon ranking, the Meta Horizon companion app became the top download on the Apple App Store, and in-game achievement data showed a dramatic uptick in players during Christmas, particularly for the Batman Arkham Shadow game. Although these insights suggest VR isn’t yet mainstream, like previous years, the holiday season proved pivotal, driving significant growth and introducing new users to VR—definitely a step in the right direction.

Meta Discontinues Quest Pro

Meta has decided to end its Quest Pro line. It’s no longer available on Meta’s website, and the suggested alternative is the Quest 3. The Touch Pro controllers remain purchasable since they’re compatible with other Quest models. The abrupt discontinuation wasn’t shocking; the Quest Pro, rushed in fear of Apple’s Vision Pro, was overly expensive and fell flat upon release. Initially priced at $1500, a lackluster reception forced Meta to reduce it to $1000. At one point, even participants in a Roblox event received one as a freebie—not the mark of a successful product.

I’ll miss its unique features like eye and face tracking, which were vital for research purposes. Interestingly, shortly after its discontinuation, there were leaks about ASUS’s headset, indicating included eye and face tracking, hinting at a retained ecosystem for such features.

News in Brief

ASUS ROG’s VR Headset with Face Tracking

Renowned leaker Luna brought forward the scoop on ASUS’s upcoming ROG VR headset, codenamed Tarius. Touted to be among the first third-party devices on HorizonOS, it will feature eye and face tracking. Options for QD-LCD with local dimming or micro OLED screens are being considered. Though details remain thin, the leaks indicate progress in developing third-party headsets for Horizon.

Infinite Reality Secures $3B Investment

Infinite Reality, aiming to develop an engine for immersive WebXR content, has secured a massive $3 billion investment. This surprising news stunned the XR sector, as Infinite Reality, unlike the high-profile OpenAI, still has much to prove. Even more intriguing, the entire fund comes from a single private investor. It’s baffling that someone single-handedly sees such potential in Infinite Reality. Meanwhile, I struggle to secure a free lunch from a friend—maybe I’m hanging out with the wrong crowd!

Innovative VR Movement Research

This week’s unusual find was a VR project that lets you “walk” in virtual reality while lying down by mimicking a cycling motion. It’s quite the ab workout but left me wondering, "What’s the point?”

DotLumen Assists the Blind in Navigation

DotLumen’s initiative—the creation of a headset to aid visually impaired individuals—is genuinely inspiring. Scanning the surrounding area to suggest unobstructed paths, it might significantly improve navigation for those with vision impairments.

Meta’s Quest 3S Price Drop

Meta is offering a special $50 discount on the Quest 3S 256GB, bundled with Batman Arkham Shadow. Initially exclusive to Meta, this offer appears from other retailers as well. It seems units with more storage didn’t sell as briskly as anticipated, prompting this promotion.

Sanzaru Games’ New Venture

Sanzaru Games, known for Asgard’s Wrath, is winding down focus on their flagship game to embark on another ambitious project, boasting “some AWESOME stuff.” I’m eagerly awaiting what they have up their sleeve—could it be something in mixed reality, aligning with Meta’s interests?

Content Highlights and Reviews

Stress Level Zero is set to bring Boneworks to Quest 3 and is crafting its next project, sparking much curiosity. Synth Riders rolls out ’80s Mixtape Side B, offering a sweet trip down memory lane. "Human Within," a new storytelling game exploring technology’s impact on humanity, is now available on Quest. Other new releases include "Shardfall: FitQuest VR," "Detective VR," and more.

For reviews: "Epyka" stands out with its impressive yet brief adventure. "Pirates VR: Jolly Roger" offers a vibrant, albeit flawed, VR experience. "Shardfall: FitQuest" is a fun fitness game reminiscent of Ring Fit Adventure. Lastly, "Gears & Goo" proves a highly engaging tower defense game, notably with intuitive controls leveraging eye and hand tracking.

Additional Tidbits

• A crafty Redditor devised an attachment for Oculus Touch controllers that enhances VR gameplay performance.
• A film based on "Exit 8" is in production—it’ll be interesting to see how they adapt it!
• Road To VR released first impressions on Surreal Touch controllers.
• Enjoy a VR-enhanced Minecraft experience with 100 mods, complete with full body tracking.
• A panoramic introduction to Lens Studio tailored for Unity developers.

Community Corner and Fun

My buddy Tyriel Wood, who was fantastic company at CES 2025, is gearing up to share some fascinating XR tech videos from our experiences. Don’t miss out, follow his YouTube channel!

For a laugh, catch these quirky links: someone drives a truck in mixed reality and there’s a cheeky AI video—it’s all just bonkers but worth a glance!

Contribute for a Cause

As before, I encourage you this week to support those suffering due to the ongoing conflict. Consider donating to the Red Cross to help with Ukraine’s humanitarian efforts. A heartfelt thank you goes to all my Patreon supporters for your continued encouragement:

[Patreon Donor List]

And here’s where you can make a difference: [Support The Red Cross in Ukraine]

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