Recent Editions

The Magic Leap 1 headset, wearable computer accessory and controller. Source: Magic Leap
Reality Check

Magic Leap’s C-Suite Churn, AR E-Commerce Grows Up

By Mathew Olson · Jun 9, 2021 11:02am PDT
Three longtime Magic Leap executives are heading toward the exits. Is it a reminder that Magic Leap’s comeback hopes are thin? Or is this a necessary personnel makeover?These are the kind of questions that will continue to dog Magic Leap, the once-hyped augmented reality leader that raised about $2.6 billion from investors before struggling to... Three longtime Magic Leap executives are heading toward the exits. Is it a reminder that Magic...
Apple's vp of worldwide developer relations, Susan Prescott, at Monday's WWDC.
Reality Check

Apple Nudges Its AR Forward at a No-Hardware WWDC

By Mathew Olson · Jun 8, 2021 11:00am PDT
Apple’s WWDC keynote came and went yesterday without any new hardware announcements. The event did demonstrate some of Apple’s eagerness to introduce more uses for AR in the here and now, including the introduction of several features similar to ones already offered by Google and Snap.Most of these were incremental—but incrementality can be... Apple’s WWDC keynote came and went yesterday without any new hardware announcements. The...
Crayta's promotional art. Image by Unit 2 Games
Reality Check

TI Reality Check: Oculus Store Irony and Metaverse M&A

By Mathew Olson · Jun 7, 2021 11:01am PDT
It’s Apple’s big day. As I write, executives are unveiling the latest hardware and software updates at its annual developer conference. (We’ll likely have more on the implications of the announcements for Apple’s augmented reality plans in the newsletter tomorrow.)But leave it to Mark Zuckerberg to try to poke Apple in the eye. A few hours... It’s Apple’s big day. As I write, executives are unveiling the latest hardware and software...
People wearing Magic Leap's first headset at a conference in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg
Magic Leap Switches to Team AMD
By Mathew Olson · Jun 3, 2021 11:18am PDT
People wearing Magic Leap's first headset at a conference in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg
Reality Check

Magic Leap Switches to Team AMD

By Mathew Olson · Jun 3, 2021 11:18am PDT
There isn’t much we know about Magic Leap’s next AR headset, aside from its late-2021 release date. The few details Magic Leap has shared—for example, that its field of view will be double that of its predecessor—tend to beg a lot of questions about the product.But yesterday we got one intriguing clue. The upcoming headset, the first since Magic... There isn’t much we know about Magic Leap’s next AR headset, aside from its late-2021 release...
An example of the new multipeer AR effects for Messenger. Image courtesy of Facebook
Reality Check

Facebook and Snap Vie for New AR Developers

By Mathew Olson · Jun 2, 2021 11:00am PDT
Here’s a figure that Facebook and Snap more or less have in common: 2 million AR effects. Just last month, Snap announced that its community of AR creators had produced nearly that many AR Lenses—Snap’s term for an AR effect. And today Facebook announced that the total number of AR effects made for its apps (chiefly Instagram and Messenger) has... Here’s a figure that Facebook and Snap more or less have in common: 2 million AR effects. Just...
An image showing how Instagram's new AR features might work. Image by Facebook
Reality Check

Instagram Spruces Up Its AR Ahead of F8 Refresh

By Mathew Olson · Jun 1, 2021 11:15am PDT
Facebook’s annual F8 developers conference last year was one of the first notable tech events to get canceled due to the pandemic. This year it’s returning, but as a digital-only event with an altered name and, as Facebook claims, a renewed focus on its developer community.F8 Refresh, as it will be called, gets underway tomorrow, June 2, with a... Facebook’s annual F8 developers conference last year was one of the first notable tech events to...
An image of Facebook's prototype neural input wrist device. Image by Facebook
Reality Check

Facebook Steps Into the Ring on Neural Input Ethics

By Mathew Olson · May 27, 2021 11:00am PDT
Matters of privacy and data ethics are nothing new to Facebook. When it comes to the company’s ambitious plans for the future of augmented and virtual reality, the question is whether or not the company can tackle those issues head on before something goes wrong. The same cameras and sensors that enable AR/VR tech could be harnessed to provide... Matters of privacy and data ethics are nothing new to Facebook. When it comes to the company’s...
Two VR players using Virtuix Omni Pro treadmills and HTC Vive headsets. Photo by Virtuix
VR Sequels, Treadmills and Sportscasting
By Mathew Olson · May 26, 2021 11:00am PDT
Two VR players using Virtuix Omni Pro treadmills and HTC Vive headsets. Photo by Virtuix
Reality Check

VR Sequels, Treadmills and Sportscasting

By Mathew Olson · May 26, 2021 11:00am PDT
If you’d like to know more about upcoming VR games for the Oculus Quest, maybe just ask Mark Zuckerberg.Yesterday, the Facebook CEO let a detail slip about an unannounced Oculus Studios title. In response to a question, from The Washington Post’s Gene Park, Zuckerberg mentioned that he’s playing a lot of military VR shooter Onward and that he’s... If you’d like to know more about upcoming VR games for the Oculus Quest, maybe just ask Mark...
An attendee played a virtual reality baseball game at the MWC Barcelona event in 2019. Image: Bloomberg
Reality Check

How VR Alters Our Sense of Time

By Mathew Olson · May 25, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment
Time seems to pass differently in virtual reality. It’s a maxim that has been repeated a lot since the arrival of consumer VR headsets, but now it seems that we are finally gaining a better understanding of exactly how VR plays with our perceptions of time. In fact, there is now experimental evidence suggesting that VR can make minutes fly by... Time seems to pass differently in virtual reality. It’s a maxim that has been repeated a lot...
A WaveOptics lab. Image: WaveOptics
Reality Check

Snap’s Big Waveguide Bet and Apple’s Hands-Free Input

By Mathew Olson · May 24, 2021 11:16am PDT
Snap grabbed everyone’s attention last week with its new AR Spectacles, but it turns out that CEO Evan Spiegel actually had another reveal up his sleeve. On Friday, Snap confirmed the acquisition of waveguide maker WaveOptics.Why spend more than $500 million in stock and cash now to acquire a parts supplier when we’re still years—maybe even a... Snap grabbed everyone’s attention last week with its new AR Spectacles, but it turns out that CEO...
Snap’s new AR-equipped Spectacles. Image: Snap
Reality Check

Snap Aims to Take AR Lead With New Spectacles

By Mathew Olson · May 20, 2021 11:42am PDT
Today, Snap revealed its next-generation Spectacles, the first glasses from the company to support the real-time display of AR content. As The Information previously reported, these glasses are aimed at Snap’s large audience of developers and AR content creators, and Snap will only be distributing the devices to a select group of people. So... Today, Snap revealed its next-generation Spectacles, the first glasses from the company to...
Clay Bavor, Google's VP of AR/VR. Photo by Bloomberg.
Google Meet Melds With AR/VR in Project Starline
By Mathew Olson · May 19, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment
Clay Bavor, Google's VP of AR/VR. Photo by Bloomberg.
Reality Check

Google Meet Melds With AR/VR in Project Starline

By Mathew Olson · May 19, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment
New signs of life appeared in Google’s AR/VR efforts Tuesday, at its first I/O conference in two years, when the company revealed an immersive video conferencing tool called Project Starline. Sitting inside a special booth, people can have a 3D videoconference with someone in another part of the country so realistically it looks as if they're... New signs of life appeared in Google’s AR/VR efforts Tuesday, at its first I/O conference in two...
Hugo Barra at an Oculus event in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg
Reality Check

Barra Bids Facebook Farewell, DigiLens Debuts Design v1

By Mathew Olson · May 18, 2021 11:00am PDT
Facebook is losing a big name in its AR/VR efforts with Hugo Barra’s departure from Facebook announced yesterday. The social media giant has plenty of talent in that space now, though, most notably Mark Zuckerberg himself. So what’s the impact of Barra’s exit?If there is any disruption it would be to Facebook’s Ray-Ban non-AR smart glasses... Facebook is losing a big name in its AR/VR efforts with Hugo Barra’s departure from Facebook...
Snap’s Spectacles 3 smart glasses. Image: Snap
Reality Check

How Snap and Microsoft See Consumer AR

By Mathew Olson · May 17, 2021 11:39am PDT · 1 comment
According to a new report from Snap and Deloitte, 73% of people can correctly identify AR when they see it, but people generally have “a hard time defining or describing what it is.”That presents a branding challenge for companies marketing AR-based products to consumers. If consumers know augmented reality when they see it but don’t quite know... According to a new report from Snap and Deloitte, 73% of people can correctly identify AR when...
A marketing image of people playing Resolution’s Demeo game. Image: Resolution Games
Reality Check

A Gaming Veteran on the VR Market and ‘Crunch Culture’

By Mathew Olson · May 13, 2021 11:00am PDT
Tommy Palm, co-founder and CEO of Sweden’s Resolution Games, got his start coding games in the 1980s. Before starting Resolution, he built two other studios, one of which was acquired by mobile game developer King in 2012. There, Palm helped create Candy Crush Saga, a hit puzzle game that soon attracted millions of players and brought in... Tommy Palm, co-founder and CEO of Sweden’s Resolution Games, got his start coding games in the...
Police VR Training Cuts the Cable
By Mathew Olson · May 12, 2021 11:00am PDT
Reality Check

Police VR Training Cuts the Cable

By Mathew Olson · May 12, 2021 11:00am PDT
While few people in the U.S. may not recognize the name Axon Enterprise, its chief products are a familiar (if concerning) sight to some. Axon used to be known as Taser, and despite the change of name in 2017, the company still sells Taser electroshock weapons and body cameras to police and law enforcement agencies across the country.In recent... While few people in the U.S. may not recognize the name Axon Enterprise, its chief products are a...
Players of Niantic's Harry Potter Wizards Unite at a Niantic-sponsored event in Indianapolis in 2019. Image: Niantic
Reality Check

Niantic’s Lightship Lifts Off, Vive Reveals New Headsets

By Mathew Olson · May 11, 2021 11:11am PDT · 1 comment
Pokémon Go maker Niantic is expanding developer access to the platform that powers its games, a move that could spur more AR development by letting outside developers work with the company’s technology. It’s a big step forward for the company as it seeks to build on the success of its games toward being a major provider of essential AR software.... Pokémon Go maker Niantic is expanding developer access to the platform that powers its games, a...
Children played virtual reality games during an exhibition in Guangzhou, China, in 2017. Photo: AP
Reality Check

Facebook Quandary Over VR for Kids

By Mathew Olson · May 10, 2021 12:22pm PDT · 1 comment
Facebook is eager to get VR headsets into the hands of more consumers, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg isn’t keen on rushing toward one demographic: kids.In a recent interview with CNET (in keeping with Facebook’s new PR strategy), Zuckerberg settled in for another chat about VR and AR (you can listen to the long AR/VR convo we had with the Facebook CEO... Facebook is eager to get VR headsets into the hands of more consumers, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg...
A cleanroom worker in an II-VI laser components factory. Photo: Apple
Reality Check

Apple Laser Deal Signals AR Expansion

By Mathew Olson · May 6, 2021 11:20am PDT · 2 comments
Better AR capabilities could be finding their way into more iPhones before too long. Apple this week announced that it will pump more money, to the tune of $410 million, into a major laser supplier that develops key AR components. The recipient is II-VI, a Pennsylvania-based optics and laser company with several factories across the... Better AR capabilities could be finding their way into more iPhones before too long. Apple...
A Fortnite player at E3 in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg
Epic's AR Anxiety
By Mathew Olson · May 5, 2021 11:00am PDT
A Fortnite player at E3 in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg
Reality Check

Epic's AR Anxiety

By Mathew Olson · May 5, 2021 11:00am PDT
On Monday, the first day of the Epic-Apple trial, we learned that Epic had made a curious pitch for a Sony VR game. Yesterday’s proceedings revealed something quite different: AR’s rise influenced Epic’s decision to fight Apple. That suggests Epic may be anxious about holding onto its content edge in AR.During the cross examination of Epic CEO... On Monday, the first day of the Epic-Apple trial, we learned that Epic had made a curious pitch...