Hey from Cupertino! Yup, that place where Apple hangs out. I’m here for a week, doing the meeting thing before I hop over to Berlin to mentor at XRCC. Fingers crossed this Bay Area stint is smoother than last week at AWE — I was basically shuffling around like a zombified mess. Seriously, it was like Resident Evil. Anyway, beam me some good vibes and I’ll hit you with the XR scoop this week!
### Weekly Whirlwind News
#### Meta and Oakley’s Mysterious Launch
So get this. Meta and Oakley could be dropping some athlete-centric glasses by Friday. Isn’t that wild? I wasn’t expecting this until Meta Connect. But hey, summer’s the time for shades anyway, right? Rumor has it, there’s a new social media account with a pretty trippy video mashing up both brands’ logos and teasing something for June 20th. There’s suspense in the air, folks. Can’t wait to see if these actually fly off the shelves or if it’s just smartglasses overload.
#### Snap’s Specs and Future
Evan Spiegel’s doing his Snap thing again, but we won’t see their new “Specs” until 2026. Sounds like they’re slimming these babies down and making them lighter. Maybe they won’t feel like you’re lugging a brick on your face — which, you know, is always a plus. Fingers crossed they look less like a dev kit and more like something you’d actually want to rock.
#### Qualcomm’s Geeky Goodness
Qualcomm rolled out its shiny new AR1+ chip, which sounds like a big privacy win. Imagine AI goodies running right on your device without the snoopy cloud peeking in. Privacy: Check. Less power and sleeker design: Check. I was at AWE watching the demo and yeah, totally gobsmacked. Can’t wait for these to hit the market.
### More Nerdy Nuggets
#### Google Goes Big
Google’s XR stuff is buzzing. From Samsung’s rumored Project Moohan reveals, to HP sneaking in a $25K teleconferencing device — which doesn’t even include the essential Google Beam license. Because, of course, they don’t. Classic. XREAL’s diving into glasses with a 70° field view, which sounds pretty flipping immersive!
#### Apple Updates
Apple’s WWDC highlights are rolling out the details — widgets that morph based on how far away you are? Kind of neat. And games that clue you in on whether you need those pricey PSVR 2 controllers — smart move. Still, it could end up being a niche within a niche. Let’s see if VR takes a backseat to applesauce.
### Tangents and Tidbits
I could go on — so much buzzing in the XR world like Palmer Luckey’s military-grade headset project (goes over $10K!) to OpenXR teasing some cool spatial computing upgrades. And hands-on experiences at AWE, games galore from Thief VR to What Comes After. Even the horror VR scene’s getting crowded. Fingers crossed for something fresh.
Lastly, big hugs to my patient Patreon supporters and a nudge towards donating to Red Cross in Ukraine because sometimes being human means helping out, right?
That’s it. Signing off from the whirlpool of tech and soul-searching for the perfect blend of geek and fun. Till next time!
