The RayNeo X2 Lite 3D AR glasses were demonstrated for the first time at CES 2024 in Las Vegas last week. Weighing just 60 grams (2.1 ounces), the sleek eyewear was lauded for its microLED optical waveguide display and standalone form factor, which does not require tethering to a computer or smartphone. The RayNeo X2 Lite, releasing in Q3 2024, and the Ray Neo X2, which had a limited launch in China but has not yet been released to the rest of the world, are anticipated as the first microLED display augmented reality glasses which will be available in the United States. Continue reading CES: TCL Demos RayNeo X2 Lite Augmented Reality Glasses

Sony Corporation debuted a mixed reality headset “aimed at supporting creators in sophisticated 3D content creation.” The Sony XR HMD includes “an XR head-mounted display with 4K OLED Microdisplays and Sony’s proprietary rendering technology” to enable real-time, high-definition “rendering of textures of 3D objects and facial expressions of human characters,” Sony announced at CES. The electronics giant disclosed plans to “collaborate with developers” of 3D production software, “including in the entertainment and industrial design fields.” At launch, Sony is exclusively partnered with Siemens to develop a collaborative product design solution. Continue reading CES: Sony’s Mixed-Reality Headset Built for Content Creation

Acer brought a fleet of new Predator gaming monitors to CES, including the curved colossus spanning 57-inches, the Predator Z57, and glasses-free 3D Predator SpatialLabs View 27, a mass market spin on the company’s SpatialLabs professional display. Sprawling across 7,680 x 2,160 pixels, the flagship Z57 MiniLED runs at 120Hz, with 2,304 dimming zones, dual HDR and peak brightness of 1,000 nits, according to Acer, which has it priced at $2,500, calendared in Q2, as is the $2,000 View 27. The Ultra HD 3D monitor boasts a 160Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync for fluid gameplay. Continue reading CES: Acer Showcases Curved and Glasses-Free 3D Monitors

Xreal, the Chinese XR company formerly known as Nreal, debuted its Air 2 Ultra AR glasses at CES 2024 this week in Las Vegas, with the $699 item scheduled to ship to U.S. buyers in March, crowding the February 2 release date Apple just announced for its $3,500 Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Though currently aimed at developers, who can preorder now, the Air 2 Ultra will be available for purchase online from Xreal to anyone in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the UK, in addition to China and the United States. Continue reading CES: Xreal Offers Spatial Computing with Air 2 Ultra for $699

LG Electronics will showcase its latest television technologies at CES in Las Vegas next week, including its 2024 lineup of QNED and QNED Mini LED TVs with models up to 98 inches, and the company’s top-line M4 and G4 OLED TVs (more on those sets in tomorrow’s ETCentric). LG says the advanced graphics capabilities of faster AI processing will provide viewers with a brighter picture, smoother motion and superior, vibrant colors. The company also announced an upcoming soundbar lineup, featuring premium surround-sound devices specifically designed for its new OLED and QNED TVs for what LG describes as an “elevated home cinema experience.” Continue reading LG Plans to Demo Its New OLED and QNED TV Tech at CES

Apple recently announced advances in artificial intelligence research that could introduce more immersive visual experiences and enable sophisticated AI systems to run on the company’s popular mobile devices. Two new research papers highlight techniques for creating 3D avatars from video content and efficiently deploying large language models on devices challenged by limited memory. The real-time ability to create avatars and 3D scenes from an iPhone camera could bring a range of new possibilities for CE devices in areas such as synthetic media, telepresence, social interaction, virtual try-on and more. Continue reading Apple Unveils New Advances in Artificial Intelligence Research

As the pressure ratchets up for AI companies to go beyond the wow factor and make money, Stability AI has formalized three subscription tiers as it seeks to expand commercial use of its open-source, multimodal core models. The Stability AI Membership offerings include a free tier for personal and research (i.e., non-commercial) use, a professional tier that costs $20 a month, and a custom-priced enterprise tier for large outfits. The company says that with the three tiers it is “striking a balance between fostering competitiveness and maintaining openness in AI technologies.” Continue reading Stability AI Is Offering Paid Membership for Commercial Users

Apple has released the iOS 17.2 update for newer iPhones. New features include spatial video recording and a Journal app that generates prompts designed to get users writing about their lives based on data running through the phone. The 3D spatial video can also playback on 2D on any device but is optimized for dimensional viewing on Apple’s Vision Pro headset, due for release in 2024, starting at $3,500. The Journal app, unveiled at June’s WWDC, is described as a health and wellness feature (that oddly does not yet integrate with the Apple Watch). Continue reading Apple Intros Spatial Video Recording with Latest iOS Update

Looking Glass has since 2014 been working to bring holographic display into regular consumer use. Now the Brooklyn-based company thinks it’s found the killer app to make that happen: Looking Glass Go, a pocket-sized display that has a $300 MSRP for June 2024 delivery and features a six-inch screen and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to enable receipt of “holograms from the cloud.” The Looking Glass Go allows you to “shoot instant spatial photos with your phone” and view them as holograms — “including holographic AIs you can customize, powered by ChatGPT,” the company says. Continue reading Looking Glass Readies Launch of Mobile Holographic Display

Unity has officially released its Muse AI platform for general use in early access. Muse is a suite of AI-powered tools that streamline game development. The Muse package includes Muse Chat to source answers and generate code, Muse Sprite for 2D sprites generation, and Muse Texture, providing 2D and 3D ready textures. Originally announced in July, Muse is now offered at a $30 per month subscription. Also announced at the firm’s annual Unite conference was the next major software update, Unity 6, for 2024, and the deployment of Unity Cloud to connect development tools across projects and pipelines. Continue reading Unity Opens Beta for Muse AI, Sets General Release for 2024

Apple Vision Pro, the $3,499 mixed reality headset announced for release in early 2024, could be getting a B2B marketing push, as evidenced by a recently published Apple post on development apps. That would make competing products in the $3,300 to $5,000 range — including the Microsoft HoloLens and headsets from Magic Leap — Apple’s competition for the Vision Pro. That would also leave Meta Platforms and its Quest line, including the $500 mixed reality Quest 3 that began shipping last month, unchallenged in the consumer space, where it currently enjoys an estimated 80 percent market share. Continue reading Apple’s Vision Pro May Compete in the AR Enterprise Space

Since Snap released its Lens Studio tool in 2017, creators have become “the fuel of Snap AR,” the company says by way of announcing Lens Studio 5.0 Beta, representing a major overhaul of the editor. The development tool now includes a ChatGPT API, improved version control, and more support for teams. The company also launched a Lens Performance Toolkit to help optimize reach and engagement. Performance optimization has resulted in load times that are 18x faster, Snap says, noting “a project that used to take 25 seconds to open now only takes seconds — resetting the bar for productivity.” Continue reading Snap Adds ChatGPT and Other New Tools to AR Lens Editor

Stability AI is rolling out next-generation enterprise tools for its Stable Diffusion text-to-image generator. Leading the pack is Stable 3D, geared toward game developers and  graphic designers, with results that integrate with popular 3D platforms including Blender, Maya, Unreal Engine and Unity, according to Stability. Now in private preview, Stable 3D enables non-experts to generate “thousands of 3D objects per day” by selecting an image or illustration or writing a text prompt. Another preview app, Stable FineTuning, provides the ability to quickly fine-tune pictures, objects and styles. A third tool, Sky Replacer, is available now. Continue reading Stability AI Adds Apps to Draft 3D Models, Fine-Tune Objects

Swiss technology firm CREAL has announced what it calls a breakthrough in lightfield technology that can greatly improve augmented reality experiences. The tech is set to be commercially released in early 2024 for integration into third-party products, CREAL CEO Tomas Sluka says the advancement will make it more comfortable to wear AR glasses, reducing eye strain, nausea and fatigue. While other companies approach AR’s challenges through solutions including passthrough, monocular projection and varifocal display, CREAL says the stack it’s built for lightfield display addresses the most pressing common issues. Continue reading CREAL Plans Launch of Commercial Lightfield AR Next Year

Amazon has developed a new virtual fan experience that includes shopping and interactive tours to tie-in with popular Prime Video series and films. The first such immersive experience is designed for fans of the Prime Video series “Gen V,” and includes a virtual tour of the show’s fictional Godolkin University, which trains aspiring superheroes, complete with a campus store brimming with actual merchandise that fans can purchase from Amazon. The programming extensions aim to offer “culturally rich environments for customers to discover, learn, experience, and consume more of their favorite stories” while shopping. Continue reading Amazon Launches Immersive Online Shopping on Prime Video