Subj : Meta's new VR headset design looks like a next-gen Apple Vision P To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Thu Dec 07 2023 16:45:04 Meta's new VR headset design looks like a next-gen Apple Vision Pro Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:35:26 +0000 Description: Meta has shown off a new headset design which looks a lot like the Meta Quest Pro and Apple Vision Pro rolled into one. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Meta has teased a super impressive XR headset that looks to combine the Meta Quest Pro , Apple Vision Pro and a few new exclusive features. The only downside? Anything resembling what Meta has shown off is most likely years from release. During a talk at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences, Metas director of display systems research, Douglas Lanman, showed a render of Mirror Lake an advanced prototype that is practical to build now based on the tech Meta has developed. This XR headset (XR being a catchall term for VR, AR and MR) combines design elements and features used by the Meta Quest Pro and Apple Vision Pro such as the Quest Pros open side design and the Vision Pros EyeSight with new tools such as HoloCake lenses and electronic varifocal, to make something better than anything on the market. Weve talked about electronic varifocal on TechRadar before when Metas Butterscotch Varifocal prototype won an award so we wont go too in-depth here. Simply put, using a mixture of eye-tracking and a display system that can move closer or further away from the headset wearers face, electronic varifocal aims to mimic the way we focus on objects that are near or far away in the real world. It's an approach Meta calls a more natural, realistic, and comfortable experience. You can see it at work in the video below. HoloCake lenses help to enable this varifocal system while trimming down the size of the headset a portmanteau of holographic and pancake. Pancake lenses are used by the Meta Quest 3 , Quest Pro, and other modern headsets including the Pico 4 and Apple Vision Pro, and thanks to some clever optic trickery they can be a lot slimmer than lenses previously used by headsets like the Quest 2. To further slim the optics down, HoloCake lenses use a thin, flat holographic lens instead of the curved one relied on by a pancake system holographic as in reflective foil, not as in a 3D hologram you might see in a sci-fi flick. The only downside is that you need to use lasers, instead of a regular LED backlight. This can add cost, size, heat and safety hurdles. That said, needing to rely on lasers could be seen as an upgrade since these can usually produce a wider and more vivid range of colors than standard LEDs. Diagrams of different lens optics including HoloCake lenses (Image credit: Meta) When can we get one? Not for a while Unfortunately, Mirror Lake wont be coming anytime soon. Lanman described the headset as something [Meta] could build with significant time, implying that development hasnt started yet and even if it has, we might be years away from seeing it in action. On this point Mark Zuckerberg, Metas CEO, added that the technology Mirror Lake relies on could be seen in products in the second half of the decade, pointing to a release in 2026 and beyond (maybe late 2025 if were lucky). This would match up with when we predict Metas next XR headset like a Meta Quest Pro or Meta Quest 4 will probably launch. Meta usually likes to tease its headsets a year in advance at its Meta Connect events (doing so with both the Meta Quest Pro and Quest 3), so if it sticks to this trend the earliest well see a new device is September or October 2025. Meta Connect 2023 passed without a sneak peek at what's to come. Someone wearing the Apple Vision Pro VR headset (Image credit: Apple) Waiting a few years would also give the Meta Quest 3 time in the spotlight before the next big thing comes to overshadow it, and of course let Meta see how the Apple Vision Pro fares. Apples XR headset is taking the exact opposite approach to Metas Quest 2 and Quest 3, with Apple offering very high-end tech at a very unaffordable price ($3,499, or around 2,800 / AU$5,300). If Apples gamble pays off, Meta might want to mix up its strategy by releasing an equally high-end and costly Meta Quest Pro 2 that offers a more significant upgrade over the Quest 3 than the first Meta Quest Pro offered compared to the Quest 2. If the Vision Pro flops, Meta wont want to follow its lead. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE The latest Meta Quest 3 update brings 4 useful upgrades, and takes away a feature Bust some knowledge with my favorite Quest 3 games and apps of November 2023 Meta Quest 3 Elite Strap with Battery sales are paused due to a charging fault ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/metas-ne w-vr-headset-design-looks-like-a-next-gen-apple-vision-pro --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .