News and Updates from Next Reality

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

You've probably seen the flashy consumer launches—Quest 3, Vision Pro, the usual suspects. But while everyone's been watching the retail games, Meta's Reality Labs has been quietly cooking up prototypes that make today's headsets look like flip phones. We're talking about tech that solves problems you didn't even know existed yet.

July's VR gaming scene is heating up with some seriously tempting releases — and after hands-on testing with six of this month's major launches, I can tell you this lineup delivers on its promises. From zombie hordes to puzzle adventures, this month offers something for every type of VR enthusiast, with genuine surprises that justify the wallet damage.

Picture this: Your AR glasses open apps just by looking at them. Your VR headset adjusts the image based on where your eyes focus. Your car knows when you're getting drowsy and nudges you awake. These aren't far-off fantasies — they're potential real-world uses of eye-tracking tech. And thanks to a new breakthrough at the University of Arizona, we may be a lot closer to all of it.

When Vivo revealed its new mixed reality headset — simply named Vivo Vision — it didn't just debut a new device. It kicked open the door to a market that, until now, has been heavily dominated by two tech giants: Apple and Meta. The Vision clearly draws inspiration from Apple's Vision Pro (very clear, in fact) — right down to its sleek ski-goggle silhouette and gesture-based interface — but it's more than just a copycat play.As someone who has followed the evolution of AR and VR for years, I...

Meta is doubling down on augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) with the launch of Aria Gen 2. Unlike consumer-focused models such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, Aria Gen 2 is designed for AI research, robotics, and machine perception. The glasses offer a glimpse into the future of AR-powered assistance.

Virtual reality isn't just a futuristic dream anymore — it's a thriving industry on track for massive expansion. According to recent projections, the global VR market is expected to grow by a staggering $339.29 billion between 2025 and 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 27.3%. That's not just a small bump — it's a sign that VR is cementing itself as a major player in gaming, business, healthcare, and beyond.

Just hours after an early leak via Twitter, Facebook and Ray-Ban have officially released their new wearable collaboration.

The competition to secure the top slot in the smart glasses space is now in full swing, with Facebook challenging Snap's Spectacles and Amazon's Echo Frames with its own collaboration with Ray-Ban called Stories.

As we move toward the end of the year, the wheels of the augmented reality space continue to shift in major ways.

Away from the hype around Facebook's smart glasses, the high-end fascination with the Microsoft HoloLens, and the unending rumors about Apple's AR wearable is the small but powerful darling of the enterprise AR world — Vuzix.

On Monday, the social media giant Facebook suffered a massive outage that, as of this writing, is still in effect.

The beginning of autumn has delivered a number of new augmented reality developments, and we're on top of it.

As conversations about artificial intelligence (AI) grow, a new concept — augmented intelligence — is taking shape as a more human-focused way of using technology. While AI often evokes visions of automation and machine-driven decision-making, augmented intelligence focuses on collaboration, where machines enhance rather than replace human capabilities.

For decades, Super Bowl ads have been used as a launching platform for new products, devices, and even technologies. In Super Bowl LIX, it took center stage in the exploding AI space.

Although the enterprise use cases for the Microsoft HoloLens 2 continue to impress, the arts community just can't stay away from the best augmented reality headset on the market.

The team at NASA is in full mission preparation mode as they prepare to send a new team to the moon for the first time in decades via the Artemis program in 2024.

As NASA nears the launch of another mission to the Moon in 2024, and a subsequent mission to Mars in the 2030s, augmented reality is increasingly being woven into the normal space operations to test various capabilities.

Even with unlimited resources and a serious case of wanderlust, it's unlikely that you or I will be able to see all of the most famous structures in the world in person.

It's always fun to get an unexpected glimpse of the future, especially when that peek is so close you can actually feel the excitement of the new emerging dynamic.

We usually focus on augmented reality here, but when something important in VR happens, we highlight it as part of the overall immersive computing story.

It's about that time again: Facebook has announced the dates for its annual Facebook Connect (formerly known as Oculus Connect until last year).

One of the most iconic architectural landmarks on the planet, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, will become a part of augmented reality history thanks to a new project from Snap.

The much-hyped Apple event is now history, and we finally know what the Cupertino tech giant had up its sleeve: new iPhones.

"Unfortunately, no one can be told what the matrix is, you have to see it for yourself." That's the line just before Morpheus gives Thomas Anderson (aka Neo) the red pill, finally opening his eyes to the tapestry of code that has veiled his eyes for his entire life.

The fight to wrest control of apps from Apple's revenue-focused grip just took a major turn in favor of Epic Games.

The art of creating Snapchat Lenses is really only the beginning of the augmented reality experience on the social media platform.

Amid a troubling resurgence in coronavirus cases, led by the new Delta variant, augmented reality is once again moving back into the spotlight as a solution, especially now that the move to return to offices has been stalled.

The enterprise-focused category of augmented reality doesn't often get the headlines due to its relatively sedate profile as a mostly factory floor and training-based tool.

In our review of Amazon's non-augmented reality Echo Frames smartglasses, we made the case for audio virtual assistants being the linchpin for AR wearables.

The year leading into fall is turning out to be packed with a flurry of augmented reality activity. Most notably, TikTok is adding another major weapon to its AR arsenal. Also on deck are the powers of Hollywood horror in the form of an innovative approach to AR marketing that uses sounds.

While the rest of Big Tech is still moving relatively slowly on augmented reality smartglasses, Snap continues to supercharge its own experimental AR wearable called Spectacles.

The initiative known as Project Aria has been the focus of curiosity around Facebook's augmented reality plans ever since Mark Zuckerberg revealed the device around this time last year.

The practice of using sound to trigger augmented reality interactions hasn't been widely used, but a new experience is so impressive that it could kick off more use of the dynamic.

The Chinese short-form social media giant known as TikTok is getting into an increasingly crowded and competitive space: augmented reality effects tools.