Latest news with #VisionPro
Gulf Insider
3 hours ago
- Gulf Insider
Mark Zuckerberg Announces the End of Mobile Phones
For nearly thirty years, we've lived with our faces glued to small screens—thumbs incessantly swiping, notifications pinging at all hours. But according to Mark Zuckerberg, that era may soon be in the rear-view mirror. In a recent interview, the Meta CEO predicted that wearable computing will eclipse smartphones as our primary portal to the digital world. 'People want computing to be more natural and social,' he explained, 'so you can interact with the people around you—this will likely be the next major platform after phones.' I'll admit, I was sceptical at first. Last Christmas, I gifted my partner a sleek new handset—only to watch her tuck it into her bag for the entire family walk. There's no denying we crave convenience, but could we really trade our devices for something we wear over our eyes? The idea of strapping a pair of high-tech spectacles to your face once belonged in sci-fi novels. Yet huge investments by Meta and Apple—whose Vision Pro received rapturous initial reviews—suggest this is more than a passing fad. These next-gen glasses promise augmented reality (AR) overlays, real-time data streams and hands-free navigation, effectively turning your surroundings into an immersive interface.³ Zuckerberg is so confident that he forecasts a full smartphone phase-out by the 2030s. He imagines a day when your phone spends more time tucked away in your pocket than lighting up your palm. Early adopters are already experimenting with prototypes. In San Francisco cafés, professionals dictate messages through voice commands on their frames, and travellers use built-in maps to navigate busy terminals without glancing down at a screen. As these devices slim down and battery lives improve, the line between gadget and accessory will blur even further. Whether you're ready to embrace your new set of specs or simply curious about what's next, one thing's clear: the smartphone's days as our go-to gadget may be numbered. And as Zuckerberg says, 'The real magic happens when technology fades into the background—let the world become your screen.' Also read: What The World Is Asking ChatGPT In 2025
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Gizmodo
Oh Great, the TikTok People Want to Strap AR Goggles on Your Face
There's reportedly a potential new player in AR glasses, and you'll never guess who it is. I'll give you a hint: they make the app you're about to unconsciously check in about 15 seconds. No, not Tinder; get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking about TikTok, or more specifically, ByteDance, which owns TikTok and also, according to The Information, which cites sources within the company, has aspirations of entering the burgeoning world of XR hardware. ByteDance's entrant, according to the report, is a pair of goggle-like AR glasses that sit somewhere in between Meta's Quest and Apple's Vision Pro, and I have to say… they sound kind of cool? According to The Information, the AR goggles, codenamed Phoenix, will have digital passthrough, which is to say, they'll have XR similar to what you might see on a Quest 3, and they'll weigh just 100 grams. That is notably much lighter than the Vision Pro and Meta's Quest 3, which weigh 650 grams and 515 grams, respectively. That smaller form factor will definitely come with some limitations, though. Reducing the weight is all well and good, but it's still hard to miniaturize some of the high-end tech found in headsets like Vision Pro—I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't expect any high-res micro-OLED display here. That being said, the report says that Phoenix will still borrow some of the capabilities from more premium headsets like the Vision Pro, including a UI that's centered around hand and eye-tracking instead of controllers, just like Apple's visionOS that powers the Vision Pro. While The Information doesn't say anything about price, I'm going to assume that Phoenix, if it ever sees the light of day, will be much cheaper than the Vision Pro, though that's not saying much since Apple's only headset—sorry, 'spatial computer'—is still a conversation-ending $3,500. And that last part, if it does pan out to be true, will be very important. If the report is correct, what we're looking at here is a lightweight AR headset that, yes, may be a little bit dumber than the rest of the pack, but is also a lot more accessible both weight-wise and monetarily. That's basically Meta's playbook with the Quest 3S, which costs just $299 and still does pretty much all of the things you'd want an XR headset to do, just not at a fancy-schmancy Vision Pro level. That lower capability but accessible price and weight strategy has been a fruitful one for Meta. In the first three quarters after its release, Meta sold 3 million Quest 3s while Apple sold just an estimated 370,000 Vision Pros. And that's not the only Meta product to succeed with that strategy. Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, for example, are shells of what competitors like Xreal are putting out—they don't even have displays in them—but they've resonated with people who want something affordable, lightweight, and with just enough features to make the price feel worthwhile. Oh, they also don't make you look like a total dork when you wear them. XR is still a nascent field at the end of the day, so it's too early to prognosticate on whether ByteDance's Phoenix glasses will be any good or anywhere close to successful. As a reality check, ByteDance notably owns the company Pico, which makes VR hardware that has yet to really challenge Meta's Quest dominance. That being said, this is a new product, and ByteDance may nail the strategy with Phoenix. Plus, with TikTok-level resources, it's hard to count anyone out.
CNBC
a day ago
- Business
- CNBC
Jim Cramer makes the case for why Apple and investors should stick with CEO Tim Cook
Jim Cramer says he's still backing Apple 's Tim Cook despite calls for the CEO to resign. "I really believe in Tim," Jim said at Friday's annual meeting of the CNBC Investing Club from the New York Stock Exchange. "He's made us a lot of money. He gets the benefit of the doubt." Responding to a question from a member who asked whether the Club would consider trimming the stock if Apple cannot turn things around, Jim also addressed the Street's list of concerns about the tech giant, including last Tuesday's announcement that COO Jeff Williams, 62, will retire later this year. Williams was the No. 2 executive at Apple. A day later, LightShed Partners analyst Walter Piecyk called for Apple to replace Cook. Piecyk did credit the 64-year-old CEO for an amazing job navigating the iPhone era, but said Apple now needs a product-focused CEO. Piecyk told CNBC's "Fast Money" last Wednesday evening that the idea of Apple needing new leadership is not new among institutional investors. "It cannot miss out on AI," LightShed wrote in its note to clients. Jim recently advocated for Apple to buy AI start-up Perplexity as a solution to getting back in the game. "They screwed up the AI. Jeff Williams is retiring. Luca Maestri, the great CFO, is gone. The new CFO [Sabih Khan] is young. They're right now lacking innovation. A lot of people feel that Vision Pro [headset] is a bust," Jim said. "There isn't anything that they are doing right, right now, according to people," he acknowledged. But in a show of faith, Jim kept Apple stock as one of the Club portfolio's 12 core holdings , alongside artificial intelligence winners Amazon , Meta Platforms , and newly crowned $4 trillion market cap stock Nvidia . Apple's shares have been feeling the weight of shaky investor confidence, with the stock down nearly 16.5% year to date. Unlike other tech companies following the tariff-driven April lows, Apple has been slower to recover. Currently trading around $209, the stock would have to see an upside move of roughly 19% to get back to its record-high close of $259 on Dec. 26, 2024. AAPL YTD mountain Apple YTD It's undeniable that Apple is up to its eyeballs in problems, with AI being one of those at the forefront of investors' minds. Earlier this year, the company delayed its rollout of an AI-powered conversational Siri, helping fuel naysayers who are upset with its failure to catch up in the AI revolution. To add more flames to the fire, Apple lost a top AI executive , Ruoming Pang, to Meta last week. Furthermore, the company has been a direct target of the Trump administration, which has publicly criticized Cook for a lack of urgency in moving iPhone production back to the U.S. Despite having shifted some production to India, most of Apple's phones are still made in China. But either way, President Donald Trump wants iPhones made in America, which could more than double the price tag of the device. "It is painful to hear people going for [Cook's] head or that it's time for him to change," Jim said, as he questioned whether investors have forgotten the "thousands and thousands of percentages" in profits that the company and Cook have made them. "As long as this [iPhone] is remarkable. As long as this [iPhone] is indispensable, we're going to own the stock," Jim said. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AAPL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Egypt Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Tech promised virtual reality would revolutionize entertainment. That moment might finally be closer than we think.
CNN — Virtual reality was supposed to transform entertainment. At least, that was the expectation roughly a decade ago with the arrival of the Oculus Rift, the first virtual reality (VR) headset that many believed would push VR into the mainstream. In 2025, the industry has failed to deliver on that promise. But tech and entertainment giants alike believe that moment could be closer than ever. The evidence is there. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Meta is in talks with Disney, A24 and other entertainment companies to produce immersive content for its Quest VR headsets. Apple announced an update to its Vision Pro headset in June, enabling users to share content with other headsets — ideal for watching movies together in 3-D. Earlier this year, Apple also launched an immersive Metallica concert for the Vision Pro and announced in July it's readying its first upgrade to boost the Vision Pro's performance. Taken together, this signals that tech and media behemoths are still betting that consumers will be willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands, to experience concerts, movies and sporting events beyond the confines of a traditional screen. A chicken-and-the-egg paradox In the 10-plus years since Oculus debuted the Rift, headset manufacturers have produced lighter, more powerful devices. Meanwhile, companies are finally warming to the idea of another medium for storytelling. Tech companies have a history of flirting with VR projects aimed at mainstream users. In June, Meta offered live virtual rinkside tickets to Stanley Cup games, echoing previous NBA and WNBA offerings. Headset owners have attended virtual concerts for years, including Apple's immersive Alicia Keys session and Meta's Blackpink show. Disney even launched a Disney+ app for Apple's Vision Pro on Day 1 in 2024. But these have been pilots to gauge interest, not long-term investments. Historically, headsets have been trapped in a chicken-and-egg paradox: to woo entertainment content, they need mass adoption; but to reach that scale, headsets need premium content. The technology must also be comfortable, powerful and popular enough to gain mass appeal. For Sarah Malkin, director of entertainment content for Meta's VR division Reality Labs, that cycle is already being broken. 'I think the 'it moment' is when you are regularly engaging in experiences in mixed reality that are super complementary and part of your integrated life,' Malkin told CNN. 'To me, that's already happening.' Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets increased by around 10% in 2024 to 7.5 million and nearly 30.8% to 3.4 million in the US, according to IDC, a global market intelligence and data company. Although IDC predicts shipments around the world will tumble this year due to delayed product launches, it expects a massive rebound in 2026 with worldwide shipments surging 98.5% to 11.3 million. However, the results haven't always lived up to the hype. Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse has cost Meta $46 billion over three years. Reality Labs, the company's VR division, posted $4.2 billion in operating loss and just $412 million in sales in Q1, down from the previous quarter. But tech giants continue to experiment with the technology. Meta invested $3.5 billion in eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica SA to bolster its AI spectacle gambit, according to Bloomberg. (A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the report.) Snap recently said it plans to launch new augmented reality spectacles next year, and Google continues to work with partners like Xreal and Samsung on upcoming headsets and glasses that run on its new Android XR software. Samsung will be among the first to launch such a device with its upcoming Project Moohan headset. Attendees photograph Samsung's Project Moohan mixed-reality headsets with Google at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, on January 22, 2025. Michaela Vatcheva/Bloomberg/Getty Images A young boy plays with Meta Quest 2 all-in-one VR headset during a festival of video games and other digital entertainment in Zaragoza, Spain, on October 15, 2023. Nano Calvo/VW Pics/UniversalWith more sophisticated hardware and a budding content portfolio, Bertrand Nepveu, a former Vision Pro contributor and partner at Triptyq Capital, said wider adoption is crucial. 'It's still early, but there's no technical limitation right now, it's more (that) we need people to invest because you need a critical mass,' Nepveu told CNN. A paradigm shift in content Although big names like James Cameron and Sabrina Carpenter are already beginning to explore VR, immersive storytelling has yet to gain that crucial widespread popularity. Slow growth can be partially attributed to incorrect assumptions by studios. 'You can't just take the flat version of what you put on Disney+ or Netflix or Amazon, and just throw that up,' Jenna Seiden, an industry consultant and adviser who has worked with Skydance Media, Niantic, CAA, and Xbox, told CNN. 'You need to build natively so the audience is going to have a different experience per platform.' While creating media for virtual and mixed reality may seem like a departure from developing content for 2-D screens, Seiden says the secret to success is a tactic media companies are already familiar with: exclusivity. 'You look at the creation of HBO (Max), you look at the creation of Apple TV+, they grew their audiences based on exclusives, that's why you went to them,' Seiden said. 'I think that model is very familiar to entertainment companies, and they can go to their board saying, 'Hey, this is how platforms grow, with exclusive content.'' That's what makes live virtual sports an easy way to break down extended reality (XR) barriers for audiences. Paul Raphaël, co-founder of Felix & Paul, said sports can be easily adapted for immersive platforms using 180-degree cameras. Audiences experience VR e-sports games at the 2025 Jingxi E-sports Festival in Beijing, China on June 28, 2025. CFOTO/'You already have quite a few events and sports being broadcast, whether it's live or asynchronous,' Raphaël said. 'As the audience grows, it's a really straightforward path to create the content or to broadcast the content.' For Hollywood, the possibility of a new major distribution platform couldn't come at a better time. In today's fracturing media environment — shaken by streaming, the collapse of the cable bundle, and post-Covid box office woes — a new medium could be a crucial selling point, especially for entertainment boards looking for a new revenue vein. Jack Davis, co-founder of CryptTV, said headsets might provide a much-needed pipeline for premium content. 'As gigantic structural changes happen in TV and film, the industry is going to need to replace those things in the aggregate,' Davis said. 'This could be one of the only formats that premium entertainment actually seems like it makes sense (for) the user base.' Budgetary and content hurdles Over the past decade, investment in VR has been eclipsed by more pressing innovations, including self-driving cars and AI. Although it's difficult to determine how that has directly impacted XR investment, funding data from Crunchbase, a predictive company intelligence solution, shows that backing for AI and self-driving has steadily increased, rising from $39.96 billion in 2019 to $105.36 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, XR funding has experienced more erratic behavior — reaching a peak of $4.087 billion in 2021 but dropping to $347.69 million by 2025. Things were much the same in the venture capital world, where the number of global VR deals has also dropped in recent years. PitchBook, which examines private equity and VC deals, notes that 2019 was the largest year for VC deals in VR in the last decade, recording $6.43 billion in deals worldwide. That was significantly smaller than the $57.084 billion from AI-focused venture capitalists that year. In 2025, VR VCs have fallen to only $3.61 billion in global deals while AI VCs have grown to $130.89 billion. But Nepveu said that's changing. 'Now that AI is more understood, you know what it's good for, what it's not capable of, the budgets now are going back into XR,' Nepveu claimed. People stand in line to purchase the Apple Vision Pro headset at the Fifth Avenue Apple store on February 02, 2024 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Still, tech giants investing in the development of mixed reality headsets face a daunting challenge that extends beyond the entertainment available. They need to convince consumers that the devices are both worth paying for and putting on their faces. That's partially why Apple emphasized the Vision Pro as a spatial computing tool, focusing on work and productivity rather than just 2-D and 3-D entertainment capabilities. Still, even a decade later, experts can't seem to agree on exactly when VR will have its breakout moment. Nepveu said it could happen any day. Raphaël expected one or two years. Davis suggested three to seven. Seiden said five to 10. Raphaël, however, believes 2-D content may soon feel as dated as pre-Technicolor entertainment. 'Content, the way it is consumed today, is going to be much like we think of black and white movies, where, if a film isn't immersive, it doesn't lose its value, but it becomes something of another era,' Raphaël said.
Egypt Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Tech promised virtual reality would revolutionize entertainment. That moment might finally be closer than we think.
CNN — Virtual reality was supposed to transform entertainment. At least, that was the expectation roughly a decade ago with the arrival of the Oculus Rift, the first virtual reality (VR) headset that many believed would push VR into the mainstream. In 2025, the industry has failed to deliver on that promise. But tech and entertainment giants alike believe that moment could be closer than ever. The evidence is there. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Meta is in talks with Disney, A24 and other entertainment companies to produce immersive content for its Quest VR headsets. Apple announced an update to its Vision Pro headset in June, enabling users to share content with other headsets — ideal for watching movies together in 3-D. Earlier this year, Apple also launched an immersive Metallica concert for the Vision Pro and announced in July it's readying its first upgrade to boost the Vision Pro's performance. Taken together, this signals that tech and media behemoths are still betting that consumers will be willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands, to experience concerts, movies and sporting events beyond the confines of a traditional screen. A chicken-and-the-egg paradox In the 10-plus years since Oculus debuted the Rift, headset manufacturers have produced lighter, more powerful devices. Meanwhile, companies are finally warming to the idea of another medium for storytelling. Tech companies have a history of flirting with VR projects aimed at mainstream users. In June, Meta offered live virtual rinkside tickets to Stanley Cup games, echoing previous NBA and WNBA offerings. Headset owners have attended virtual concerts for years, including Apple's immersive Alicia Keys session and Meta's Blackpink show. Disney even launched a Disney+ app for Apple's Vision Pro on Day 1 in 2024. But these have been pilots to gauge interest, not long-term investments. Historically, headsets have been trapped in a chicken-and-egg paradox: to woo entertainment content, they need mass adoption; but to reach that scale, headsets need premium content. The technology must also be comfortable, powerful and popular enough to gain mass appeal. For Sarah Malkin, director of entertainment content for Meta's VR division Reality Labs, that cycle is already being broken. 'I think the 'it moment' is when you are regularly engaging in experiences in mixed reality that are super complementary and part of your integrated life,' Malkin told CNN. 'To me, that's already happening.' Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets increased by around 10% in 2024 to 7.5 million and nearly 30.8% to 3.4 million in the US, according to IDC, a global market intelligence and data company. Although IDC predicts shipments around the world will tumble this year due to delayed product launches, it expects a massive rebound in 2026 with worldwide shipments surging 98.5% to 11.3 million. However, the results haven't always lived up to the hype. Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse has cost Meta $46 billion over three years. Reality Labs, the company's VR division, posted $4.2 billion in operating loss and just $412 million in sales in Q1, down from the previous quarter. But tech giants continue to experiment with the technology. Meta invested $3.5 billion in eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica SA to bolster its AI spectacle gambit, according to Bloomberg. (A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the report.) Snap recently said it plans to launch new augmented reality spectacles next year, and Google continues to work with partners like Xreal and Samsung on upcoming headsets and glasses that run on its new Android XR software. Samsung will be among the first to launch such a device with its upcoming Project Moohan headset. Attendees photograph Samsung's Project Moohan mixed-reality headsets with Google at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, on January 22, 2025. Michaela Vatcheva/Bloomberg/Getty Images A young boy plays with Meta Quest 2 all-in-one VR headset during a festival of video games and other digital entertainment in Zaragoza, Spain, on October 15, 2023. Nano Calvo/VW Pics/UniversalWith more sophisticated hardware and a budding content portfolio, Bertrand Nepveu, a former Vision Pro contributor and partner at Triptyq Capital, said wider adoption is crucial. 'It's still early, but there's no technical limitation right now, it's more (that) we need people to invest because you need a critical mass,' Nepveu told CNN. A paradigm shift in content Although big names like James Cameron and Sabrina Carpenter are already beginning to explore VR, immersive storytelling has yet to gain that crucial widespread popularity. Slow growth can be partially attributed to incorrect assumptions by studios. 'You can't just take the flat version of what you put on Disney+ or Netflix or Amazon, and just throw that up,' Jenna Seiden, an industry consultant and adviser who has worked with Skydance Media, Niantic, CAA, and Xbox, told CNN. 'You need to build natively so the audience is going to have a different experience per platform.' While creating media for virtual and mixed reality may seem like a departure from developing content for 2-D screens, Seiden says the secret to success is a tactic media companies are already familiar with: exclusivity. 'You look at the creation of HBO (Max), you look at the creation of Apple TV+, they grew their audiences based on exclusives, that's why you went to them,' Seiden said. 'I think that model is very familiar to entertainment companies, and they can go to their board saying, 'Hey, this is how platforms grow, with exclusive content.'' That's what makes live virtual sports an easy way to break down extended reality (XR) barriers for audiences. Paul Raphaël, co-founder of Felix & Paul, said sports can be easily adapted for immersive platforms using 180-degree cameras. Audiences experience VR e-sports games at the 2025 Jingxi E-sports Festival in Beijing, China on June 28, 2025. CFOTO/'You already have quite a few events and sports being broadcast, whether it's live or asynchronous,' Raphaël said. 'As the audience grows, it's a really straightforward path to create the content or to broadcast the content.' For Hollywood, the possibility of a new major distribution platform couldn't come at a better time. In today's fracturing media environment — shaken by streaming, the collapse of the cable bundle, and post-Covid box office woes — a new medium could be a crucial selling point, especially for entertainment boards looking for a new revenue vein. Jack Davis, co-founder of CryptTV, said headsets might provide a much-needed pipeline for premium content. 'As gigantic structural changes happen in TV and film, the industry is going to need to replace those things in the aggregate,' Davis said. 'This could be one of the only formats that premium entertainment actually seems like it makes sense (for) the user base.' Budgetary and content hurdles Over the past decade, investment in VR has been eclipsed by more pressing innovations, including self-driving cars and AI. Although it's difficult to determine how that has directly impacted XR investment, funding data from Crunchbase, a predictive company intelligence solution, shows that backing for AI and self-driving has steadily increased, rising from $39.96 billion in 2019 to $105.36 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, XR funding has experienced more erratic behavior — reaching a peak of $4.087 billion in 2021 but dropping to $347.69 million by 2025. Things were much the same in the venture capital world, where the number of global VR deals has also dropped in recent years. PitchBook, which examines private equity and VC deals, notes that 2019 was the largest year for VC deals in VR in the last decade, recording $6.43 billion in deals worldwide. That was significantly smaller than the $57.084 billion from AI-focused venture capitalists that year. In 2025, VR VCs have fallen to only $3.61 billion in global deals while AI VCs have grown to $130.89 billion. But Nepveu said that's changing. 'Now that AI is more understood, you know what it's good for, what it's not capable of, the budgets now are going back into XR,' Nepveu claimed. People stand in line to purchase the Apple Vision Pro headset at the Fifth Avenue Apple store on February 02, 2024 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Still, tech giants investing in the development of mixed reality headsets face a daunting challenge that extends beyond the entertainment available. They need to convince consumers that the devices are both worth paying for and putting on their faces. That's partially why Apple emphasized the Vision Pro as a spatial computing tool, focusing on work and productivity rather than just 2-D and 3-D entertainment capabilities. Still, even a decade later, experts can't seem to agree on exactly when VR will have its breakout moment. Nepveu said it could happen any day. Raphaël expected one or two years. Davis suggested three to seven. Seiden said five to 10. Raphaël, however, believes 2-D content may soon feel as dated as pre-Technicolor entertainment. 'Content, the way it is consumed today, is going to be much like we think of black and white movies, where, if a film isn't immersive, it doesn't lose its value, but it becomes something of another era,' Raphaël said.
