Valve Index VR kit might be back in stock for less than a day

Although Valve has actually been involved in the virtual reality market for a long time, it has mostly been via its collaboration with HTC’s VIVE system. Last year it finally got its hands dirty with the Index, which may be one of the more expensive PC ... more - slashgear

An alternate 2019 top 10 phones list: Cheaper still wins

Earlier today we saw some analysis done on sales of smartphone units in the year 2019 from the company called Counterpoint. We learned that the iPhone XR dominated the globe, followed by the iPhone 11 and a few Samsung Galaxy A smartphones. Now we’ve ... more - slashgear

The 2019 global smartphone sales top 10 list is here

This week the folks at analytical group Counterpoint released their smartphone unit sales numbers for the year 2019. This covers the entire 12 month period of the year 2019, in all regions around the globe. According to Counterpoint, Apple, Samsung, and ... more - slashgear

Facebook acquires VR gaming studio Sanzaru Games

Sanzaru Games, a California-based video game development company, has been acquired by Facebook, the company announced on Wednesday. The studio has produced a number of games over the past decade, the most recent examples including Spyro 3 Reignited and ... more - slashgear

This XR2 headset design is key to Qualcomm’s vision of 5G mixed reality

Qualcomm has revealed its newest 5G mixed reality headset reference design based on the Snapdragon XR2, a wirelessly-connected VR and AR shortcut for manufacturers to bring new models to market. While it may look a whole lot like the XR1 reference design, ... more - slashgear

HTC VIVE Cosmo Elite pre-orders begin, shipping next month

HTC may be struggling in its mobile business but, at least for now, it is still one of the leaders in the virtual reality market. Next to or even co-equal with pioneer Oculus, the HTC VIVE continues to be a household name in that market and the Taiwanese ... more - slashgear

HTC promises to launch some 5G phone sometime this year

Nokia (at least the original company) and BlackBerry have bowed out of the mobile rat race but some pioneers like Motorola, Sony, and HTC refuse to call it quits. The latter, however, is in a bit of a bind because of the limited businesses it has outside ... more - slashgear

Valve Index will be in short supply thanks to coronavirus outbreak

As the release of Half-Life: Alyx quickly approaches, Valve has been having a difficult time keeping the Index VR headset in stock. The Index has been consistently sold out in many regions around the world, and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like things ... more - slashgear

HTC Project Proton: VIVE XR glasses-style devices with Matrix aesthetic

The future is slightly cooler than the present, according to a pair of prototype devices revealed today by HTC. This is HTC Project Proton, a prototype (a pair of prototypes) for “XR glasses-style” devices “from HTC Vive.” Specs are forthcoming, but we’ve ... more - slashgear

HTC unveils Vive Cosmos Play and Cosmos Elite VR headsets

HTC has taken the wraps off its expanded Vive Cosmos VR headset product family, introducing new models to compete with the Oculus Rift S and its relatively low price tag. The new lineup features the HTC Vive Cosmos Elite, Cosmos XR, and Cosmos Play models, ... more - slashgear

JDI announces LCD screens made specifically for VR headsets

Virtual reality head-mounted displays, at least the ones not powered by smartphones, aren’t that easy to make, which is partly why dedicated HMDs are far and few in between, not to mention expensive. In addition to the variety of sensors and cameras required ... more - slashgear

Apple Quick Look could let you buy furniture in the AR app directly

Although it has repeatedly and publicly professed its preference over virtual reality, Apple has yet to capitalize on augmented reality in a big and long-lasting way. Sure, its ARKit framework has useful applications, perhaps outnumbering Google’s equivalent ... more - slashgear

Sony may have a PlayStation VR headset for PS5 in the works

Sony’s PlayStation 5 is coming up later this year, and with its release comes the question of what’s next for PlayStation VR. Sony launched the VR headset this generation as an extension of the PlayStation 4, and the headset seems to have enjoyed some ... more - slashgear

Chrome 81 is shaping up to be an AR-packed release

Web browsers today are a far cry from the early days of the Internet. It is possible, though not really advisable, to even run operating systems in them, if not be an operating system itself. Web technologies have opened up worlds of new experiences and ... more - slashgear

AR Quick Look update tips next moves for iPhone Pro

The near-future for the iPhone has a definite AR component to it – much as expected starting several years ago. The update for what Apple calls “Quick Look” in Augmented Reality has finally reached a point at which the placing of objects in the mixed-reality ... more - slashgear

Space Channel 5 VR launches later this month

Space Channel 5 is a game series we haven’t heard from in a long time, but it’s about to get a revival on PlayStation VR. Today, Sega announced the release date for Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash!, which will be launching on PS VR at the end ... more - slashgear

Shiny Pokemon GO Sinnoh and Valentine’s: Chansey, Riolu, Happiny, Hippopotas!

Today we’re taking a peek at the latest event that’ll come to Pokemon GO in the very near future – the Sinnoh Region event, and Valentine’s Day! This event takes place at around the same time every year, bringing with it heart-shaped Pokemon or otherwise ... more - slashgear

Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 now available for direct purchase

Google’s first attempt at a “pseudo AR” eyewear may have been too far ahead of its time. Google Glass as a consumer and even an educational product flopped because of limited practical value, price, and privacy concerns. Thanks to a resurgence of interest ... more - slashgear

Valve Index got a major sales boost from Half-Life: Alyx

Late last year, Valve announced Half-Life: Alyx, which constituted something of a risk on the company’s part. By the time it releases, Half-Life: Alyx will be the first game in the beloved Half-Life series in nearly 13 years, and in making Alyx a VR game, ... more - slashgear

Samsung Odyssey VR headset patent sounds more powerful, looks alien

Some people get bug-eyed after experiencing virtual reality for the first time. If Samsung’s next head-mounted display is anything like this patent, it will make them literally bug-eyed. A patent for what seems to be a successor to the company’s HMD Odyssey ... more - slashgear

Oculus Go exits business platform pushing Quest further into the foreground

Oculus can perhaps be credited for having revitalized and popularized what was, until recently, simply thought of as a technological experiment. After the Oculus Rift, the now Facebook-owned company launched other VR devices, including ones that don’t ... more - slashgear

Lenovo VR Classroom 2 soldiers on without Google Daydream

Virtual reality, more than its cousin augmented reality, is often seen as an entertainment platform. Save for a few notable exceptions, most of the experiences available on VR platforms today revolve around games and multimedia. There are, of course, ... more - slashgear

Oculus Go gets a permanent price cut

If you’re interested in checking out the Oculus Go but you’ve held off on buying one thus far, it looks like your patience has paid off. Facebook and Oculus have cut the price of the Go, bringing it down to a starting price of $149. This is a permanent ... more - slashgear

Iron Man VR pushed back to spring, capping off a week of big game delays

Another day, another delay: Iron Man VR, an upcoming title exclusive to the PlayStation VR (and by extension, the PlayStation 4), has been hit with a delay. Developer Camouflaj Games announced the delay today on Twitter, saying that the decision was made ... more - slashgear

This Mojo Vision smart contact lens is straight out of sci-fi

Smart contact lenses that grant the wearer night vision as well as act as a private, super-discreet interface for your digital life could be coming to your eyeball, if startup Mojo Vision has its way. The company has clawed its way from stealth to reveal ... more - slashgear

Valve Index just sold out thanks to Half-Life: Alyx (VR)

Half-Life: Alyx – the first Half-Life game we’ve seen in more than a decade and the flagship title for Valve’s Index VR headset – is on the horizon. It was revealed back in November with a March release date, and it seems to have people excited right ... more - slashgear

macOS Pro Mode could make MacBook Pros more gaming-worthy

For generations, MacBooks have been seen as a status symbol, used by both casual computer users and professionals alike. One class of users that have not exactly taken to Apple’s notebooks are gamers. For one, the number of high-profile titles for Mac ... more - slashgear

Apple will replace some iPhone XS and XR Smart Battery Cases

Apple has announced that due to ‘charging issues,’ it will replace some Smart Battery Cases made for the iPhone XR and the iPhone XS / XS Max models. There are two particular behaviors these faulty cases may experience that potentially make them eligible ... more - slashgear

Panasonic VR glasses are a steampunk dream for 5G

Panasonic HDR-capable UHD VR glasses shown this week at CES 2020 showed the world that such devices needn’t look like a boxy nightmare. Where the first several generations of VR headset from companies like Oculus and HTC brought about a new sort of design ... more - slashgear

NEON’s vision of artificial humans has Samsung’s backing but no clear purpose

NEON is an artificial intelligence project, aka “artificial human” project from a Samsung-backed group called STAR Labs. This is not the same as S.T.A.R. Labs from DC Comics, and the artificial human isn’t an android. Instead, it’s more like a chat bot. ... more - slashgear