Team Behind XR Productivity App ‘Immersed’ Announce Visor, a PC VR Headset for Work

The team behind XR productivity and co-working platform Immersed announced it’s creating its own PC VR headset designed for work.

Following the lead set by Bigscreen with its recently unveiled PC VR headset Bigscreen Beyond, Immersed has partnered a still unnamed “tech giant” to release its own VR hardware for the first time.

Dubbed the Immerse Visor, the tethered PC VR headset’s primary claim to fame is its slim and light design coupled with dual 4K micro OLEDs, providing a 100-degree field of view. It’s said to be “25 percent lighter” than a smartphone, probably putting its weight somewhere below 200g.

It’s also slated to include optical inside-out tracking, so users won’t need external base stations like with headsets that hook into the SteamVR tracking standard, such as Bigscreen Beyond and Valve Index.

Exact specs and features are still thin on the ground, however Visor is slated to provide a “custom fit,” making each headset unique to the user. While the studio hasn’t revealed how it will achieve this, it may do something similar to Bigscreen, which provides Beyond users to download an iOS app which scans the contours of their face, allowing the company to create custom facial interfaces.

It’s probably not going to be cheap either—at least not cheaper than hardware like Quest 2 and Quest 3, which are undoubtedly subsidized to incentivize software sales. The company says its main focus is professionals working on laptops, allowing users to have multiple screens. Immersed hasn’t announced pricing yet, however pre-orders are said arrive at some point later this year, so we should know more then.

You can watch the full announcement below, which includes interviews with the creators at Immersed.

HTC Quietly Retires Vive Cosmos in the US

After being out of stock for months, HTC quietly removed the US-facing product page for Vive Cosmos, its modular PC VR headset released in 2019.

The discrepancy was first discovered by Reddit user ‘Kody1996’, who wondered why the Vive Cosmos product page was missing.

“I am afraid the VIVE Cosmos headset has been discontinued in the US. I suggest you to check with resellers if they have it available,” an HTC service representative confirmed with Road to VR, echoing the statement provided to Kody1996.

At the time of this writing, new units are still available direct from HTC in select markets, including Europe, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan.

Photo by Road to VR

Vive Cosmos has always been a bit of an odd duck. Launching a little over a year after Vive Pro hit the market, Cosmos was set to be the company’s first consumer VR headset since the original HTC Vive. Cosmos’ claim to fame in 2019: integrated audio, competitive displays, and an inside-out optical tracking, which was… not great.

At its 2019 launch, the $700 Cosmos was sandwiched between two primary competitors: Oculus Rift S on the low-end at $400 and Valve Index on the high-end at $1,000 (controllers and base stations included). It would have to perform better than Rift S to defend its seat in the middle ground, but it was actually so bad at launch we postponed our review because we thought we had received a faulty unit. Nope. The headset’s inside-out tracking was just really unreliable in everything but perfect lighting conditions.

Those tracking woes were partially improved with successive updates, although the only real way to get ‘perfect’ tracking out of the headset was to ditch its modular faceplate and middling controllers and swap it out for the platform’s rock-solid SteamVR-tracking faceplate, courtesy of Vive Cosmos Elite. When Cosmos Elite launched in 2020, that would have set you back $900 for the all-in kit, putting it $100 below Index, which is still broadly considered the reigning champ for best all-around PC VR headset.

Despite lowering the price of the all-in Cosmos Elite kit in the US from $900 to $750, and even offering a headset-only option for as little as $550, HTC’s modular headset never really managed to serve up competition to Oculus or Valve, making only a sliver of an in-road on Steam in its first year.

Former Oculus CTO Reviews Bigscreen Beyond: “like a prop for a futuristic movie”

John Carmack, legendary programmer and former CTO of Oculus, is known for giving his unfiltered thoughts on almost every aspect of the XR industry. While he departed Meta in December, concluding his “decade in VR,” Carmack is still very interested in the medium, as he recently went hands-on with one of the latest PC VR headsets to hit the scene, the slim and light Bigscreen Beyond.

Bigscreen Beyond is a tethered PC VR headset that uses Valve’s SteamVR tracking standard, which starting at $1,000 for just the headset makes it an interesting value proposition for users already hooked into the SteamVR hardware ecosystem. It’s largely praised for its slim and light profile, which is thanks to the inclusion of pancake lenses and micro-OLEDs, serving up 2,560 × 2,560 pixels per eye at 70 to 90 Hz refresh.

You’ve probably already heard what we think of it though. Now for the master:

“Bigscreen Beyond feels like a prop for a futuristic movie, but it works!” Carmack said in a Twitter thread on Monday. “Far and away the smallest and lightest PC VR headset.”

That’s high praise coming from a key figure in the Oculus genesis story, not to mention co-founder and lead programmer of id Software, the studio behind pioneering ’90s 3D games Wolfenstein 3DDoom, and Quake.

Image courtesy John Carmack

To hear all of Carmack’s thoughts on Bigscreen Beyond, we’ve formatted his tweets below for easier reading:

Bigscreen Beyond feels like a prop for a futuristic movie, but it works! Far and away the smallest and lightest PC VR headset.

As a result of the iPhone based face scanning before ordering, the fit is perfect, with zero light leaks. The custom printed facial interface is comfortable, but not breathable, so it isn’t great for fitness activities.

The prescription lens inserts snap in with magnets and work well. The visuals are a trade off vs Quest Pro. The resolution is clearly higher, but there are more internal reflections in the pancake optics, and the quality falls off more toward the edges. There are parts of the view where screens look fantastic, good enough for actual productivity work, but not across the entire view.

I sorely miss integrated audio. Having to mess with headphones severely impacts the minimalist feel of the headset. I know some people have strong opinions, but I still feel Quest made the right decisions around audio.

The cable to the PC and the tracking base stations are the biggest downside. The magic of stand-alone VR is real, and while some people happily trade it away for the raw power and flexibility of a PC, I wouldn’t recommend any PC VR setup as an entry point to VR.

For people considering an upgrade to a PC VR system, Bigscreen Beyond should be in the mix. I am very happy to see this extreme focus on light weight, and I hope it impacts Meta’s future designs.

In a follow-up tweet, Carmack points to a review from Adam Savage’s Tested, which he says “hits most of my points in more depth.”

In it, Tested’s Norman Chan reports back after having lived with the headset for a month, using a development unit as the office’s primary PC VR headset. Chan shows through-the-lens images, and discusses “the good, the bad, and the weird with this unique approach to high-end bespoke VR,” the video’s description reads.

Check out Tested’s review below:

Quest 3 Pops up in Best Buy Listing With Clues About Resolution, Release Date

Quest 3 was announced just three weeks ago, and yet the headset is already listed at Best Buy. Though its resolution hasn’t been officially announced, the page gives us a big clue.

Meta offered a partial reveal of Quest 3 earlier this month, promising that we’d get a more full look at the new headset during the company’s annual XR conference, Meta Connect, at the end of September. The timing of the headset’s reveal came just ahead of the reveal of Apple Vision Pro (and we don’t think that was a coincidence).

Now, just three weeks later, Quest 3 already has a product page at consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, as spotted by XR analyst Brad Lynch.

Quest 3 Resolution

The store page already lists the headset with a model number, SKU, UPC, correct price, and product description, suggesting this isn’t an early fluke, but rather a product page for a soon-to-launch product. These details also suggest that Quest 3 has already passed FCC certification, which is required before it can go on sale.

And there’s a big hint on the page about the Quest 3 resolution, which Meta has yet to confirm.

According to the description, the headset has “a nearly 30% leap in resolution from Quest 2.”

Quest 2 has a resolution of about 3.5MP (1,920 × 1,832 per-eye); a 30% jump should mean Quest 3 has around 4.5MP—probably meaning around 2,160 × 2,160 resolution per-eye.

An Early Release Date for Quest 3?

Prior to its appearance at Best Buy we would have guessed that Quest 3 would launch in mid-October at the earliest—almost four months from now—which would align with both the 2023 holiday shopping season and the same timeframe of the Quest 2 launch.

But with the Best Buy product listing, it’s starting to look like the headset is rearing to go, making it feel like there’s a chance that Meta doesn’t just reveal the headset at its Connect conference at the end of September, but might even make it available immediately thereafter.

But why? Well, it’s clear that Meta has been responding to Apple’s moves now that Vision Pro is out in the wild. Even though the $500 Quest 3 isn’t remotely in the same ballpark as the $3,500 Vision Pro, Meta can already see the writing on the wall. The company may be posturing to protect its early lead in the XR space, trying to get Quest 3 out the door and in as many hands as possible before the Vision Pro’s early 2024 release.

Valve Index is Currently Selling for $600 Refurbished from GameStop

Looking to get your hands on arguably the best PC VR headsets out there? Well, you might consider GameStop’s refurbished units for $600.

Used, refurbished units typically sell through GameStop for $700, which includes the full kit and kaboodle: SteamVR tracking base stations, Index motion controllers, cables, and of course the Index headset itself.

Now that package is on sale for $100 off, bringing it way below its $1,000 all-in price when new. All you’ll need left to play a host of SteamVR content, such as the award-winning Half-Life: Alyx, is a VR-ready PC.

Before plonking down those six crisp Benjamins though, you might want to try out Steam’s VR Performance Test first to see if your system has what it takes.

Photo by Road to VR

But the last hurdle to overcome is invariably deciding whether it’s worth that price in 2023, as Index is now nearly four years old. For the long of it, check out our 2023 VR headset buyer’s guide. Here’s the short of it:

If you’re looking for a good all-in alterative to the Index deal, Meta’s Quest 2 is cheap and cheerful at $300. In addition to offering its own native library of standalone content, it also works as a PC VR headset thanks to both a wired and wireless PC connection.

You can also pick up a refurbished HP Reverb G2 from NewEgg for $390—another headset that made our list. It’s a good all-around PC VR headset, although controller latency is markedly worse than either Quest 2 or SteamVR-tracked headsets like Index or anything HTC offers.

Wherever you look though, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything new for $600 that matches Index’s still excellent displays, off-ear audio, ergonomic headstrap, and Index controllers.

Here’s a full list of what’s included:

What’s in the Box

  • Headset
  • Integrated Headphones
  • Headset Cable
  • Headset Connection Cable with DisplayPort 1.2 and USB 3.0 Connections
  • Headset Power Supply
  • Regionalized Headset Power Adapter(s)
  • Headset Cradle Adapter (for smaller heads)
  • Headset Face Gasket
  • 2 Controllers, Left and Right
  • 2 Controller Lanyards
  • 2 USB Controller Charging Cables
  • 2 SteamVR 2.0 Base Stations
  • 2 15 ft (4.5 m) Base Station Power Cables
  • 2 Base Station Stands with Mounting Hardware
  • Regionalized Base Station Power Adapter Plug(s)

Meta Shows First Glimpse of Quest 3 Mixed Reality Gameplay and Improvements Over Quest Pro

With Quest 3 now officially announced, Meta is emphasizing the device’s improved MR capabilities.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram to share a first look at mixed reality gameplay on Quest 3 which was announced yesterday.

 

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A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck)

The video shows the headset’s full color passthrough MR mode, which allows it to present a view of the outside world while selectively adding virtual content to the scene.

We also see some shots of virtual objects attached to the wall, like a glass window into an undersea world, or a zombie jumping through a window into the room to attack the player. While Quest 2 and Quest Pro have done the same in the past, Quest 3’s new depth sensor should make attaching virtual objects to walls, floors, and ceilings more convincing thanks to a more precise map of the world around the headset.

We also see Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth jump into the action, showcasing a co-presence experience where both Zuckerberg and Bosworth battle each other virtually but in the same physical space.

Beyond Quest Pro

It’s difficult to tell from the footage how Quest 3’s passthrough resolution compares to Quest Pro. However, it’s notable that the footage doesn’t show any of the obvious color fringing that was an artifact of Quest Pro’s passthrough architecture, which used multiple black-and-white cameras that were fused with the color from a single RGB camera. That ought to be solved now that Quest 3 will include two RGB cameras which will allow stereoscopic capture of color information, rather than monoscopic like with Quest Pro.

Another common artifact of Quest Pro (and Quest 2) passthrough is the warping of objects (especially hands) that are close to the headset. This is caused by a breakdown of the computer-vision depth estimation which struggles with near-field objects, especially when they’re moving.

It’s difficult to tell from the footage we have so far, but there’s a good chance that Quest 3 significantly reduces these passthrough warping artifacts thanks to its included depth sensor. Whereas Quest 2 and Quest Pro estimate the distance to objects and surfaces around the headset with computer vision, Quest 3’s depth sensor will provide much more reliable distance measurements which the system can use to judge how far it should render each part of the scene.

It will be interesting to see if the prior issue with color fringing on Quest Pro manifests in the same way with depth. With a single depth sensor, the headset only has a monoscopic depth view, whereas it will have a stereoscopic visual of the real world. Ostensibly the stereoscopic view of the world will be projected onto the depth map, and ‘depth fringing’ may occur around near field objects for the same reason that we saw color fringing on Quest Pro.

Bigscreen: Optical Improvements to Increase FOV & Clarity of Upcoming ‘Beyond’ Headset

Bigscreen Beyond, the slim and light PC VR headset from the creators behind popular VR app Bigscreen, is getting new optics in the production pipeline which the company says will feature improved field of view (FOV) and optical performance, as well as increased IPD range.

“Over the past few years, we have been continuously investing in research & development in VR optics for current and next-generation VR devices,” Bigscreen says. “Thanks to improvements to our optical elements, coatings, canting, and manufacturing processes, we are excited to announce several key optics breakthroughs that have improved field of view (FOV) and optical performance.”

Bigscreen says that while its new optics tech is now making its way to production, Beyond is still on track for a Q3 ship date for the first wave of customers in the United States.

Here’s the new features coming to all pre-order customers:

  • Improved field of view, up to 102 degrees: FOV has been increased from ~93 degrees to 102 degrees. It’s said to beat the FOV of many headsets on the market today, including Meta Quest 2, HP Reverb G2, and Varjo Aero.
  • Improved sweet spot, glare, and optical performance with 32 PPD: Various optical characteristics such as clarity and sweet spot have improved. Lens artifacts such as glare have been reduced as well. Pixels per degree is now officially 32 PPD.
  • Increased IPD range, to 55mm to 72mm: Now available in 18 different IPD sizes from 55mm to 72mm. The optical design features a large eye box that allows users to comfortably use the headset even if the headset is not their exact IPD. Bigscreen says Beyond accommodates people with a physical IPD of 53mm to 74mm to comfortably use the headset.

The company says its optical improvements critically don’t come at the expense of angular resolution (PPD) or stereo overlap, the latter of which is similar to that of Valve Index. Notably, Bigscreen says all Beyond customers will note an improved FOV except those with a 70mm-72mm IPD due to physical size limitations.

Bigscreen Beyond is set to launch sometime in late 2023, with its baseline version priced at $1,000. The company is now taking pre-orders.

To learn more about Bigscreen Beyond, check out our hands-on back in March that talks about the headset’s specs, displays, custom facial interfaces, form-factor, as well as some of the criticisms the company hopes to address with its latest optical tech.

Meta is Dropping the Price of Quest 2 to Make Way for Quest 3

With the announcement of Quest 3, Meta is dropping the price of Quest 2 starting on June 4th to make way for its new flagship headset.

The story of Quest 2’s price takes yet another turn. Let’s recap.

When the headset launched in 2020, it started with a somewhat unbelievably low price of $300 for the 64GB model, and later the company sweetened that deal even further by offering the headset with 128GB for the same price. That price point was apparently so aggressively low that Meta may even have been losing money on each headset sold, which prompted the company to raise the price of the base model last year to $400. This was purportedly in response to supply chain and inflation struggles.

But now, just about a year later, Meta has announced that it’s (re)reducing the price of Quest 2, apparently to make room for Quest 3 which will launch this Fall starting at $500. It seems likely this move is an effort to start selling off remaining Quest 2 stock, and perhaps to better differentiate Quest 2 from Quest 3.

So, starting June 4th, Quest 2 (128GB) will return to its original $300 price point, with the 256GB model priced at $350.

Even in the face of Quest 3, that remains a killer deal for the most complete standalone VR headset on the market, one that’s been very hard for other players in the space to contend with. Maybe (just maybe) another reason for this price change is to highlight the contrast between Quest 2 and the rumored $1,500–$3,000 price point of Apple’s first headset.

Zuckerberg Might be Teasing the First Glimpse of Quest 3 Ahead of Quest Gaming Showcase

Zuckerberg took to Instagram to tease an announcement for… something… ahead of its big Quest Gaming Showcase tomorrow. Signs are pointing to Quest 3.

We have no insider info on what might be behind the countdown clock on Zuckerberg’s Instagram story, but the obvious guess is it could be our first look at Quest 3.

Quest 3 recently got a somewhat mysterious hands-on preview from, as far as we can tell, only a single reporter—Mark Gurman. That just happens to be the same reporter that’s been leading the charge in recent months with apparent insider info about Apple’s rumored headset that’s expected to be announced next week.

Zuckerberg’s countdown teaser takes us to 7AM on June 1st, the same day as the Quest Gaming Showcase, the company’s biggest annual event for VR game reveals. And in the background of the photo we can see a view of Zuckerberg’s feet, apparently from a camera on the device that he’s holding.

Image courtesy Mark Zuckerberg

With Meta having cancelled other hardware products like its Portal smart video speakers, it’s hard to imagine what else Zuckerberg would be physically holding other than a new hardware product.

It would certainly make sense for Meta to offer a glimpse of Quest 3. Apple’s rumored headset announcement is expected in just a few days. Meanwhile, Quest 2 is now nearly three years old, which might make an Apple headset look especially new and shiny to Questers looking for the next big thing.

In any case, tomorrow promises to be a big day for Quest gaming news, and maybe more. Stay tuned.

Recent Valve Hiring Hints at Next-gen Index Headset in Development

Since the release of its first (and so far, only) VR headset in 2019 and its flagship VR game in 2020, Valve has been worryingly quiet about its future plans for VR. But recent hiring and job listings suggest the company is still working toward next-gen VR hardware.

It’s been nearly four years since the release of Valve Index, a leading PC VR headset which has held its ground as the second most-popular headset on the platform for longer than most might have expected. But the aging headset mirrors the aging PC VR landscape in general which has taken a back seat to Meta’s Quest platform after it captured the attention of a bulk of VR developers.

But Valve may not be done with VR yet. As YouTuber Brad Lynch pointed out last month, the company recently brought in two new people with experience in VR displays and optics, one of which claims to be advising the company on “next-gen Valve Index and Steam Deck products.”

Additionally we’ve spotted some interesting updates to Valve job listings showing the company is still very interested in hiring people with VR expertise.

As of late 2022, the company’s listing for a Visual & User Experience Designer didn’t include any mention of VR, but sometime between then and March 2023, the company updated the description to indicate that the hire would “create UI for use across desktop, mobile, handheld & VR.”

Similarly, the Software Engineer for Hardware listing was updated sometime between mid-2022 and March 2023 with new language specifically relating to “the next generation of VR and hand-held gaming products,” and “core VR Technologies (tracking, optical calibration, display customization).”

Add that to a handful of teases from the company in the last few years, and it surely seems like VR remains on the radar internally at Valve, despite little external communication to that end. Granted, Valve is pretty unique as a company, often working at its own pace on projects that may or may not ever launch. While there’s no telling if the company’s internal VR effort is on the backburner or actively moving forward, it’s clear the company still wants to hire and retain employees with VR expertise.