Category Archives: Virtual Reality

In PC form, EA Sports and Codemasters exciting new F1 22 game will feature a stunning Virtual Reality mode and you can see just how immersive the gameplay is in the video up top.

Featuring local hero Lance Stroll in his Aston Martin AMR22, enjoy a VR lap of the 4.361km Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, which this weekend will play host to the Canadian Grand Prix for the first time since 2019.

WATCH: The F1 22 gameplay features trailer is here, with a host of new enhancements

And although the VR mode of F1 22 set for release on July 1 is exclusive to the PC platform, there are plenty more great features awaiting race fans on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One when the game drops.

VR revolutionises F1 22 on PC and takes the race weekend to an entirely new level, said Lee Mather, F1 Senior Creative Director at Codemasters. From the claustrophobia of sitting in the cockpit to the intensity of lights out as 20 cars accelerate towards the first corner. This is as close to Formula 1 racing as you can get without being on the actual grid.

Hit play on the video up top to take a VR lap with Stroll around the Montreal track and click here to pre-order the game.

See the article here:

WATCH: Take a virtual reality ride around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve with F1 22 | Formula 1 - Formula 1

Background: In recent years, efforts have been made to implement virtual reality (VR) to support the delivery of poststroke upper extremity motor rehabilitation exercises. Therefore, it is important to review and analyze the existing research evidence of its effectiveness.

Objective: Through a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, this study examined the effectiveness of using VR-supported exercise therapy for upper extremity motor rehabilitation in patients with stroke.

Methods: This study followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched on December 31, 2021. Changes in outcomes related to impairments in upper extremity functions and structures, activity limitations, and participation restrictions in life situations from baseline to after intervention, after intervention to follow-up assessment, and baseline to follow-up assessment were examined. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were performed to determine whether the differences in treatment outcomes depended on age, stroke recovery stage, VR program type, therapy delivery format, similarities in intervention duration between study groups, intervention duration in VR groups, and trial length.

Results: A total of 42 publications representing 43 trials (aggregated sample size=1893) were analyzed. Compared with the control groups that used either conventional therapy or no therapy, the intervention groups that used VR to support exercise therapy showed significant improvements in upper extremity motor function (Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity; SMD 0.45, 95% CI 0.21-0.68; P<.001), range of motion (goniometer; SMD 1.01, 95% CI 0.50-1.52; P<.001), muscle strength (Manual Muscle Testing; SMD 0.79, 95% CI 0.28-1.30; P=.002), and independence in day-to-day activities (Functional Independence Measure; SMD 0.23, 95% CI 0.06-0.40; P=.01, and modified Rankin Scale; SMD 0.57, 95% CI 0.01-1.12; P=.046). Significant subgroup differences were observed in hand dexterity (Box and Block Test), spasticity (Ashworth Scale or modified Ashworth Scale), arm and hand motor ability (Wolf Motor Function Test and Manual Function Test), hand motor ability (Jebsen Hand Function Test), and quality of life (Stroke Impact Scale). There was no evidence that the benefits of VR-supported exercise therapy were maintained after the intervention ended.

Conclusions: VR-supported upper extremity exercise therapy can be effective in improving motor rehabilitation results. Our review showed that of the 12 rehabilitation outcomes examined during the course of VR-based therapy, significant improvements were detected in 2 (upper extremity motor function and range of motion), and both significant and nonsignificant improvements were observed in another 2 (muscle strength and independence in day-to-day activities), depending on the measurement tools or methods used.

Read more:

Effectiveness of Using Virtual RealitySupported Exercise Therapy for Upper Extremity Motor Rehabilitation in Patients With Stroke: Systematic Review...

Meta, Microsoft and other tech giants racing to build the emerging metaverse concept have formed a group to foster development of industry standards that would make the companies' nascent digital worlds compatible with each other.

Participants in the Metaverse Standards Forum include many of the biggest companies working in the space, from chip makers to gaming companies, as well as established standards-setting bodies like the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the group said in an statement announcing its creation on Tuesday.

Conspicuously missing from the member list for now however is Apple, which analysts expect to become a dominant player in the metaverse race once it introduces a mixed reality headset this year or next.

Gaming companies Roblox and Niantic also were not included among the forum's participants, nor were emerging crypto-based metaverse platforms like The Sandbox or Decentraland.

Apple has not yet publicly acknowledged plans for a headset, although it has reportedly given its board a sneak peek of the product, according to Bloomberg. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the new metaverse forum.

Introducing such a device would put Apple in direct competition with Meta, which has staked its future on the growth of the metaverse and invested heavily in hardware to make its vision of interconnected virtual worlds a reality.

Meta, known as Facebook until it changed its name as part of its metaverse pivot last year, disclosed on Monday plans for a mixed-reality headset code-named "Cambria" to be released this year.

Zuckerberg said it would be "lighter" and "thinner" than other VR headsets on the market. "These prototypes, theyre custom and bespoke models that we built in our lab, so theyre not products that are ready to ship," Zuckerberg said.

Meta said in February it expects to spend at least $10 billion (9.5 billion) this year on research and development on virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.

Meanwhile, Apple has been heavily involved in creating web standards such as HTML5 in the past. For three-dimensional content in the metaverse, Apple worked with Pixar on the "USDZ" file format and with Adobe to ensure it supported the format.

Neil Trevett, an executive at chip maker Nvidia who is chairing the Metaverse Standards Forum, said in a statement to Reuters that any company is welcome to join the group, including participants from the crypto world.

The forum aims to facilitate communication between a variety of standards organizations and companies to bring about "real-world interoperability" in the metaverse, he said, without addressing how Apple's absence would affect that goal.

More:

Meta and other Big Tech giants have formed a metaverse standards body leaving Apple in the dark - Euronews

The Virtual Gallery Will Provide Access to Over 4.5 Million Images Held by Top Galleries and Museums

LONDON, June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital and artistic Pioneer Bridgeman Images has selected Emperia, the leading virtual reality technology developer for the retail, fashion, and art sectors, to bring its image archive to the metaverse in celebration of its 50th anniversary. The virtual Gallery will provide access to over 4.5 million images that are held by top galleries and museums in 8,000 locations.

Bridgeman Images has created the virtual gallery in order to make art accessible to anyone, no matter where they are located. Some of the images in the gallery are currently showcased in physical locations around the globe including: The British Library, The Royal Collection, The National Galleries of Scotland and Wales, The MFA Boston, Christie's, and SFMOMA. Having worked with some of the top fashion and art brands in the world, Emperia has created virtual galleries that bring brands and art experiences to the fingertips of millions of people around the globe, through immersive virtual technology.

"We are excited to break barriers and limitations by bringing Bridgeman Images' artwork to the metaverse, making art available to anyone," says Olga Dogadkina, co-founder & CEO of Emperia. "It is an honor to be able to remove obstacles through technology and enable people of all ages, backgrounds, and locations the opportunity to experience the depth of their creativity."

Using Emperia's platform, museums and galleries can construct a virtual art experience, creating an immersive gallery in the metaverse. Emperia's brands and galleries typically see a 400% increase in engagement, coming from viewers worldwide.

"We wanted to mark our 50th anniversary with innovation and advancement," says Aretha Campbell, Senior Artist Liaisonat Bridgeman Images. "By working with Emperia, our artwork receives a new layer of visibility, accessibility and interactivity, providing a cultural experience through technology."

The virtual gallery will be available online, starting June 22 at: https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en/

AboutEmperia

Emperialeverages virtual reality technology for the premium fashion and art sectors, providing a realistic virtual experience to consumers, one that communicates a brand narrative that is tailored for the unique environment of the virtual world. Virtual stores can be extended into the metaverse, further providing brands and their customers with branding cohesion and a seamless transition, from physical to virtual.Emperia's selected clients include leading brands such as Dior, Burberry, Christie's, Getty Images and others.

London-based,Emperiais the winner of the Plug and Play Brand & Retail Start-up Award and is a British Fashion Council Patron.

For more information, visitemperiavr.com.

About Bridgeman Images

Bridgeman Images celebrates 50 years as the leading specialists delivering fine art, cultural and historical media for reproduction. Founded by Harriet Bridgeman in 1972, Bridgeman Images has unlocked the treasures of the greatest collections in the world. With entrusted collections including those at The British Library, The Royal Collection, The National Galleries of Scotland and Wales, The MFA Boston, Christie's, SFMOMA and the National Galleries of Australia, Sweden and South Africa, Bridgeman Images has been a crucial platform in helping galleries and museums survive through cuts to the art world and the pandemic.

Contact: DeeDee Rudenstein, [emailprotected]

SOURCE Emperia

See the article here:

Marking Their 50th Anniversary, Digital and Artistic Pioneers Bridgeman Images Selects Emperia to Bring Image Archive to the Metaverse - PR Newswire

Personally, I associate Venice with death and inconvenience. Thomas Mann, that great explorer of what it means to be modern, has much to do with this. So does Stravinsky and Ezra Pound, both of whom rest in my favourite place in Venicethe island of San Michele.

Feeling modern and very much alive last month, the art worldliberated from Covid restrictions, and aware that such freedom could be tenuousarrived in Venice en masse and partied like it was 1999. It was, by all accounts, a year to be there and fully surrender to the inherent inconvenience of a city inhospitable to stilettos.

In direct comparison to Venice's inconvenience is Doug Aitkens exhibition Open, presented by the London-based virtual reality (VR) platform Vortic in the convenient format of VR.

The pandemic threw the art world headfirst (and mostly headset-less) into using VR as a way to digitise physical experiences and present them for sale. Post(ish?) pandemic, Vortics technical excellence challenges our lack of imagination in regards to VR as a medium.

Aitkens Venice exhibition contains interactive sculptures installed in, and reflecting, an imaginary architectural environment. The works are site-specific within digitally invented sites that are obsessively rendered.

The show's central work is Metallic Sleep (2022). It required Vortic to develop technology that could reflect the moving sky in the rotating sculpture. It is listed as being 415.3cm tall and made from mirrored stainless steel and granite stone. Except it isn't. This work is not yet realised.The artist and engineers at Vortic had to thus consider digital and physical constraints in designing and executing this work. Its wonderful to see VR used as a two-way road, moving "phigitally" (that's physically and digitally) to and from the digital across material reality. Yet, the size and material listing make it feel like a prototype whose ultimate actualisation is physical, should it first find a buyer.

Using sound, reflective surfaces and VR, Dough Aitkens exhibition Open uses algorithms to present new site-specific sculptures that are entirely responsive to the virtual environments they are rooted in Vortic installation view, Doug Aitken, Courtesy the artist; 303 Gallery, New York; Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich; Victoria Miro, London; and Regen Projects, Los Angeles The artist

Arts utility has always been slippery and ineffable. But this is not the case for an artwork created in VR; it is practical. One can make an articulate value proposition for it including convenience, a low carbon footprint, accessibility and the practicality of only having to make an artwork once it has sold.

Yet this utilty is mostly without imagination, unevolved in the last ten years. But even when viewed by artists and galleries as a medium, VR-based works are often large production projects where the relational aesthetics of hardware devices and technology overpower the formal qualities in control of the artist. For a technology that has been floating around the art world for a decade, its use can still feel naively novel.

Vortic, like its competitor Eazel, seems resistant to considering the digital asset as the collectible artwork in itself, while platforms like Artland and Artsy are embracingthem. However, I think Aitken's work is good enough to remind us that the digital is not just a referential pointer to the physical but a place of primary experience, worthy of being collectedworthy of being considered complete.

See the article here:

Comment | Virtual reality brings convenience and practicality to artbut it is more than just a gimmick | Gretchen Andrew - Art Newspaper

Apples development of virtual-reality content and software tools is central to creating experiences that give its future headset purpose. Its last major new product, the Apple Watch, was launched with about 3,000 apps but struggled to take off because tech reviewers said few of those apps were useful. Similar shortcomings have dogged Metas Quest virtual-reality headset, which surpassed 10 million sales last year, because many view it as a gaming device.

From its original Macintosh to its iPad, Apple has pursued products that attract a broad swath of potential customers and have an array of uses. It sold an estimated 240 million iPhones last year, accounting for about half of its $366 billion in total sales. To make the headset worthwhile, analysts said, it will need to have utilities that transcend the niche world of video games.

Tim Cook, Apples chief executive, has been talking about the potential of augmented reality for years. In 2016, he told investors that the company was investing heavily in it and considered it a great commercial opportunity. Around that time, many employees on Apples campus were reading Ready Player One, a futuristic novel about virtual reality, and talking about the possibilities of creating Apples own mixed-reality world.

Apple hired an engineer from Dolby Technologies, Mike Rockwell, and tasked him with leading the effort. His early efforts to create an augmented-reality product were hobbled by weak computing power, two people familiar with the project said. Continuing challenges with its battery power have forced Apple to postpone its release until next year, those people said.

The augmented-reality initiative has been divisive inside Apple. At least two members of its industrial design team said they had left the company, in part, because they had some concerns about developing a product that might change the way people interact with one another. Such sensitivities have increased inside the company amid rising public concern about childrens screen time.

With Mr. Rockwell at the helm, the product would be one of the first to come out of Apple led by its engineering team rather than its co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, and its former design chief, Jony Ive, who left the company in 2019. The Apple Watch project was led by Mr. Ive and his designers, who defined how it looked, operated and was marketed.

See more here:

Apple Sees Virtual-Reality Headset as Its Next Big Thing - The New York Times

nikkimeel/Shutterstock.com

You might feel like your VR options are limited when you have limited space in your gaming area. But virtual reality shouldnt be limited to setups with ample space. These 15 VR games prove that you can enjoy revolutionary gameplay no matter how much room you have.

The more space you have for VR gaming, the better. Having a 10-foot by 10-foot area is ideal, but you might be able to get away with less.

A little space is necessary when building your gaming centerbut you can make just about anything work. Some of the best games do not take up a lot of room, making them ideal for whatever your setup might look like. Some of the most unique VR experiences can be played in only a small area, making them perfect forapartments or bedrooms.

Finding VR games that work well in small rooms can be tricky, but its possible. Youll want to look for options that you can play seated, or those that require only arm movement rather than full-body interaction. Steam and Meta both specify if a game supports a seated mode, roomscale, and information on space requirements. With Steam, if you click on the text, such as Seated or Standing, youll see a list of other games that you can play within that amount of space.

Even users of Meta Quest (formerly known as Oculus Quest) can use Steamor even games made specifically for the Meta Rift. Youll need to connect your Quest to a powerful computer using Link or Air Link.

You might be prone to moving around a lot during racing games, but some dont require a lot of space. Meta Quest has plenty of options in its library or compatible with it that dont take up much roomeven racing games. You can take turns and whip around to your hearts content.

Play Video

DiRT Rally VRis perfect for thrill-seekers who want a game that does it all. There are more than 70 stages and 40 cars to test out, and youll love trying the six rallies and building your own custom versions. You can even make a racing league with your friends and participate in online challenges. With as thrilling a game as this one, youll forget youre not even playing in a vast space.

Grab DiRT Rally 2.0for another challenge. It ups the stakesand you know that any little mistake could cost you your game. It features circuits from the FIA World Rallycross Championship. You can enjoy your time playing through familiar or new-to-you landscapes.

Play Video

iRacing is different from the other games on this list in that its subscription-based, but this game is worth the price. Youll receive the ultimate, all-in-one racing game with features that everyone from casual gamers to professional racers will love. Ongoing events and numerous builds provide endless hours of things to do.

This title isnt on the Meta Quest website, but you can still connect them. All you need to do is change the interface under the settings of the iRacing game. After that, you should be ready to race.

Play Video

Euro Truck Simulator 2 allows you to drive throughout Europe and visit over 60 cities you may or may not have been to in real life. You can manage your fleet of cargo trucks and work to maximize profits while enjoying the realistic scenery and landmarks of Europe.

This game also has a thriving online environment where you can share your favorite photos. You can also talk with other enthusiasts and customize your truck. You can even display a custom avatar and license plate inside the game.

First-person shooters rely on high-quality graphics and more frames per second to run correctly, so these games are perfect for VR. RPGs also look great in the broader world of VR, creating a fantasy world that you can see right in front of your eyes rather than on a screen. Try these out next time you want to immerse yourself in an action game without having much space.

Play Video

Elite Dangerous is an MMORPG, meaning you can play online surrounded by other players from around the world at any given time. The players determine the story, so the ever-evolving environment changes over time depending on who plays and how they choose to navigate the game. This mind-blowing game features beautiful graphics that you must get your hands on.

Play Video

Rez Infinite is a unique techno game that players can experience in HD or VR. Its a steal for any gamer who craves a hypnotic and synesthetic experience. You can play while sitting or standing and relax in the free-flying world. Though you have bosses to fight, you can consider this game a way to relax and unwind after a long day.

Play Video

The 3D combat in this game is unmatched. Sublevel Zero Reduxis a game that allows you to steer your airship in any direction you like. Since reality is falling apart in this game, you can go wherever you want and hide from or attack the dangers that creep up on you. The only downside to the beautiful VR version is that you must use a game controller, as VR controllers are not compatible with this game as of May 2022.

Play Video

Space Pirate Trainer is a classic arcade game made immersive, where players become space pirates who fight off droid armies using various weapons and gadgets. It was one of the first VR games to be released on multiple platforms, and the developers have never stopped updating it.

This experience is unlike any other, and if youre looking for a game that will allow you to blast enemies like in the old days of arcades, this one is perfect for you. Plus, all it requires is enough space to stand or sit, making it ideal for small playing areas.

Play Video

Onward is a riveting multiplayer, first-person game thatrelies on your coordination and communication with your teammates rather than the use of maps and crosshairs. Enjoy building custom maps and playing through them with your friends or other online gamers. This realistic combat experience is one you wont want to miss.

Puzzle games are a chill way to relax while teasing your brain, whether you play solo or multiplayer, and can be a welcome challenge after a difficult day. Experiencing your favorite puzzles in VR may help you look at a problem in a new way to find a different solution. These are some of the best VR puzzle games you can attempt to solveand you might end up playing them even when you do have ample space.

Play Video

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodesis a thrilling VR game that encourages you and your friends to work together in real-life to defuse the bomb in the virtual world. Only one player will be able to deactivate the bomb, but the others are experts that tell the defuser what to do next. The only catch is that they dont get to see the bombinstead, they look at defuser instruction manuals, which they can download to their phone or print out and view on paper.

Its a perfect game to help testand hopefully, strengthenyour friendships with other people.

Play Video

This VR game is fun for players of all ages. Water Bears VRis a simple puzzle game based on its predecessor, a mobile game that saw serious success. All you have to do is solve each puzzle so the bears can return to a body of water. You can view a puzzle from all sides, and youll need to keep your eyes open for any tricks that may creep up on you while trying to save the water bears.

Play Video

As popular as Adventure Time the TV series was, nothing could prepare gamers for this exciting puzzle experience. Youll join forces with Finn and Jake to hunt down the Magic Man and destroy his curse once and for all. You can battle the forces of evil using Jakes unique powers and adventure through the land of Ooo on your own time. This game is great for gamers of all ages.

Play Video

Luckys Talewas one of the first third-person VR platforming games. It has changed the course of the VR library by showing that more than just first-person games have a place in virtual reality. The array of levels in this game will leave you speechless as you explore different terrains and collect items during time-based challenges. Enjoy exploring Luckys world with him as you take on every challenge this unique VR experience throws your way.

Play Video

Do you enjoy tower defense games but wish you could be closer to the action? Castle Must Be Mineputs you in the center of the action and allows you to build your kingdom firsthand in a way that will destroy anyone who dares to intrude. Destroy enemies to earn currency to upgrade your buildings and weaponswhich, in turn, will help you conquer even more foes. Youll want to keep playing this game until you max out everything in your kingdom.

Play Video

Fruit Ninja was once a renowned mobile game, and its VR version pulls players in even further. Youll see the fruit bursting before your eyes as you slash them with various weapons. Four exciting modes allow you to play Fruit Ninja VR in all its glory. Whether youre playing Classic mode, racing against a clock, or just trying to relax and slash fruit, youll enjoy this blast from the past in virtual reality.

Play Video

I Expect You to Dieis an escape room type of puzzle game. You take on the role of a secret agent and solve puzzles to win. Make sure not to slip up or you might find yourself dead and starting over. This game will surely keep you on your toes as you seek to unravel every mystery it contains.

VR games inherently require some space, but you can still make them work if you dont have much in your gaming room. These 15 options will keep you enthralled, and once you finish all of them, you might have a larger space to play other games. Still, you might find these exciting games occupying more of your time than you thought. Theyre just that enticingand each one has something new to discover.

See original here:

15 Best Virtual Reality Games to Play With Limited Room Space - Review Geek

No spook, specter or haunt will ever be safe again.Ghostbusters VR Academy will allow gamers to bust ghosts and pilot a flying version of the team's classic vehicle, Ecto, Sony said on Wednesday, the anniversary of the 1984 release ofthe original Ghostbusters,

"For the first time ever, players will be able to train to be a real Ghostbuster," said Jake Zim, senior vice president of virtual reality for Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The game will be split into two location-based gaming experiences, available at 400 locations around the world. In one, players will work together to tackle ghosts using the movies' iconic proton packs. In the other, players will compete against each other as they race the flying Ecto.

Ghostbusters VR Academy is expected by the end of 2022.

Another in-home game, which is going by the working title Ghostbusters VR, will send you on a four-player cooperative adventure. It was previously announced for Meta Quest 2, and Sony on Wednesday said it'll come to its upcoming PlayStation VR 2.

Along with Ghostbusters VR Academy, other Ghostbusters projects were announced for the original's anniversary: a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, an animated Netflix series and an animated movie coming from Sony.

Follow this link:

Ghostbusters Is Getting Two Virtual Reality Games From Sony - CNET

Shopping for clothes and shoes online can be hit-and-miss, as you really need to see how they fit, as well as how they look on you. Amazons new Virtual Try-On for Shoes feature in its iOS app aims to solve the latter problem, using augmented reality to let you see virtual shoes on your own feet

Its currently available for a limited range of shoes, plus some t-shirts and eyewear. Heres how the company describes the feature:

With Virtual Try-On for Shoes, you can visualize how shoes will look on your feet from every angle before you buy, making it a fun and interactive way to shop for shoes in Amazons shopping app. In addition to shoes, you can also virtually try-on eyewear and T-shirts.

Virtual Try-On for Shoes uses augmented reality to enable you to visualize how a pair of shoes will look from every angle. You can tap the Virtual Try-On button below the product image and point the camera at your feet so you can see how the shoes look from every angle. You can also use the carousel to try on different colors of the same style.

Photos that you take within the Virtual Try-On for Shoes experience can be saved to your device and shared with friends on social media. Your photos are stored only on your device and are not uploaded to or stored by Amazon.

Virtual Try-On for Shoes is available for select shoes from a range of brands; look for the Virtual Try-On button beneath the product image on the product page. In the U.S. and CA, customers can access Virtual Try-On for Shoes by opening the Amazon shopping app on iOS (models 7 and newer) and searching Virtual Try On in the search bar, which will quide them to the Virtual Try-On for Shoes home page. We look forward to launching to Android customers soon.

Amazon first started offering AR product views back in 2017.

This ability to see products in the real environment was one of the key promises of augmented reality on mobile devices. One of the earliest examples was virtual try-on of lipstick, back in 2017.

Ikea was another early adopter.

Place hit the App Store this evening touting the ability to position furniture wherever you want in your home using augmented reality. Designed for both iPhone and iPad, Ikea Place uses ARKit as its foundation and features a catalog of thousands of Ikea products, whether it be a sofa, bed, or any other piece of furniture. Everything is true-to-scale, meaning how it looks in the app is how it will look in your home:

One developer even showed how an AR instruction manual could be used for building self-assembly furniture at home.

Pottery Barn soon followed.

You can pick a piece of furniture and virtually place a life-sized rendering in your house with augmented reality. You can choose from all sorts of Pottery Barn products and customize them by color, size, and more.

But AR has so far been a bit of a slow-burn. Pinterest, for example, took five years to move from beauty products to furniture.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

Read the original:

Amazon Virtual Try-On for Shoes uses augmented reality to show them on your feet - 9to5Mac

Apples software is very good, generally speaking. Even as the company has spread its focus among more platforms than ever macOS and iOS and iPadOS and tvOS and watchOS and whatever software Apples building for its maybe-possibly-coming-someday car and its almost-certainly-coming-soon AR / VR headset those platforms have continued to be excellent. Its been a while since we got an Apple Maps-style fiasco; the biggest mistakes Apple makes now are much more on the level of putting the Safari URL bar on the wrong part of the screen.

What all that success and maturity breeds, though, is a sense that Apples software is finished or at least very close. Over the last couple of years, the companys software announcements at WWDC have been almost exclusively iterative and additive, with few big swings. Last years big iOS announcements, for instance, were some quality-of-life improvements to FaceTime and some new kinds of ID that work in Apple Wallet. Otherwise, Apple mostly just rolled out new settings menus: new controls for notifications, Focus mode settings, privacy tools that sort of thing.

This is not a bad thing! Neither is the fact that Apple is the best fast-follower in the software business, remarkably quick to adapt and polish everybody elses new ideas about software. Apples devices are as feature-filled, long-lasting, stable, and usable as anything youll find anywhere. Too many companies try to reinvent everything all the time for no reason and end up creating problems where they didnt exist. Apple is nothing if not a ruthlessly efficient machine, and that machine is hard at work honing every pixel its devices create.

The best of iOS 15, in case you forgot.

But were at an inflection point in technology that will demand more from Apple. Its now fairly clear that AR and VR are Apples next big thing, the next supposedly earth-shakingly huge industry after the smartphone. Apples not likely to show off a headset at WWDC, but as augmented and virtual reality come to more of our lives, everything about how we experience and interact with technology is going to have to change.

Apple has been showing off AR for years, of course. But all its shown are demos, things you can see or do on the other side of the camera. Weve seen very little from the company about how it thinks AR devices are going to work and how were going to use them. The company that loves raving about its input devices is going to need a few new ones and a new software paradigm to match. Thats what were going to see this year at WWDC.

Remember last year, when Apple showed that you could take a picture of a piece of paper with your iPhone and it would automatically scan and recognize any text on the page? Live Text is an AR feature through and through: its a way of using your phones camera and AI to understand and catalog information in the real world. The whole tech industry thinks thats the future thats what Googles doing with Maps and Lens and what Snapchat is doing with its lenses and filters. Apple needs a lot more where Live Text came from.

From a simple UI perspective, one thing AR will require is a much more efficient system for getting information and accomplishing tasks. Nobodys going to wear AR glasses that send them Apple Music ads and news notifications every six minutes, right? And full-screen apps that demand your singular attention are increasingly going to be a way of the past.

We may get some hints about what that will look like: it sounds like use your phone without getting lost in your phone is going to be a theme at this years WWDC. According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman, we could see an iOS lock screen that shows useful information without requiring you to unlock your phone. A more glanceable iPhone seems like an excellent idea and a good way to keep people from opening their phone to check the weather only to find themselves deep down a TikTok hole three and a half hours later. Same goes for the rumored interactive widgets, which would let you do basic tasks without having to open an app. And, if Focus mode gets some rumored enhancements and especially if Apple can make Focus mode easier to set up and use it could be a really useful tool on your phone and a totally essential one on your AR glasses.

Id also expect Apple to continue to bring its devices much closer together in terms of both what they do and how they do it in an effort to make its whole ecosystem more usable. With a nearly full line of Macs and iPads running on Apples M chip and maybe a full line after WWDC if the long-awaited Mac Pro finally appears theres no reason for the devices not to share more DNA. Universal Control, which was probably the most exciting iOS 15 announcement even if it didnt ship until February, is a good example of what it looks like for Apple to treat its many screens as part of an ecosystem. If iOS 16 brings true freeform multitasking to the iPad (and boy, I hope it does), an iPad in a keyboard dock is basically a Mac. Apple used to avoid that closeness; now, it appears to be embracing it. And, if it sees all these devices as ultimately companions and accessories to a pair of AR glasses, itll need them all to do the job well.

The last time Apple hell, the last time anyone had a truly new idea about how we use gadgets was in 2007 when the iPhone launched. Since then, the industry has been on a yes-and path, improving and tweaking without ever really breaking from the basics of multitouch. But AR is going to break all of that. It cant work otherwise. Thats why companies are working on neural interfaces, trying to perfect gesture control, and trying to figure out how to display everything from translated text to maps and games on a tiny screen in front of your face. Meta is already shipping and selling its best ideas; Googles are coming out in the form of Lens features and sizzle videos. Now, Apple needs to start showing the world how it thinks an AR future works. Headset or no headset, that will be the story of WWDC 2022.

Read the original:

For Apple, WWDC 2022 is all about augmented reality - The Verge