Virtual Reality

[MartyG]

Well, you could put laptop GPUs in a VR standalone headset, but the battery is going to break your neck and the cooling would be louder than the speakers.

[Neon Ignition]

The other issue is that whilst Meta might take a console like life cycle to the headsets I don't think consumers will. Outside of the small enthusiast crowd I feel like most pretty much would just want to buy a headset and be done, not face upgrading every 3-4 years etc. Part of Quest 2's appeal was the all-in-one solution nature of it, even before factoring in the pandemic factor on its sales I don't think a huge number of Quest 2's audience will be itching to pay out for Quest 3 especially when we're increasingly reaching a point where the gains are quickly diminishing.

[Asura]

All I know is that I'm going to be first in line for the Quest 3, short of some major curveball. The leaks suggest it's going to be great.

[Lebowski]

Well, you could put laptop GPUs in a VR standalone headset, but the battery is going to break your neck and the cooling would be louder than the speakers.

What your saying we need to get power and mobility is some sort of VR Power Pants type device. Building your PC into some trousers to distribute the weight gives you quest like portability and the power of a full PC. It would be constructed of a batman like utility belt that acts as the mother board type thing where you can swap in different bits, (Storage, ram, processor ect) and a big baggy pair of cargo pants with pockets, one for the Graphics card and one for the battery.

[wakka]

The cuts they have had to do internally most coming from the metaverse and VR development throws up questions about if they still see VR as a big focus for meta, The quest two felt like the must have Wii style crimbo hype in 2021, i even had people in my office talking about it but it feels like a device that's peeked. Them upping the price of it, rather than reducing it seemed to kill off a lot of its momentum too.

Actually they've doubled down on the metaverse (as well as the core ads business), and instead mostly cut staff in the recruitment and business teams:

https://about.fb.com/news/2022/11/mark-zuckerberg-layoff-message-to-employees/

So I think Zuck's still all in and we can expect to see plenty of cash poured into new Oculus hardware in the near term. Whether customers will be up for it is another matter.

What your saying we need to get power and mobility is some sort of VR Power Pants type device. Building your PC into some trousers to distribute the weight gives you quest like portability and the power of a full PC. It would be constructed of a batman like utility belt that acts as the mother board type thing where you can swap in different bits, (Storage, ram, processor ect) and a big baggy pair of cargo pants with pockets for the Graphics card and one for the battery.

[Brad]

What your saying we need to get power and mobility is some sort of VR Power Pants type device. Building your PC into some trousers to distribute the weight gives you quest like portability and the power of a full PC. It would be constructed of a batman like utility belt that acts as the mother board type thing where you can swap in different bits, (Storage, ram, processor ect) and a big baggy pair of cargo pants with pockets, one for the Graphics card and one for the battery.

This is rumoured to be Apple's approach, battery in some sort of belt you strap on and a cable running to the headset. Not a huge Apple fan these days but this (VR) might be an area where we actually need them to show how it should be done (tech, aesthetics, form and functionwise) so that everyone else can clone the good bits and get on with it.

[Lebowski]

This is rumoured to be Apple's approach, battery in some sort of belt you strap on and a cable running to the headset. Not a huge Apple fan these days but this (VR) might be an area where we actually need them to show how it should be done (tech, aesthetics, form and functionwise) so that everyone else can clone the good bits and get on with it.

I wouldn't expect apple to go with such a messy solution, i can see the memes now

Apple VR LOLLLZZZZZZ


it would have to be an amazing device if they did go down this route and blow the quest out of the water graphically to launch with this compromise. They seem to have the chips that can push the power my Mac studio with an M1 Ultra is a tiny thing and can hold its own against 4080 based systems that take up massively more space.

[Neon Ignition]

Given the prices Apple extort with I'd happily brush any offering from them aside with ease, except for the slight perk of seeing a new Apple device launch and it not sell gangbusters

[wakka]

I think that was the approach reputed to be favoured by Jony Ive when he was still at the company in the early stages of the headset's development, but the most recent rumours haven't indicated anything about that. I'd be very surprised if it launches with anything like that tbh.

Given the prices Apple extort with I'd happily brush any offering from them aside with ease, except for the slight perk of seeing a new Apple device launch and it not sell gangbusters.

Yeah it's gonna cost £2k to £3k easily I'd say.

It's not something I'm personally going to buy (at least not v1) but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how they handle the hardware and UI design. Like Brad says, if it's good, it could have a net positive effect on the rest of the industry. They've got form on this, with the MacBook Air, the iPhone, etc.

[Brad]

For the headset to meet Apple's... let's call them requirements (they favour form at least as highly as function), they have to solve the problem of having a battery strapped to your head to provide decent runtime. Relocating it makes sense.

As regards the takeup and price, it won't sell loads but, as I suggested, it'll allow someone else to clone the format and do one more sensibly priced. Anyway, we'll probably know soonish!

[Lebowski]

For the headset to meet Apple's... let's call them requirements (they favour form at least as highly as function), they have to solve the problem of having a battery strapped to your head to provide decent runtime. Relocating it makes sense.

As regards the takeup and price, it won't sell loads but, as I suggested, it'll allow someone else to clone the format and do one more sensibly priced. Anyway, we'll probably know soonish!

They need to tap into us as a battery, either indirectly or directly. kinetically transfering our movement into power or some sort of on skin device that sucks the power it needs right out of us. They could go one step further and get rid of the need for a headset altogether, imagine an in ear device that ****s with your brain waves making us hallucinate that we are in a Warzone fighting aliens or slicing blocks with a laser sword.
cant see anything going wrong at all with that sort of tech

[wakka]

For the headset to meet Apple's... let's call them requirements (they favour form at least as highly as function), they have to solve the problem of having a battery strapped to your head to provide decent runtime. Relocating it makes sense.

As regards the takeup and price, it won't sell loads but, as I suggested, it'll allow someone else to clone the format and do one more sensibly priced. Anyway, we'll probably know soonish!

Alright I'm going to go ahead and say I'm team internal battery, and you're team external battery.

We will find out who is correct when they announce the headset later this year and the loser has to wear a cone of shame on the forum for a month, like a dog with an ear infection

[Brad]

Alright I'm going to go ahead and say I'm team internal battery, and you're team external battery.

We will find out who is correct when they announce the headset later this year and the loser has to wear a cone of shame on the forum for a month, like a dog with an ear infection

Deal! It'll be fun at least!

[wakka]

Agreed

EDIT: Also anyone who wants to join team internal or external battery can, just know that you risk the cone of shame if you're wrong (and conversely everlasting glory if correct).

[Lebowski]

Agreed

EDIT: Also anyone who wants to join team internal or external battery can, just know that you risk the cone of shame if you're wrong (and conversely everlasting glory if correct).

Internal battery sounds like a very embarrassing trip to the doctors