Except for the editorial introduction to the week’s top stories and what it may mean at the top of the roundup, the summaries below were 30% written by ChatGPT and 70% me. It’s a lot better than last time, but it still doesn’t make a qualitative difference or save much preparation time.
It’s quarterly earnings season, when companies have to explain themselves with numbers. While 2022 has led us to expect the worst, there was actually some enthusiasm about this week’s results. Google and Microsoft profits were boosted by AI’s thirst for cloud computing power boosting the bottom line leading to bumps of 2% and 5% sespectively. Meta exceeded expectations and increased even more. Instagram reels has regained hours that Tik Tok stole from Facebook. Investors gave Zuck a 10% increase in the share price in reward for his efforts to tame metaverse chatter in favor of AI. Meta asserted its commitment to the Meverse for the umpteen-hundredth time despite Reality Lab’s multi billion dollar quarterly loss. Reuters claims that all AI companies are hiding their poor results behind AI hype.
Meta’s Cost-Cutting Did Not Spare its loss-leading XR divisionReality Labs. Ready at Dawn VR, the studio that produced the popular free multiplayer Echo Arena and was recently closed down, laid off forty employees, including Mark Almeida. Downpour Interactive, the company behind the military simulation “Onward” was similarly affected. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in March that 10,000 workers would be laid off during the company’s “year-of-efficiency.”
Apple won in the closely-watched Epic Games case over its app policies. The US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, upheld a ruling by a lower court that Apple was not a monopoly in the distribution of iOS applications and had not violated antitrust laws when it required app developers to use Apple’s proprietary in-app payments systems. However, the court also held that Apple violated California’s unfair competition law when it forbade Epic from informing iOS users about other ways to pay for in-game virtual currency besides using Apple’s in-app payment system. Both sides will have a couple of weeks to decide if they want to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. Because of the EU’s earlier ruling, the app store has to open up overseas.
UK Regulators block Microsoft-Activision Deal The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal on fears Microsoft would be motivated to make Activision’s games exclusive to its cloud gaming service.
3D Virtual Office Katmai Scores $22M Series A. Today, the company emerged out of stealth mode with a browser based app that enables video conferencing using a real-time, 3D engine. This allows people to interact in immersive, customized photorealistic environments, which fosters genuine human interactions. The web-based app, which allows for screen sharing and invitations with just one click, gives it an edge over competitors using apps. The founders claim that the pandemic has passed, but remote work and hybrid work will remain. Starr Insurance Companies was the lead investor in the Series A.
Sheffield has created an augmented-reality art trail. Users can scan QR codes to view digital artworks on the rooftops of famous buildings in the center. The trail is called “Look Up!”Four buildings are marked with QR codes on the pavement. The code can be scanned using an app that is free. Users can then follow animated arrows to watch various visual presentations on their phones. Megaverse, Universal Everything, and Human Studio created the initiative to increase residents’ engagement with their cities. Project inspiration was taken from the John Lewis department store that was purchased by the council in a regeneration plan.
Felix & Paul, the VR studio, will launch the first episode of its new VR trilogy called Space Explorers – Blue Marble, Shot from the International Space Station, which provides stunning views of Earth in low orbit. The trilogy, which will be offered free of charge on Meta Quest headsets and Quest 2 devices, is designed to give viewers an understanding of the place of Earth in the cosmos and why it’s important to protect it. The first episode, filmed on the ISS’s nadir, will give viewers a 360 degree view of Earth. The immersive film is scheduled to debut on Earth Day, which falls on April 22nd.
Fidelity Investments announced two new Metaverse initiatives designed to teach children financial skills. Fidelity Bloom-o-rama and Pancake Empire Tower Tycoon were both created to encourage young investors to develop healthy money habits and increase their knowledge of finance. Pancake Empire Tower Tycoon combines educational content with fun gameplay to allow users to spend, save, and invest using pancakes. Fidelity’s Bloomo-rama, a new metaverse in Decentraland, guides users to a more mindful money approach through quests and challenges. Bloom-orama’s visitors will be able to navigate a hedge maze and gather money tips from the bull and bear topiaries. They will also learn useful money mantras.
This Week in XR podcast is also available. The author of the column, Ted Schilowitz (Futurist at Paramount Global), and Rony Abouvitz, founder Magic Leap, will host this event. Anand Agarawala is our guest this week. He is the CEO and cofounder of Spatial. You can find us on Spotify, iTunes and YouTube.
What We’re Reading
Snapchat’s Invisible augmented reality moves reveal where we are all heading (Scott Stein/Cnet)
The Owner’s Guide to the Future (Rob Tercek/Substack)
Bobbing for Apples
Apple’s headset can turn VR into a thing. (Will Greenwald/PC Mag)
Apple’s AR/VR Headsets Will Be Pitched in Scattershot Style (Mark Gurman/Bloomberg)
Apple’s mixed reality headset could connect to a battery pack that looks like the iPhone’s (Jon Porter/The Verge)
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