XR Report

Meta Denies Outsourcing XR Designs Amid Production Shift to Vietnam

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth (Boz) refutes claims that XR headset designs are being outsourced, stating they remain "in-house."

Reports suggest Meta plans to move half of Quest production to Vietnam to dodge tariffs, while partnering with manufacturers like Goertek for components. Bosworth insists no material changes are occurring in their design strategy.

SCORE: +0 | www.xrrep.com

SOURCE: ROAD TO VR

Amazon to Slash More Than 18,000 Jobs in Escalation of Cuts
Source: TIME


Link: https://lnkd.in/gRWv2pRW

Activision Blizzard COO Daniel Alegre is leaving the gaming giant to take over as CEO of Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Yuga’s first and current CEO Nicole Muniz will stay on as a strategic advisor.

Twitter poll closes with users voting for Musk exit as chief

"More than half of 17.5 million users who responded to a Twitter poll created by billionaire Elon Musk over whether he should step down as head of the company had voted yes by the time the poll closed Monday.

There was no immediate announcement from Twitter, or Musk, about whether that would happen, though Musk said that he would abide by the results. Musk attended the World Cup final on Sunday and may be midflight on his way back to the U.S. early Monday. 

Musk has taken a number of unscientific polls on substantial issues facing the social media platform, including whether to reinstate journalists that he had suspended from Twitter, which was broadly criticized in and out of media circles."

Source: The Associated Press

Apple Looking To Launch Rival Search Engine

"Apple's search team is believed to contain at least 200 employees and powers the technology behind Spotlight, Siri Suggestions, and answers provided by ‌Siri‌. The team is still at least four years away from launching an outright replacement to Google search, according to one person involved with the team speaking to The Information. While Google pays Apple around $15 billionper year to stay as the default search engine on Apple devices, Apple developing an in-house rival to Google search could increase its leverage during its periodic negotiations with Google over the deal." Source: MacRumors.com

"Once a VR true believer, a “wearied” John Carmack leaves Meta".

"After nearly ten years, John Carmack's time helping to guide VR hardware efforts at Meta (and at Facebook/Oculus before that) have come to a close. The id Software co-founder and Doom co-creator officially left Meta on Friday night, according to an internal company memo obtained by Insider and confirmed by the New York Times."



Ars Technica: https://lnkd.in/gCtYeiRB

Twitter bans posting of handles and links to Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon & more

"While people around the globe were watching a thrilling FIFA World Cup final, Twitter decided to drop a bombshell and banned links promoting other social networks. The list currently includes Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr, and Post. Plus, link-in-bio tools like Linktree and Lnk.Bio are also banned — these services are commonly used by both creators and businesses. Essentially, you can’t post links to your other social profiles or even type out your handle in a tweet.

The Elon Musk-owned company “no longer allows free promotion of certain social media platforms” on Twitter. The company said that it is removing all accounts “created solely for the purpose of promoting other social networks.” It also plans to remove links to content from above mentioned social platforms."

Source: TechCrunch
Link: https://lnkd.in/gSFrd5eh

Super Mario World will open February 2023 in Los Angeles

Meet the Startup Bringing the Sense of Smell to the Metaverse L.A.-based Positron makes cinematic VR chairs equipped with scent dispensers that enhance virtual experiences.