➀ Tesla is hiring for its AI Teleoperation team; ➁ Candidates will use advanced VR rigs to remotely operate and train robotaxis and humanoid robots; ➂ The team is responsible for providing remote access to robotaxis and humanoid robots, operating autonomously in challenging environments.

➀ Meta has announced the Meta Quest 3S, a more affordable version of the Meta Quest 3; ➁ The Quest 3S retains the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor and has a lower price due to cheaper lenses; ➂ The headset lacks the advanced 4K pancake lenses and has a smaller field of view.

➀ Pico is integrating Nvidia GeForce Now into its VR headsets, offering AAA gaming experiences without the need for a powerful PC or console. ➁ The collaboration allows for streaming games directly from Nvidia's GeForce RTX servers, with high-fidelity visuals and smooth gameplay. ➂ The GeForce Now app will be available for download from the Pico Store, supporting up to 1440p resolution and various subscription plans.

➀ After two quarters of declines, Q3 shipments of AR/VR headsets rose 12.8% according to IDC, driven by Meta's Quest 3 and Sony's PSVR2. ➁ Mixed Reality headsets, like the Quest 3, are expected to grow 21.7% in 2025. ➂ Extended Reality devices are forecasted to have a 85.7% CAGR through 2028.

➀ TrendForce estimates that 2024 shipments of VR and MR headsets will increase by 8.8% y-o-y to 9.6 million units; ➁ Three trends are identified: the dominance of low-cost devices, the shift from entertainment accessories to productivity tools, and OLEDoS becoming the preferred display technology for high-end near-eye devices; ➂ Meta leads the VR and MR device shipments with a 73% market share in 2024, driven by the affordable Quest 3S, while the high-end Quest Pro 2 is suspended.

➀ Google has announced Android XR, a new version of the Android platform designed to bring Gemini AI to Android-based headsets and glasses; ➁ The platform promises to extend reality for exploration, connection, and creation; ➂ Samsung will build the first headset, codenamed Project Moohan, which will be available for purchase next year.

➀ A UK consortium is establishing the Virtual Reality Semiconductor Fabrication Training Facility (VRSFT) with a £500,000 Innovate UK grant; ➁ The facility aims to train staff in the semiconductor industry with virtual reality and augmented reality, addressing the growing demand for experts; ➂ VRSFT will provide an immersive virtual model of a modern fabrication facility, allowing trainees to interact with realistic representations of equipment and processes.

➀ The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) has developed a Universal Display Data Converter (UDDC) for seamless image data transfer to microdisplays. ➁ The UDDC converts various video interfaces to a standard for driving microdisplays and facilitates development in AR and VR. ➂ The system uses an FPGA and supports industry-standard video protocols, including MIPI D-PHY+DSI and SMPTE SDI.

➀ Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth, Meta's CTO and Reality Labs chief, has publicly apologized to Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus, who was fired from the company in 2017 due to political reasons. Boz admitted that his previous statements about Luckey's departure were incorrect and expressed gratitude for Luckey's impact on the company and VR development. ➁ Former Oculus CTO John Carmack expressed regret for not supporting Luckey more at Facebook, suggesting that a unified front of Oculus founders could have changed the outcome. ➂ After a nearly five-month online rift, Luckey was invited back to Meta for the first time since his departure in 2017, where he received a face-to-face apology from Bosworth and had the opportunity to try out Meta's Orion AR glasses prototype.

➀ Shipments of AR/VR headsets in Q2 2024 fell 28.1% year-on-year to 1.1 million units, with IDC forecasting a 1.5% decrease in full-year shipments. ➁ Next year, sales are expected to rise 41.4% due to new technology and more affordable devices. ➂ Mixed reality (MR) headsets are predicted to grow, driven by advancements in technology and consumer-friendly designs.

➀ The Meta Quest 3S is expected to offer powerful performance similar to the Meta Quest 3 but with a more affordable price by excluding controllers, relying primarily on hand-tracking for control. ➁ This decision could position the Quest 3S as a standalone computing option rather than a gaming console, similar to Apple's Vision Pro. ➂ Despite the lack of controllers, users can still enhance their experience by purchasing Touch Plus controllers separately, though this may narrow the gap between the Quest 3 and 3S.