XR Industry News
The latest news on the XR industry. Covering AR, VR, MR, spatial computing, and the most important companies and platforms in the field.
Bigscreen Reveals New Halo Strap Design for ‘Beyond 2’ PC VR Headset, Shipping Starts in June
Bigscreen has revealed a major redesign to Bigscreen Beyond 2's long-promised halo headstrap mount, which the company says will begin shipping out starting in June.
After months of waiting, Bigscreen has finally shown off the long-awaited Halo Mount for Beyond...
Monkeys Navigate Virtual Worlds Using Thought Alone in New BCI Study
University researchers at KU Leuven in Belgium have shown that monkeys can navigate complex virtual environments using a brain-computer interface (BCI) setup, which remarkably involves relatively little user training.
As reported in New Scientist, three rhesus macaques were implanted with...
Snap Confirms Mass Layoffs Ahead of Next-gen ‘Specs’ AR Glasses Rollout
Snap is laying off around 1,000 employees, the Snapchat parent confirmed today. Specs Inc., its recently formed AR glasses subsidiary, is reportedly not being affected, however, as the cuts are aimed at further insulating the traditional Snapchat business from...
Meta’s Reported Plan to Add Facial Recognition to Smart Glasses Slammed by ACLU-led Coalition
An ACLU-led coalition representing more than 70 civil liberties advocacy groups are pushing back against Meta's reported plans to bring facial recognition to its smart glasses.
The New York Times initially reported in February that Meta is currently exploring who...
What Makes AWE USA the ‘Must-go’ Event For the XR Industry
AWE USA 2026 is returning to the Long Beach, CA on June 15–18. As the most important annual XR event on our calendar, we’re excited to once again be able to offer a 20% discount on tickets to AWE USA...
Apple Reportedly Preparing Several Styles of Smart Glasses with Distinct Camera Lens
Apple is ostensibly gearing up to release its first pair of smart glasses next year. A new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman however maintains the Cupertino tech giant is now evaluating several styles and color combinations, as well as...
Snap & Qualcomm Announce Long-term Partnership, Affirm 2026 Launch for ‘Specs’ Consumer AR Glasses
Snap's new XR subsidiary Specs Inc and Qualcomm announced a multi-year partnership for Snap's upcoming AR glasses, with Qualcomm pledging Snapdragon chips for future iterations. The companies also reaffirmed that Snap's next-gen Specs are coming "later this year."
Specs Inc,...
Android XR Update Adds Deep Enterprise Support, Auto-3D Conversion & More
Samsung and Google announced a major software update to Galaxy XR, the Android XR-based headset, which includes deep enterprise support, automatic 3D conversion of photos and videos, and more.
One of the biggest bits in the update, now available on Samsung...
‘Synth Riders’ Studio Confirms Major Layoffs Affecting 50 Percent of Staff
Kluge Interactive, the developer behind popular VR rhythm game Synth Riders (2018), confirmed the studio has suffered a "major round of layoffs" earlier this year.
Kluge Interactive has been busy creating games for Horizon Worlds, Roblox, and bringing Synth Riders to new non-VR platforms,...
“VRChat is not going anywhere” Founders Reassure Amid Downturn in Social VR Platforms
Rec Room is shutting down in June. Meta's Horizon Worlds is searching for greener pastures on mobile. Now, VRChat co-founders say there's no need to worry about the social VR platform's future.
"In case you were wondering, VRChat is not going anywhere," studio...
Why One of VR’s Most Valuable Companies is Shutting Down, According to Top Creator
Social VR platform Rec Room, once valued at $3.5 billion, announced earlier this week that it will be shutting down in June. The studio says it never quite figured out how to turn a profit, though top avatar creator blueasis...
‘Moss’ Developer Polyarc Lays Off Two-Thirds of Studio Following “major project” Cancellation
Polyarc, the studio behind VR puzzle-platformer series Moss, announced it's significantly reducing the size of the company, marking another VR pioneer currently experiencing existential turmoil.
The studio released word via a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, noting that layoffs come amid an "unsuccessful...
Meta Inches Into Health Wearables with New Food Logging Feature for Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
Meta announced it's pushing an update to Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta smart glasses that's slated to make nutrition tracking easier by letting Meta AI visually suss out food before you eat it.
The News
Over time, the company says that a...
‘Cyberpunk 2077’ is Officially Coming to VR Soon as a Co-op Location-based Experience
CD Projekt Red announced it's working with Zero Latency VR to bring Cyberpunk 2077 to out-of-home VR destinations.
Zero Latency VR calls the forthcoming experience "based on the world of Cyberpunk 2077," but built specifically for the company's untethered, free-roam technology.
What's more,...
Meta is Releasing 2 New Ray-Ban Smart Glasses for Prescription Wearers, Starting at $500
Meta and eyewear partner EssilorLuxottica announced two new "optical-forward" pairs of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which are said to support nearly all prescriptions.
Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta smart glasses can already be paired with prescription lenses, although the latest pairs...



















