Some people think XR is slowing down after Meta cut back. I see the opposite. Across hardware, software, and cameras, momentum is clearly building: - Samsung: next-gen AR glasses coming in 2026 with cameras + AI - Google: Android XR ecosystem + prototype smart glasses - Apple: pushing immersive capture and spatial video through Vision Pro - DJI: after dominating drones, now entering 360 with a strong first release (Osmo 360) - GoPro: MAX2, a big step up from the first MAX, with true 8K and a pro post-production pipeline - Insta360 X5: a very mature and popular all-round 360 camera after many iterations - Pico (ByteDance): VR headsets with better MR tracking and dev tooling Many of the companies shaping the next phase were here before and are returning with far more mature tech: - Samsung is back in immersive tech after being one of the first consumer 360 pioneers - Google is back after Cardboard, now with a full XR platform, not just a viewer - Apple is entering immersive content from a different angle, using spatial video as a gateway to 360 and volumetric experiences - GoPro is releasing its second 360 camera after six years making it a strong competitor in the space - DJI is entering the 360 market with a strong first release - Kandao powers high-end VR, 360 and VFX workflows in professional Hollywood productions - Insta360 pushed this market for years and is now finally getting real competition Still, Meta remains the biggest investor in XR and while they may be realigning, VR and XR are still on an upward trend. New tech, more users, and more applications.

🥽 Meta just removed a big barrier for scaling VR in education & research. I’ve always felt that paying a monthly fee to manage hardware you already own was one of the biggest blockers for wider VR adoption—especially in schools, universities, and labs. 📅 Now it’s changing: Starting Feb 20, 2026, Meta Horizon Managed Services (HMS) becomes completely free. No more per-device licenses—buy standard Quest hardware and the management layer is included. Even better: Meta commits to this framework until 2030, adding long-term predictability. What’s now included for free: 💸 Zero license fees — No annual/monthly costs for device management via Meta Admin tools 🎓 A big win for universities — Scaling a 50+ headset lab just got much cheaper (and easier to justify) 👥 Shared Mode — Ideal for classrooms & libraries: multiple users, no personal data/account mix-ups 🛠️ Centralized control — Remote Wi-Fi setup, bulk app deployment, fleet-wide updates from one dashboard 🔒 No private accounts needed — Manage with Work/Education accounts so students don’t link personal social profiles Link in the comments. Why this matters: Removing recurring fees helps VR move from “experimental pilot” to a standard tool in classrooms and offices. Less friction = easier “yes” for immersive learning and training. 🚀 #MetaQuest #EdTech #EnterpriseVR #FutureOfLearning #XR #TechUpdate | 19 comments on LinkedIn

Made another prototype to explore voxel creation with hand-tracking. When you push the main voxel, it generates “wireframe” voxels along its path. The interaction itself feels fun and effortless, but it requires generated voxels to be in a wireframe or ghost mode to avoid overlapping with your hand. Tools: XCode + RealityKit + SwiftUI Device: Apple Vision Pro #spatialcomputing #xrdesign #xrdevelopment #visionos #visionpro #realitykit #swiftui #swiftlanguage #voxel #boxelxr #handtracking #voxeleditor #prototyping #interactiondesign | 31 comments on LinkedIn

My handbook on #GaussianSplatting is out! Here is what I learned 👇 1) 3DGS is (almost always) about appearance A splat is essentially a dense set of tiny 3D ellipsoids (“blobs”) with attributes like position, orientation, scale, opacity, and view-dependent color (often via spherical harmonics). That view-dependent color is why splats can look shockingly real, especially on reflective or complex materials. For precision and accuracy, you might need to look somewhere else. 2) The mesh comparison is the wrong fight... for now Meshes still win when you need geometry to behave like geometry: collisions, physics, rigging, deformation, relighting, gameplay logic. Splats win when you need reality to look like reality: clutter, foliage, hair, fabric, semi-transparency, messy micro-detail, and fast photoreal exploration. If you need to edit and simulate, use meshes. If you need faithful capture and real-time viewing, use splats.... for now. Pipelines are evolving and new approaches are emerging. 3) Picking between cloud and local tools for reconstruction can be tricky Cloud tools optimise for speed and accessibility. Local tools optimize for control, ownership, and commercial reliability. The market is evolving quickly, and “best” depends on whether you value iteration speed, export flexibility, or fine-grained training settings... and if you have a powerful enough machine to run the reconstruction. 4) 360 cameras and SLAM scanners are powerful, but come with trade-offs 360 capture can be incredibly efficient, but you inherit resolution, stitching, and “operator-in-shot” issues. With scanners, I finally learned the difference between LiDAR (great geometry) from SLAM (motion + mapping + pose estimation). 2026 will also see more SLAM scanners coming to the market all based on the same LiDAR sensor 🤔 5) Synthetic splats are the most underestimated category Camera arrays in Blender/Unity/Unreal, AI-generated video inputs, and 3D GenAI-to-splats workflows open up entirely new creative directions. They are fragmented today, but they already enable fast “photoreal” assets where real-time mesh rendering would be too expensive. 6) The real opportunity is publishing and distribution Splats are uniquely good for web viewing, lightweight presentations, fast location capture, and increasingly VR exploration. They are also showing up in VFX and virtual production, even if relighting remains a central challenge. If you want to get the full handbook containing over 200+ links to additional resources, subscribe to XR AI Spotlight Pro and you will get the full PDF directly in your inbox (link on top of my profile). It is available only until the 28th of January. | 11 comments on LinkedIn

The complete library of 12000+ Meta Quest VR games, apps, add-ons and bundles. Discover new paid and free VR experiences and find hidden gems.

The complete library of 12000+ Meta Quest VR games, apps, add-ons and bundles. Discover new paid and free VR experiences and find hidden gems.

The complete library of 12000+ Meta Quest VR games, apps, add-ons and bundles. Discover new paid and free VR experiences and find hidden gems.

The complete library of 12000+ Meta Quest VR games, apps, add-ons and bundles. Discover new paid and free VR experiences and find hidden gems.

The complete library of 12000+ Meta Quest VR games, apps, add-ons and bundles. Discover new paid and free VR experiences and find hidden gems.

Alma’s Disk – Atom - Education/Sandbox game for Meta Quest: reviews, all the information.