Sure thing. Here we go:
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Okay, so here’s a wild start to an article about Italian history being made—except not by me, because I’m still sitting here at my laptop. An Italian tennis player just snagged a first-ever Wimbledon win, and now I feel like I should probably do something groundbreaking too. Got any wild ideas? Let me know in the comments or wherever people shout ideas these days. Anyway—oh wait, that’s not what I meant—let’s dive into some XR news, ’cause that’s what I’m here for. Again.
### Top Bits of the Week
Imagine a picture of me looking all impressed or something. Anyway, XPANCEO is now an XR unicorn! Yep, the Dubai folks with their crazy smart contact lenses just scored a cool $250M. That puts ‘em over a billion in value—fancy startup language for “unicorn.” Sounds magical, right? This cash splash is supposed to help them move from “hey, look at this prototype” to “you can actually buy this now… eventually.” Road To VR is throwing 2026 out there as a launch guess, but my gut says that’s a tad optimistic. Maybe it’s just last night’s pasta talking… I dunno.
I’ve been a fan of these smart lenses, like, since Mojo Vision vanished—poof! So, it’s cool to see XPANCEO getting some backing. I once saw inside their lab remotely. Why do I remember that… anyway, some prototypes were like taking a page out of the hard lens book, while others were like everyday soft lenses. Tried them out during some VR thing in Europe, and hey, they worked. The real test? Getting these things ready to hit the shelves. Fingers crossed for something niche like diabetes-friendly glucose-checking lenses. Here’s to hoping I get to Dubai someday to see this magic in action. Wake me up when it happens.
### More You Should Kinda Know
Oh, picture time again. Upload VR did their usual shindig, bringing the spotlight on some indie VR games. Not the stuff that makes headlines, but still, they’re giving the little guys their time in the sun. Games galore, no space to break it all down here, but some highlights: a quirky co-op thing called Elsewhere Electric is coming our way. Sounds puzzling, literally. PS VR2 peeps can get hyped about Reach—check out the brilliant trailer. And Virtual Skate wants to have you VR flip like Tony Hawk. August 21st, mark it down. Fixer Undercover looks fun, solving puzzles in prison—MacGyver-style.
Samsung, oh Samsung… you pulled a disappearing act with Moohan at your big event. Rumors promised us at least a peek. And then? Silence. I guess they have other plans or were just doing some magic trick to keep us guessing. I wonder if they’re tweaking it behind closed doors or just trying to whip up some hype. Who knows.
Another mishmash of XR tidbits—Meta’s dumping big bucks into Luxottica. One thumb up from Zuck, and voila, $3.5B in the mix to cozy up with those eyewear titans. Maybe to stop the competition? Also, Canon’s flirting with the MR headset market. Are we heading into a wild west of mixed reality? Maybe.
And let’s talk SINGRAY G2. Got a hands-on vid out there. Looks promising but doesn’t quite hit the high notes like HoloLens 2. Speaking of cool gear, Viture’s rolling out new glasses—think a massive TV screen but on your face. And… drumroll… converting 2D content into 3D on the fly. Wild.
A surprise entry: Ray-Ban Meta 3 leaks? Aperol and Bellini, more than just drinks—they’re new glasses models, maybe with AI brains to help find your lost keys. A launch this year? We’ll see if that holds water.
And Apple, sneaky as ever, is rumored to be refreshing their Vision Pro. Gurman’s got his ear to the ground, thinks it’s happening soon.
Meanwhile, CREAL’s pushing forward with some rad lightfield display stuff. Hint: depth perception that doesn’t give you a headache. With $9M in their pocket, only up from here.
Remember Intel’s RealSense cameras? They’re back, reborn with a bold AI twist—$50M can do that, I guess. This tech? I have bets it’ll circle back into XR.
Real gem of randomness: some guy created a massive VR LAN party. Imagine 130 headsets buzzing together. Hats off to Jeff Baz, the chopstick guy by day, VR maestro by night.
### Content Kinda News
Fun Train’s got their game on pre-order. Did I mention chopsticks earlier? More games, from tactical Worms-esque stuff to action roguelikes, hitting headsets soon.
Prison Boss Prohibition is making laughs in VR—oh, and some tracking bugs. But hey, co-op with friends fixes everything, right?
### Almost Wrapping Up
A lot happening, I’m clearly not keeping up. Zoom’s now on Quest? Weird. Why would you want to be an avatar in a serious meeting? Keep the fun out of boring, please.
Last bit, let’s think beyond tech: some dollars to the Red Cross could totally change lives in Ukraine. Or just keep supporting my never-ending hunger for XR news. Huge shoutout to my Patreon squad—you’re the real MVPs. Name-dropped a few dynamite folks here.
And there it is. My messy, chaotic XR news roundup. Jump into the comments if you survived this ramble. Meanwhile, I’ll go ponder what groundbreaking thing I can do while still sitting here.
