Jan 05
Lumus, the company behind the tech that powers augmented reality glasses, has unveiled the next leap in smart lenses. It’s 50% smaller and 100% less dorky.
Jan 05
Mercedes-Benz has outlined its plans to supplement its 2030 all-EV strategy with its own Supercharger network, starting with thousands of chargers in the U.S.
Jan 05
Razer's New Head-Tracking Desktop Soundbar Ensures Users Always Hear a Full 3D Audio Effect
Posted in: Today's Chili
One of the big challenges of faking a surround sound experience with just a single speaker is that users often have to remain in a very specific spot to hear the full effect. But with Razer’s new Leviathan V2 Pro desktop sound bar, gamers can move around as much as they like thanks to a head-tracking camera that…
Jan 05
The Chonky Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra Features the Largest Sensor Ever Put Into a Webcam
Posted in: Today's Chili
Razer is promising “DSLR-level detail and clarity” from its new Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra by equipping it with the largest sensor ever used in a webcam. But the company might be taking too much inspiration from DSLRs, because this is also one of the largest and beefiest webcams we’ve ever seen perched atop a monitor.
Jan 05
HTC Launches VIVE XR Elite Headset
Posted in: Today's Chili
HTC on Thursday announced its new all-in-one mixed reality headset, the VIVE XR Elite. The $1,099 consumer flagship device combines augmented and virtual reality capabilities into a single device and represents the Taiwanese consumer electronics company’s argument against Meta’s $1,499 Quest Pro, which was…
Jan 05
Normally, when you buy a gaming laptop, you have to make a choice. Do you want a high resolution, for pretty visuals, or a high frame rate, for smooth gameplay? Most of the time, you can only choose one, with some middle ground in the 1440p and 120Hz area. The new Razer Blade 16, with its dual-mode mini-LED display,…
Jan 05
It’s time for another Android feature drop—the CES 2023 edition. This time, Google’s officially rolling out the new Android Auto interface that we got to preview a few months ago. There are also a few other car-centric announcements within the platform. And Android users can expect a new media handoff feature to…
Jan 05
Renfield's First Trailer Shows Nicolas Cage's Ultra-Campy Dracula in Action
Posted in: Today's Chili
We’ve been hearing about Nic Cage’s Dracula for a while, but I don’t know if anything could have prepared me for this hilarious, absolutely wild, delightfully supernatural adaptation of the most famous vampire around.
Jan 05
Apple TV+ has offered a sneak peek at the second season of Foundation and revealed when the sci-fi series will return. More episodes of the show, which is based on Isaac Asimov’s series of books of the same name, will premiere this summer and will introduce the second crisis.
The clip opens with one of the main characters, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), waking up in a stasis chamber that just happens to be in space. It’s a compelling start to a teaser that’s packed with eye-catching imagery. A terrifying creature pops up at the end, so be mindful of that if you’re jumpy.
The first season of Foundation arrived in the fall of 2021, so fans have had to wait quite a while for it to come back. Jared Harris and Lee Pace are among the stars who are returning for season two.
Jan 05
If augmented reality glasses become a groundbreaking product category, they will need to look similar to regular prescription glasses. TCL is showcasing a pair of frames at CES 2023 that — while inching further in that direction — accentuate how tall of an order that still is. TCL describes its RayNeo X2 AR glasses as having a “subtle and lightweight body for everyday wear,” but their comically oversized nature makes us question whether “subtle” was the best word choice.
TCL says the RayNeo X2 “harness pioneering binocular full-color MicroLED optical waveguide displays.” While that’s quite a mouthful of technical jargon, that’s because the company isn’t (yet) aiming these glasses toward consumers. Instead, it’s a developer platform to flesh out over time as AR tech gets smaller and better.
TCL’s glasses run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 platform, the same chipset found in the Meta Quest 2 VR headset. Its MicroLED display has an impressive 100,000:1 contrast ratio and can reach a brightness of 1,000 nits, which should help make its visuals readable in bright sunlight. In addition, as reported by CNET, TCL says it will offer prescription inserts that allow you to use them in place of regular glasses — not on top of them.
TCL
Rather than approaching AR like HoloLens or Magic Leap, where 3D-animated virtual characters leap across your furniture, TCL’s glasses are more in the vein of Google Glass. For example, the company says its “smart GPS” navigation system uses simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) to overlay virtual directions while showcasing nearby landmarks. The glasses can also deliver on-screen call and message pop-ups or translate in-person conversations with real-time subtitles. In addition, it can play music quietly so that others around you won’t hear. Finally, it has a built-in camera for capturing first-person videos, stills and time-lapse photos.
These are all ways AR glasses could — and likely will —enhance our lives someday. But it’s 2023, and a company well-established in advanced display technology still has trouble shrinking its glasses to a more subtle size. It helps to understand how deeper-pocketed competitors like Apple still haven’t announced consumer AR wearables despite reportedly working on them for the better part of a decade. This category requires advances that have taken loads of time — and will likely take at least a bit more.
While we wait for AR glasses to advance to the point where we’ll want to wear them publicly, TCL is recruiting developers to help it prepare for that day. The company will start offering the RayNeo X2 dev kit to software makers “in select regions” by the end of Q1. It says a commercial launch will come later, although we imagine that will fare better with future iterations that don’t make you look like 1970s-era Michael Caine.
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