Welcome to another edition of our XR news roundup.

This time, we're looking at the biggest news stories of July 2023. Unsurprisingly, Apple is still the talk of the town. 

Apple cuts production targets for Vision Pro in half

Despite riding the wave of success after announcing the Vision Pro last month, Apple might already have hit a roadblock. According to reports, manufacturing problems may force the tech giant to slash production targets for Vision Pro by a whopping 50%.

Apple's original target of one million units could now be reduced to around 400,000 for the device's planned 2024 launch. To make matters worse, rumours have emerged that two of Apple's component suppliers may only have enough parts to produce up to 150,000 units in the Vision Pro's first 12 months. 

It seems that two features of the headset, in particular, are causing the disruption – namely, the Vision Pro's EyeSight feature and the device's micro-OLED displays.

Apparently, the device's curved glass lens requires extremely specific calibration with its internal cameras for the EyeSight feature to work anywhere near effectively. This, reports say, is complicating the manufacturing process more than anticipated.

As for the micro-OLEDs, Apple is allegedly unhappy with the number of defect-free displays that manufacturers Sony and TSMC can produce at present.

Samsung also delaying release of new XR headset

It seems Apple isn't the only company that's buying time for its release schedule.

The new word on the street is that Samsung is also pushing back the release date for its upcoming XR headset.

The device, which is being developed in partnership with Google and Qualcomm, was due to be released as soon as early 2024. However, according to a recent SBS Biz report, Samsung has had to postpone this date by up to six months.

The exact reason for this delay isn't confirmed, although there is speculation that it may be largely due to the reveal of Apple's Vision Pro in June.

An official familiar with Samsung's internal affairs has suggested that the hold-up is to allow for a thorough review of the specifications and performances of the device – specifically, the design and display. 

Mark Lucovsky has left Google

It's been a tough couple of weeks for Google. Late June saw reports come in that the company has shelved its upcoming AR glasses, Project Iris. Now, it appears that AR software expert, Mark Lucovsky, has resigned from his position in the company. 

Lucovsky was in charge of creating the new XR operating system at Google. He's also an old hand in software development – during his tenure with Microsoft, Lucovsky was part of the team that designed and created the Windows NT operating system.

He announced his resignation personally on X (previously known as Twitter) earlier this month. Unfortunately for Google, the tweet seems to paint the company's future in XR in an unfavourable light. Lucovsky stated his reason for leaving was down to "the recent changes in AR leadership and Google's unstable commitment and vision".

The last few months have seen many different reports of change in Google's AR efforts and Lucovsky's recent criticism only adds to the uncertainty surrounding Google's future involvement in XR.

Meta's big plans to bring Quest to China 

Past tensions between Chinese executives and Meta have seen both Facebook and Twitter blocked from the Country since 2009. However, change may be in the air as Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg is supposedly on a mission to get his Quest headset on the Chinese market.

A new report from The Wall Street Journal claims that Meta has been in talks with several Chinese tech companies, with entertainment industry giant Tencent looking to offer the most promising partnership.

This wouldn't be the first time Zuckerberg has made a deal of this nature. Back in 2018, Zuckerberg made a deal with Xiaomi to bring a rebranded version of the Oculus Go – the Mi VR Standalone – to the country. By using a brand and store that follow the guidelines of the Chinese government, Meta was able to take its technology to the country. 

The idea for its Quest breakthrough is much the same, with hopes being held firmly on Tencent's ability to collaborate with Meta.

Siemens announces investment plan for Industrial Metaverse

Multinational corporation Siemens has revealed its plans for a $2 billion global investment strategy. One billion dollars of this is planned for Germany, with $500 million being invested directly into its new Erlangen-based technology campus.

The campus is described as the company's "research and development hub" and a "nucleus of global technology activities for the Industrial Metaverse". Siemens' plan is to expand its development and manufacturing capabilities while working to "promote and accelerate" the ecosystem of its partners. 

The company has clear opinions about the benefits of XR technologies for its future. As president and CEO Roland Busch says, "Siemens is banking on innovation in Germany and launching the next stage of digitalisation: we're laying the foundation for the Industrial Metaverse in the Nuremberg metropolitan region.

"Here, on the new campus, we're combining the real and the digital worlds… Together with partners, we're developing new digital technologies in the Metaverse and revolutionising how we'll run our production in the future – much more efficiently, flexibly and sustainably."

It's believed that Siemens is already utilising digital twins of the campus before construction work begins to carefully optimise its configuration for the Industrial Metaverse. 

SimplyVideo is a video collaboration software platform designed for XR devices, desktops and portables. It unlocks the full potential of wearables by enabling features like low-bandwidth streaming, in-call annotation and phonebook functionality. Want to see it in action? Sign up for your 30-day free trial.