It's time for another roundup of the latest extended reality (XR) news from the last month. 

May has seen an uncharacteristic hush in the world of XR. We can't help but wonder whether this is the calm before the storm, as the XR world anticipates the long-awaited launch of Apple's new mixed reality device.

That said, there have still been some pretty exciting developments in the past month, so let's get to it.

Project Starline upgraded

One of the biggest events in May was Google's annual I/O event.

This year's show was heavily focused on AI. However, Google also made sure to reiterate its presence in the XR field – and showcase a little of what we can expect to see in the coming year. 

One such announcement is the optimisation of Project Starline: Google's fairly radical revamp of remote video calls and conferences.

The original idea for Starline was that its users would each sit in their own dedicated conferencing room, surrounded by many cameras and looking towards a special light field that would display the other members of the call in full 3D – as though they were right in front of you. Imagine a kind of holographic video call.

In a world where more and more communications are taking place remotely, the hope was that this project would make video calls a much more natural and immersive experience. 

Noble goals, for sure. But the project remains in an experimental stage – and we can't help but wonder if such an involved setup could ever truly achieve decent market penetration.

Google must be thinking along the same lines. They announced an upgrade to Starline at I/O that goes some way towards making the project more accessible.

Its latest prototype has been developed with the help of AI and takes the setup from the size of a large restaurant booth to around the size of a flat-screen TV. If this new version sees the light of day, it would be deployable in a wide range of environments. 

Google Maps Immersive View for routes

Another big announcement from I/O is Google's Immersive View for routes – a new feature for its ubiquitous Maps app. The feature will allow you to see a 3D "drone shot" of the journey to your selected destination.

During the keynote, Google CEO Sundar Pichai outlined his vision for the feature. "Imagine if you could see your whole trip in advance", he said. "With Immersive View for Routes, now you can, whether you're walking, cycling, or driving."

This new technology means users are able to preview and "experience" a route before taking it, while also having access to information such as live traffic data, bike lanes and complex junctions. Users will also enjoy weather and air-quality updates, as well as the ability to preview walkways. The idea is that users will be better informed about their scheduled travel and the areas they will be moving through.

The new upgrade builds on Maps' existing feature Immersive View, which was first announced last year. Immersive View for routes uses computer vision and AI to combine street view with aerial images, creating a digital model of the area. 

The feature is set to roll out across 15 different cities in the coming months, including London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Venice.

New Apple headset details leak

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is imminent – and many believe the tech giant will use the platform to reveal concrete details about its long-awaited XR device.

And as anticipation grows, the rumour mill is churning faster than ever.

The latest leak comes from Ross Young, CEO of market research company DSCC. In a tweet, he suggested that Apple's device will feature dual 1.41-inch micro OLEDs, each with a resolution of 4,000 pixels per inch.

If true, that's a pretty astonishing achievement. A 4,000 PPI resolution is well beyond what even top-flight headsets like Meta Quest Pro can achieve.

The purported display size is also fairly large – enough to offer an immersive field of view (FOV). Though, as MIXED Reality News points out, the real-life FOV depends on the lenses Apple decides to use.

Young also noted that the display may achieve more than 5,000 nits of brightness. To put that into perspective, the Google Pixel 7 can achieve 974 nits, while the iPhone 14 Pro can reach 2,307 nits in high-brightness mode.

It should be noted, however, that VR and AR headset displays typically need to be brighter than conventional devices. Again, this comes down to the design of XR lenses – a high brightness is necessary to penetrate the lenses and create the illusion of a detailed virtual world. A prototype Meta headset called Starburst, for instance, achieves a brightness of more than 20,000 nits.

Twitter users were quick to chime in. "Now I know why 2x M2 chips are necessary", said one. "Both of those numbers are ridiculous", gasped another. 

Ridiculous or not, is the rumour true? In all likelihood, we'll find out very soon. Stay tuned for all the juicy details.

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