Upcoming XR Highlights (2025.06.16): Meta and Oakley to Debut Glasses, Snap’s Specs Set for 2026, and More!

Sure thing, let’s dive into this. So, I landed in Cupertino — you know, the land of Apple, literally. Silicon Valley’s buzzing, and I’ll camp out here for a week before jetting off to Berlin to do the whole mentor gig at XRCC. Honestly, crossing my fingers for an easy ride here. AWE was a nightmare; got sick and felt like a zombie from Resident Evil. Seriously, I was shambling like one. Anyway, send some good vibes. I’ll throw some juicy XR tidbits your way!

So, top news? Oh boy, Meta and Oakley might drop new glasses Friday. Imagine them aimed at athletes with a funky camera smack in the center. A new “oakleymeta” account on social media popped up—trippy teaser video and all. June 20 is the date, supposedly. Might happen Friday, which beats launching at some massive Meta Connect event, I guess? Perfect timing with summer; everyone’s out buying shades. So, yeah, I’m all eyes. Can’t wait to see.

Oh, and Snap’s CEO dropped some bomb at AWE about their Spectacles. New one’s arriving in 2026 or something. Lighter, packed with features, and reportedly looking less like some devkit, more like a real deal. Yet, what made me snicker was the new name—just “Specs.” They say the cool bit is being compatible with all Snapchat lenses from Day 1. That’s big.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm? They’ve just unleashed the AR1+ chip, which means less juice, slimmer designs, AND it handles AI locally. Privacy fiends, rejoice! No data floating off into data-harvesting heavens or whatever. Saw a demo with a virtual assistant on stage—mind-boggling. Shocked, really.

Some chatter on Google’s XR tech too. Heard Samsung might spill the beans on Project Moohan’s launch soon. HP’s concocting some enterprise teleconference gadget called Dimension using Google Beam tech. It’ll cost an arm and a leg (25K bucks!), deluxe.

And guess what? Apple’s dropping more details exploring Vision Pro enhancements. Widgets can stick to walls like posters—sort of. Colors, elevated designs, you name it. Yet, game pages on Vision OS Store will now clarify if you need PSVR 2 controllers—not required, optional, or a must, which matters!

Random updates? Mbucchia, known for genius VR mods, is on a SteamVR driver for WMR headsets. Meta headsets might get features like IPD adjustment, face unlock — deciphered through data mining. Plus, Palmer Luckey’s teasing the Eagle Eye headset for military use. His rationale — price doesn’t matter when lives or missions are at stake — $10K is just the start. Anyway, joined forces with Meta ‘cause, why reinvent the wheel, right?

Khronos Group is juicing up OpenXR with more spatial computing features. That’ll be sweet for multi-platform AR/MR creations. Thanks, Tom Ffiske, for the nugget!

Now, about hands-on from AWE—plenty of articles are still cropping up. Check out my drops on XelerateVR and Infinadeck if that piques your interest. Some fun content reviews as well—zombies, mixed reality jigsaws, and even some emotionally charged narratives coming your way.

One tiny nugget before you go, Meta dropped their v77 runtime despite QA hiccups — curious, huh? And hey, don’t miss out on Survey and prize draws shaping the future of AR/VR, or grill with Phygtl if you’re a dev itching for a role. Let’s change gears—got a hilarious peek into XR fun that’ll tickle you pink. Laugh it all off with some insider chuckles.

Well, if it tugs at your heartstrings, think of donating to help folks in Ukraine through the Red Cross. We all need a bit of humanity, right?

And yeah, stacks of folks support this rag I call a blog, Patreon love and all. Heck, couldn’t do it without you! If you crave my heart’s truth without the fixings, the donate link’s below. Thanks for pondering through this wild ride!