Headset competition heats up, industrial metaverse 'exceeding expectations', and other metaverse stories you need to read

Apple has launched an augmented reality (AR) headset, marking a shift forward in the technology that could help bring the realization of the metaverse a step closer.

Apple's Vision Pro headset – the brand's first new product launch in over a decade – is being billed as a "spatial computer" that "lets users interact with digital content in a way that feels like it is physically present in their space".

The Vision Pro overlays real-world environments with elements of AR, and allows 100% virtual reality (VR) experiences. Its ultra-high-resolution display has 23 million pixels and a custom dual-chip design to prevent the kind of visual lags that would impair metaverse experiences. The price of Vision Pro will start at $3,499.

Apple appears to be pushing hard to make headway in the headset market. The news comes amid reports that the firm has bought US-based AR start-up Mira, which makes headsets for other firms and the US Army.

Meta will be launching a new higher-resolution headset at some point this year. The Quest 3 will offer VR and mixed-reality experiences and will feature "pancake optics" to improve visuals, as well as a next-generation chipset developed with Qualcomm Technologies to create smoother graphics. It will be priced from $499.99.

Developments in the industrial and enterprise metaverse are "exceeding expectations", according to a new study by Nokia and EY.

Companies already using the metaverse for industrial and enterprise applications are seeing major cost reductions – up to 15 percentage points in terms of capital expenditure and six percentage points for operational expenditure, The Metaverse at Work report says. This is beyond what firms in the planning phases for these applications have been forecasting.

The most common use cases include aiding with design and testing, such as through virtual prototypes, and optimizing elements of production and delivery, such as supply chains.

Almost 60% of companies who intend to venture into the industrial or enterprise metaverses have already got at least a pilot programme running, the report says.

The US and UK are ahead in these metaverse spaces, with 65% of report respondents in the US and 64% in the UK currently beyond the pilot stage or having fully deployed at least one industrial or enterprise metaverse use case.

However, there are still hurdles to overcome, including the set-up of extensive technical elements, particularly in cloud computing, AI, and network infrastructure and connectivity. Finding people with the right expertise in these areas is also an obstacle, the report says.