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Virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR)

A customer tries the Apple Vision Pro at a store in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: Jelly Tse

As Apple’s Vision Pro hits China, 2 quite different users’ takes

A Gen Z gamer and a Gen Y gadget geek give their thoughts on the innovative but costly Apple Vision Pro as the mixed-reality headset hits shops in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Casual gamer Joanne Yau and gadget geek Ben Sin outline the pros and cons of the innovative but costly device as it goes on sale in Asia

4 Jul 2024 - 10:02AM

Apple’s Vision Pro launches in Hong Kong, drawing mainland buyers

28 Jun 2024 - 5:34PM

Play For Dream mixed reality headset: an improved Apple Vision Pro clone

28 Jun 2024 - 5:44PM

Apple’s Vision Pro headset sets China launch, facing fierce competition

Pre-orders for the mixed-reality headset start on Friday and shipments later this month, but the US$4,100 price tag is even steeper than in the US.

11 Jun 2024 - 2:37PMvideocam

A customer uses Apple’s Vision Pro headset at its Fifth Avenue store in New York on February 2, 2024. Photo: Reuters

ByteDance-owned TikTok said to cut hundreds of jobs globally

The lay-offs, which were announced internally earlier this week, are expected to affect TikTok’s operations and marketing departments.

24 May 2024 - 6:30PM

Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset obtains China quality certification

This development lends credence to Apple chief executive Tim Cook’s assurance that the Vision Pro will be released this year on the mainland.

14 May 2024 - 6:05PM

Alibaba’s Taobao launches 3D-capable app for use on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

The app marks the latest effort by Alibaba to improve users’ experience on its various online platforms via augmented and virtual reality technologies.

18 Apr 2024 - 7:06PM

Taobao’s 3D-capable shopping app for Apple’s Vision Pro headset marks the latest effort by Alibaba Group Holding to improve users’ experience on its various online platforms. Photo: Weibo

An Apple robot that follows users around the home could be its ‘next big thing’

Engineers at Apple have been exploring a mobile robot that can follow users around their homes, sources told Bloomberg, as the tech giant searches for new revenue.

4 Apr 2024 - 12:04PM

ByteDance raises annual bonus for high-performing employees amid restructuring

The increased bonus programme shows the lengths taken by TikTok owner ByteDance to retain and attract talent, even as the company continues to restructure its operations this year.

29 Mar 2024 - 9:30PMvideocam

Paris museum takes visitors back to birth of Impressionism via VR

Impressionism is 150 years old and to celebrate, the Orsay Museum in Paris invites visitors to travel back to the year the art movement began by putting on virtual-reality headsets.

28 Mar 2024 - 3:15AM

Wearing VR headsets, visitors to Paris’ Orsay Museum are transported back to the dawn of Impressionism in 1874 Paris. Photo: AFP

ByteDance invests in chip firm InnoStar as VR unit Pico faces Apple’s Vision Pro

ByteDance’s latest semiconductor-related investment shows the lengths being taken by the company to overcome the impact of tighter US tech sanctions on mainland China.

14 Mar 2024 - 7:00PM

People walk in front of a giant Pico headset advertisement inside a subway station in Beijing on October 20, 2022. Photo: Shutterstock

Xiaomi founder determined to make cars despite Apple’s EV exit

From Xiaomi to Xpeng, leading Chinese electric vehicle makers have expressed disbelief that Apple is ending its decade-long effort to build a car.

1 Mar 2024 - 2:47PM

Savvy Chinese merchants offer Apple’s Vision Pro for rent as official release awaited

Savvy merchants are renting out Apple’s Vision Pro headset as Chinese consumers await official release date in country.

26 Feb 2024 - 11:13PM

Opinion | When Sora meets VR, AI offers great rewards – and risks

OpenAI’s groundbreaking Sora, which generates video from text prompts, could offer never-before immersive experiences when combined with virtual reality – but could also boost misinformation and erode trust.

23 Feb 2024 - 7:30PMvideocam

A video created by OpenAI’s new text-to-video Sora tool plays on a monitor on February 16. The Microsoft-backed company said the new platform was being tested but released a few videos, accompanied by the text prompts, of what it said was possible. Photo: AFP

Apple Vision Pro at a fraction of the price? Try China’s Shenzhen

Shenzhen-based headset maker EmdoorVR is hoping to leverage the interest around Apple’s Vision Pro to survive a slowdown in the VR and AR industry.

17 Feb 2024 - 7:16AM

Shenzhen-based virtual reality headset maker EmdoorVR showcased its Apple Vision Pro-inspired device at CES in January. Photo: Handout

Apple’s Vision Pro lifts the prospects for extended reality sector: Rokid CEO

Rokid chief executive Misa Zhu Mingming said Apple’s Vision Pro headset is expected to spur broader demand for more affordable and ergonomically designed AR and VR wearable devices.

15 Feb 2024 - 5:30PM

How Apple Vision Pro virtual reality headset can enhance healthcare

Virtual reality is becoming increasingly useful in healthcare, and Apple’s new Vision Pro headset with its eye-tracking capabilities and high resolution cameras is going to help push the envelope.

12 Feb 2024 - 6:15PM

Apple gets angry calls from Vision Pro owners who forgot passcode

Unlike with other Apple products, users cannot reset the passcode of their headset without sending it back to the store.

6 Feb 2024 - 3:27PM

A customer tries on a Vision Pro at an Apple Store in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP

Alibaba’s DingTalk among Chinese apps launching on Apple Vision Pro

The visionOS version of DingTalk supports special features available only on Apple’s new device, including realistic avatars known as Persona.

7 Feb 2024 - 9:23AM

US Apple fans get hands on US$3,500 Vision Pro

US Apple Stores on Friday will start selling the Vision Pro, the tech giant’s US$3,499 mixed-reality headset and its first major release since the Apple Watch nine years ago.

2 Feb 2024 - 2:11PM

ByteDance CEO wants to whip employees into shape amid fierce competition

Chief executive Liang Rubo said ByteDance has become slow and inefficient in the face of increased competition.

31 Jan 2024 - 2:57PM

ByteDance operations saw at least three rounds of lay-offs last year. Photo: Reuters

Chinese buyers offered double-priced Apple Vision Pro headsets on the grey market

A grey market for Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset is emerging in China, with resellers doubling the official price to lure enthusiasts ahead of its official release in the US next month.

22 Jan 2024 - 7:00PM

The Apple Vision Pro headset is displayed in a showroom on the Apple campus, June 5, 2023, in Cupertino, California. Photo: AP

Netflix has no plans to make an app for Apple’s first 3D headset

Rather than designing a Vision Pro app or supporting its existing iPad app on the platform, Netflix says users can watch its content on a web browser.

18 Jan 2024 - 12:45PM

Will China’s video gaming industry return to having fun in 2024?

Althiough 2023 ended with a market rout, many analysts expect more overseas opportunities for Chinese video game developers in 2024, helped by quality titles.

13 Jan 2024 - 12:00PM

Google cuts over 1,000 jobs to focus on AI amid rivalry with Microsoft

The cuts struck both rank-and-file employees and executives, including four vice-presidents and 25 directors.

12 Jan 2024 - 11:55AM

China augmented reality start-up Rokid gets US$70 million in new funding round

Rokid deal comes as Chinese authorities increasingly step up as private equity investors in projects in line with local development strategies.

10 Jan 2024 - 10:52PM

Rokid’s AR glasses on display at CES International in 2018. Photo: AP

Hisense and TCL push AI in TVs, chase industry trends like smart cars

Hisense and TCL, the two biggest Chinese TV brands, offered competing narratives about AI processing and the ability to produce their own technology in-house at CES 2024 in Las Vegas.

10 Apr 2024 - 4:46PM

Apple seeks to expand mixed-reality market with Vision Pro headset

Apple’s high-priced Vision Pro mixed reality headset will be available in its stores from February 2, launching the company’s push to broaden the appeal of what so far has been a niche technology.

9 Jan 2024 - 3:33PM

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Virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR)

Tech companies are actively pursuing developments in virtual reality - which involves creating an interactive virtual world using body motion tracking and headsets - and its sister technology, augmented reality, which combines real world and virtual data into the experience. Find out the latest developments in these industries right here.