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Virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR)

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.
The Project Aura eyewear from Xreal and Google is expected to compete with other augmented reality spectacles from the likes of Meta Platforms, Orion and Artemis. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

Meet Chinese start-up Xreal, Google’s partner in AR glasses project

Project Aura provides a big boost to Xreal’s credentials in the smart glasses arena, while widening its reach in the international market.

Artificial intelligence

Google unveils flurry of upgrades as AI threatens search business

Artificial intelligence

Geely-owned DreamSmart to push mobile payments via AI smart glasses

Metaverse

Facebook owner Meta lays off more than 100 employees in Reality Labs

The job cuts affected staff focused on creating VR experiences for Meta’s Quest headsets, and those working on hardware.

A person tries out a MetaQuest 3 headset at the Facebook parent’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Photo: AFP
Art

Can AI-driven art offer real social commentary? This artist thinks so

Inhwa Yeom uses XR and AI to create artworks offering social commentary; catch her at the Hong Kong Arts Centre’s ‘Future Tense’ exhibition.

Apple

Apple prepares major interface revamp for iPhone, iPad and Mac

Loosely based on the Vision Pro headset’s software, the new design could help revive demand for Apple’s iPhones.

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Artificial intelligence

Rokid’s AI-infused AR glasses wow China with real-world demo

A demonstration by company founder Misa Zhu at a government event has gone viral on social media and sparked a stock market frenzy.

Misa Zhu Mingming, CEO and founder of Chinese augmented reality (AR) start-up Rokid, introduces the Rokid Glasses at a launch event last year. Photo: Weibo
Artificial intelligence

DeepSeek’s AI models give boost to China’s smart glasses sector to take on Meta

The start-up’s powerful and cost-efficient models have “fundamentally reshaped the economics of AI deployment’, smart glasses maker Rokid’s founder says.

Art

Inside Beijing-based artist Cao Fei’s ‘My City is Yours’ exhibition in Sydney

The retrospective at the Art Gallery of New South Wales is a cyber-city trip where reality meets the virtual in the glow of nostalgia.

US-China tech war

Chinese exhibitors are back at CES 2025 despite US tech tensions

While Chinese companies comprise over a quarter of registered exhibitors, many tech giants are notably absent.

CES, which takes place annually in Las Vegas, is one of the world’s largest consumer technology trade shows. Photo: AP Photo
Food and Drinks

Mouthing Off | Sugar, salt … durian. A device zaps your tongue into tasting them all

Scientists at City University of Hong Kong have invented a device that can mimic flavours by zapping the tongue with an electric current.

The gadget looks like a lollipop and is able to send VR taste sensations when electrified. Photo: PNAS
Architecture and design

Notre-Dame expo takes visitors on virtual history tour of Paris icon

An augmented-reality show is coming to Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, celebrating the history and reopening of the landmark after the devastating 2019 fire.

Education

Are VR headsets the future of education in schools?

Virtual reality headsets can help to teach languages and train workers. Do they have a bright future in schools? Experts weigh in.

Artificial intelligence

Chinese AR start-up Rokid puts Alibaba AI in smart glasses to take on Meta

Rokid’s US$345 smart glasses are the latest from China to adopt generative AI to capitalise on the burgeoning product category.

The Rokid Glasses include a number of use cases that are aided by artificial intelligence, including real-time translation and messaging. Photo: Rokid
Wearables

These AR glasses can tell you names and addresses of people you meet

Two students created augmented reality smart glasses that identify people they see, exposing the risks of mixing AI with facial recognition.

Imagine a pair of glasses that could tell you the name and address of anyone you met. Harvard students Caine Ardayfio and AnhPhu Nguyen made them a reality in just four days. The students adapted Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and computer software to create spectacles utilising existing face recognition technology to identify people in real time, underscoring the potential for augmented reality (AR) in future. Photo: X/ AnhPhuNguyen1
Apple

Apple explores smart glasses, following Meta’s lead

An internal study is under way to gather feedback from Apple employees on smart glasses, sources say.

Alibaba

Alibaba cuts ‘dozens of employees’ at metaverse unit as sector’s hype cools down

The lay-offs affected Alibaba metaverse unit Yuanjing’s operations in Shanghai and Hangzhou, according to a report.

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Artificial intelligence

Review | Seeing is believing: Chinese smart-glasses maker Even Realities bets on visuals

The US$600 G1 glasses are a premium, display-oriented product in a market increasingly flooded with cheap Chinese alternatives.

Even Realities’ G1 smart glasses use mini-LED projectors to display things such as turn-by-turn navigation and live translations on the lenses. Photo: Even Realities
What to do in Hong Kong

5 great shows for arts fans in Hong Kong this weekend, October 4-6

A Chinese instrument masterclass and a Grammy nominated duo are part of a feast for music fans this weekend. And an art fair is back.

Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms will produce virtual reality headsets in Vietnam

Facebook parent Meta said it will produce its next-generation virtual and augmented reality headsets in Vietnam, creating 1,000 jobs.

Artificial intelligence

Meta’s chatbot will speak in voices of celebrities like Awkwafina

Meta’s new feature comes after rival OpenAI introduced a ChatGPT voice that sounded like actress Scarlett Johansson, without her consent.

Asian-American actress Awkwafina at the Emmy Awards on September 8. Photo: AP
Metaverse

Smart glasses, AI features to boost AR and VR headsets growth

VR and AR headset makers are expected to ship over three times more devices in 2028 than this year, says research firm IDC.

A man tries out a Quest 3 virtual-reality headset at the Meta Platforms headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Photo: AFP
Alibaba

Alibaba’s Taobao puts Xiaomi car buyers behind virtual wheel

After an update to Taobao’s app on Apple’s Vision Pro headset, users can test drive Xiaomi’s SU7 virtually before buying it online.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Ballet artistic director on ‘over the top’ The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz has been a favourite of Septime Webre since his childhood. His version of the tale of Dorothy and her friends for Hong Kong Ballet leans towards the ‘outrageous’, he says.

History

Japanese city’s VR tour shows devastating aftermath of atomic bomb

In Hiroshima, hit by a US atomic bomb on August 6, 1945 during World War II, a travel company is operating a unique virtual reality tour to offer visitors an immersive window into Japan’s past.

Tabimachi-Gate Hiroshima’s Hiroshi Yamaguchi uses his company’s VR headset on a tour of Hiroshima. Photo: AFP
Technology

Effects studio behind Marvel’s Avengers to set up Hong Kong R&D centre

Digital Domain’s research and development centre in Hong Kong will focus on artificial intelligence-powered virtual humans and their application in service-oriented environments.

Supervillain Thanos in Marvel Studios’ 2018 film Avengers: Infinity War. Photo: Handout
Wearables

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.

Apple

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

The 256-gigabyte basic model sells for roughly US$550 more on the mainland than in Hong Kong.

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