All the biggest VR and AR announcements at CES 2023 (2023)

CES 2023It may wrap up earlier this month, but the impact of virtual reality on some of the products on display should be felt for some time. We saw new devices from everywhere.mixed reality spektrum— PlayStation brought a new VR gaming experience, Lumus surprised us with augmented reality glasses, and HTC introduced a mixed reality headset designed to compete with theMetaQuest Pro.

Fortunately, we were able to test some of these VR and AR headsets, and there are a few others that still caught our eye. Here are the five biggest VR and AR announcements from CES 2023, making us excited to see where the VR journey will take us this year and beyond.

CES 2023: PS VR2 test

We have managed to go hand in hand with what has yet to be released.Playstation VR2and we were very impressed, at least by the performance of theVR-Gaming-Auriculares.

The VR2 removes the PlayStation camera from the originalPlaystation VRrequired and upgrades old PlayStation 3 Move controllers to newer PS VR2 controllers that are more like the newer VR controllers. Add in the increased processing power, higher resolution, and wider field of view and this version has a lot going for it.

Unfortunately, there are some obvious drawbacks. In order to use this computing power, the PS VR2 must be connected to thePlaystation 5and the cable does not come out. You'll also need to have a PS5 to use the headset, a requirement that will cost you hundreds of dollars on top of the $549 you'll have to spend on the PS VR2 headset.

Ultimately though, performance is up compared to the previous generation and the competitors are nice.Meta-Quest 2Combined with compatibility with the PlayStation ecosystem, it gives this gaming headset a real chance to make a splash. If you can get past the expensive barrier to entry, PS VR2 could be a great way to get into VR.

CES 2023: the new HTC Vive XR Elite

PlayStation wasn't the only new thingAuriculares VRused at CES 2023. htchas announced a new Vive headsetin the run up to CES 2023 and then unveiled it during the show. As a mixed reality headset that allows the passage of augmented reality (AR), it offersHTC Vive XR-Eliteseemed to be taking aim at the new Meta Quest Pro released last fall.

Once we get our hands on it, however, the latest Vive looks closer to a Meta Quest 2 competitor, making the $1,099 price point a bit worrisome. AR's passthrough lags due to its high resolution, which really detracts from AR's productivity potential of working with it at a desk or walking across a room. There are also occasional glitches in manual tracking that spoil the experience when that's the case.

But the HTC Vive XR Elite has a lot of positives. The resolution of 1920 × 1920 pixels per eye is excellent, it's lightweight and comfortable to wear for over an hour at a time. And while the content isn't impressive so far, accessing Steam VR via a PC connection gives you a portable VR gaming experience that graphically should look better than Meta Quest 2 (we've yet to test it directly). . The really shocking feature for some might be the adjustable IPD sliders, which allow people with low vision to use the headset without glasses - currently my biggest personal complaint about Meta Quest 2.

CES 2023: Lumus AR-Brille

Despite the shifts towards mixed reality and Apple's Tim Cook stating that AR is Apple's ultimate goal, the AR market has felt relatively quiet compared to VR and Mixed Reality.

However, CES 2023 had one standout AR device:Slow Lumus Z. This set of Google Glasses-style AR glasses is a bit bulky, but could probably be mistaken for regular glasses if they weren't a relatively bold purple. Unfortunately, however, this is just a prototype, as Lumus doesn't actually sell the glasses, but rather the technology behind them.

This technology, called wavelength guidance (or waveguide) technology, squeezes and manipulates the projections on the upper corners of the eyeglass frame. The lenses then shift the projections so that they are centered in your vision and you can see the entire projection even with one eye.

While Lumus isn't the only company using this waveguide technology, it promises that its waveguide lenses are brighter (five to 10 times brighter) than the competition. Our own Kate Kozuch agreed: she said that she had never seen AR so clearly and that wearing her glasses makes her feel present enough to interact with her surroundings when necessary.

CES 2023: TCL RayNeo X2 AR-Shines

Another newcomer to the AR glasses market is TCL, which has been quiet on the market for a while. Already in 2021 we treat themNxtwear G Smart Glasses, which allowed the user to connect a compatible device and view content on their glasses as AR projections.

A wire coming out of your head isn't exactly subtle. this year thoughTCL(opens in a new tab)introduced the RayNeo X2 AR glasses, and luckily, no cable is required to use them. The AR glasses feature full-color micro-LED waveguides with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, significantly four times brighter than the 4,000 nits that Lumus promises with its waveguide technology.

Still, the RayNeo X2 promises to look like regular glasses (which it largely does) and serve as a powerful smart assistant with navigation, translation, and music playback capabilities. It also promises to enable "next-level content" creation with an integrated hands-free camera that can capture photos and videos.

The promise of AR glasses is certainly enticing, and if it weren't for "Glassholes," we'd already be there. But between the Lumus, TCL and the rumorapple glasses(which are not expected before 2026), that future may finally return to normal.

CES 2023: Holoride Upgrade Kit

In conclusion, we got some car VR news from CES 2023, which is certainly a niche within a niche. Don't worry,Holoride Upgrade Kit(opens in a new tab)it was definitely one of the more interesting bits of VR technology announced at CES this year. This kit includes an aftermarket VR sensor that detects a car's motion and position to deliver motion-synchronized VR in your vehicle, a subscription to Holoride's VR entertainment service, an 8BitDo Pro 2Standardsand aHTC VIVE StreamVirtual reality headset. Oh, and a seat belt because, let's not forget, you're playing VR games in a moving vehicle.

This isn't the first time Holoride has put VR technology in a car. Last summer Audi vehicles started supporting Holoride to bring you thisPlay virtual reality games in the back seat of an Audi. This was done via the Audi MIB 3 infotainment system, so it works a little differently than the Holoride update, but not too different.

While we have trouble playing VR games in the back seat of a moving vehicle for a variety of reasons (users do so at their own risk), and we certainly don't recommend it if you're the driver, it's true that it's great to have this really unique use case for VR gaming.