New Meta Quest 3; Open AI Talking to Jony Ive; Google’s Upcoming Pixel Event; Musk Disabled Misinformation Reporting Feature on X

Meta has announced the Meta Quest 3, and it will be showed off on October 10th at a Meta Connect event. Unlike its predecessor, the Quest 2, the $499.99 Quest 3 will function as both a virtual reality and mixed reality headset. That means, like Apple’s forthcoming Vision Pro headset, you’ll be able to see and interact with the real world while you wear it. According to theverge.com, Meta claims the Quest 3 should offer double the graphics performance of its predecessor and even outperform last year’s Quest Pro, though it won’t offer more battery life. While it is more powerful, the headset is also smaller and slimmer, which Meta claims should make it more comfortable to wear. I agree…smaller and slimmer are huge selling points. You can preorder through Meta or B&H photo, and the Quest 3 will ship on October 10th. You can also sign up for preorder notifications at Best Buy, which will then let you know when those stores will start accepting preorders. At $499, Meta should be able to get a better foothold in the mixed reality headset world while Apple will be selling their headset next year at $3500!

Former Apple design guru Jony Ive, who moved back to Britain several years ago, is apparently in talks with OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT about a hardware project. The Information reports that in addition to Open AI CEO Sam Altman, Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of SoftBank, is involved in the proposed project in some manner. Altman and Ive have only begun discussing what a piece of hardware could do or look like, not concrete features, capabilities or target market yet. OpenAI once ran a robotics research division, which explored ways machines can learn to perform complex tasks like solving a Rubik’s Cube. But it disbanded the team in July 2021 after encountering major technical roadblocks — and presumably cost overruns. I for one, welcome our upcoming AI powered robot overlords. Good grief!

Google’s Pixel Event 2023 is October 4th in New York City. A number of leaks have already revealed much of what will be shown off at the event. Besides the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, we expect to see the Pixel Watch 2. Engadget.com says that the Pixel 8 Pro will had a slightly smaller screen than its predecessor and the screen will be flat, not curved. Leaks already indicate upgrades in both camera hardware and software. Besides that, as we have reported, the Pro will have an infrared temperature sensor. That sensor doesn’t appear to be photography related, but might sense the temperature of inanimate objects. Perhaps the best feature may not be a feature at all…and that is the expectation that Google will support the Pixel phones with 7 years of software updates. It does look like we can expect a $100 bump in price for the Pixel 8 to $699…but the 8 Pro will start at $899, the same price as the 7 Pro. 

Back in 2022, Twitter (now X) introduced the option for users to report misleading or misinformation on the app, however, that option has now disappeared. According to gizmodo.com, Reset, which follows this sort of activity, said in a statement “It would be helpful to understand why X have seemingly gone backwards on their commitments to mitigating the kind of serious misinformation that has translated into real political instability in the US, especially on the eve of the ‘bumper year’ of elections globally.”  Reset reported that X removed the “politics” category last week from every jurisdiction except the European Union, where the Digital Services Act (DSA) prevents social media from displaying misinformation on their platforms. X has not responded to inquiries about the eliminated option.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.