The XR Week Preview (2025.07.28): Upcoming Quest Features Revealed, Brilliant Labs’ New Smartglasses Launch, and More!

Hey there, summer lovers! ☀️

Hope you’re squeezing every last drop out of this sunshiny season! Grab your iced tea or whatever your summer vibe is, and let’s dive into the wild world of tech updates. And hey, there’s a giveaway—who doesn’t love free stuff?

This Week’s Top Tidbits

Meta Quest Whispers
Okay, so there’s this post by Luna over at Upload VR—dataminers snooping around the Quest software found some juicy bits. But, don’t quote me, this stuff isn’t officially from Meta. But here’s the chatter:

• Horizon Home Revamp: Looks like the stationary setup is outta here. Say hello to a social, dynamic space, kinda like an add-on to Horizon Worlds. You can pop world portals, 2D windows—all shareable! And apps? Yep, pin those too.

• Plaza Overhaul: Horizon Worlds gets a facelift with a new central plaza and tweaked UI. When you’re wandering through these virtual realms, you can peep back at your home space floating in the virtual sky—trippy, right?

• Events Arena: A new spot called the Events Arena for, you guessed it, events! What kind though? Beats me.

• Photoreal Adventure: Meta’s taking that cool Horizon Hyperscape demo with Gaussian splats (whatever that means—I failed geometry) and spinning it into Horizon Photoreal. Upload your phone-scanned places, and voilà—social media, but for places.

Tech Explorations

Brilliant Labs & Their Snazzy Specs
Come July 31st, Brilliant Labs is dropping something new on us—smartglasses. Their past projects? Total hits. So, odds are this one’s a gem too. And surprise! Bobak Tavangar, a cofounder, is doing an AMA on /r/augmentedreality. Even if you’re not geeky about smartglasses, this might be worth a peek.

Sharp? More Like Sharp-ish
Sharp’s showing off a VR controller—kind of a glove, kind of a controller—with haptic feedback. Vibrations and all. It’s priced at about $680 if Japan’s your playground. First impressions? We’ll see when the reviewers do their thing.

Meta’s EMG Wristband
Meta’s got this wristband idea with gestures—think writing characters mid-air, swiping, tapping, all that jazz. Looks super easy and adaptable. Whether it catches on? Let’s cross our fingers.

Google’s Glassy Lab Work
Google showed off smartglasses at TED and I/O, but Karl Guttag thinks it might just be an experimental deal with Raxium microdisplays. The yield? Barely feasible for commercial use. So, lab show-off? Seems so.

Gaming Glimpses

VR Games Showcase is Back
August 12th—mark it. Promises of major game reveals and updates. There’s this pre-show "XR Indies & Friends," but honestly, the big hitters will probably steal the limelight.

Pico Summer Sale
Rocking a Pico headset? Discounts up to 50% on select titles—ends August 10th. Time to flash that credit card.

Real Golf, Virtual Course
There’s this Quest 3 game, Putt Window, combining real golfing gear with virtual fields. Just be mindful of flying balls at home, yeah?

Studio News

Farewell, Dungeon Full Dive
TxK Gaming Studios (creators of Dungeon Full Dive) is calling it quits. They’re offering the $50 GM Edition of their RPG toolkit for free next week. A bittersweet farewell but a generous perk.

Random Grab Bag

• Sound Bath by TRIPP
  Exploring new relaxing audiovisual journeys—dreamy stuff.

• Billie Eilish in 3D
  Her latest concert was filmed for Meta Quest headsets. Next level, right?

• Customize in Rec Room
  A new AI buddy for you—Roomie. Your digital sidekick in Rec Room.

Quirky Mentions

• Xiaomi AI Glasses Review
• Viture’s High-Bright Smartglasses
• VR Android File Manager
• Pimax Discounts

Bonus Bits

BEATABLE Giveaway Alert!
Hand-tracked rhythm game BEATABLE is now out of Early Access. New features like custom song editing and visual upgrades. If luck’s on your side, grab a freebie key here—race you to it!

Well, that’s my chaotic take on this week’s XR happenings. Dive into some, skip others, just don’t miss the goodies.

Oh, and let’s throw some love to the Red Cross helping out in Ukraine—link’s up there if you’re feeling generous.

Catch you on the flip side! 🌟