Weekly XR Highlights (2025.07.21): Bytedance Explores MR Headset, HTC Teases New Product, and More!

Sure thing, let me take a stab at this — and, oh boy, it’s gonna be a ride. So, here we go:

Hey folks! Buckle up for this week’s AR/VR circus, I mean, news update! It’s not just slightly more interesting than last week—it’s a whole carnival! Plus, I’m throwing in a little key giveaway. Yeah, you’re welcome. Oh, and if you missed my chit-chat with the geniuses behind Animal Company, you’ve still got time to check that out. Seriously, go dive in for juicy tidbits on crafting a killer XR game and a sneak peek at a new game mode. Excited yet?

This Week’s Head Scratcher

Anyway, let’s gossip about Pico first. So, word on the street—thanks to The Information—is that Bytedance has ditched the whole Pico 5 thing. No biggie, right? Now they’re all about this mystery headset called "Swan." It’s lightweight with a computational puck situation. Yeah, I know, sounds like a skating move. We’re talking about something feather-light, like 100 grams. Bytedance is even tweaking chips similar to whatever Apple’s cooking with its R1 for Vision Pro. Déjà vu? Maybe ‘cuz Meta’s been whispering similar stuff. Naming theirs Puffin or Phoenix or whatever. Pico, always the nosy neighbor, am I right? As for me, I’m still questioning this puck thing. It annoys the heck out of me every time I play with the Vision Pro. But hey, let’s wait for the market drama to unfold.

More scoop here.

Oh, Meta… Always Meta

So, Meta’s showing off at SIGGRAPH with their wide-FOV headsets. You know, the kind that takes VR and MR up a notch, with 180° horizontal FOV or something like that. They’ve got terms like “high-curvature reflective polarizers.” Sounds intriguing, no clue what it is though. It’s just a research gig as of now, so who knows if this will see daylight. They’re being all hush-hush about it.

Additional gossip here.

HTC Playing Coy

HTC Vive’s teasing folks on social with what’s probably a new product. All we’ve got are coordinates pointing to Taipei 101—thanks for the geometry lessons, HTC! They’re based in Taipei, in case you missed Geography. This could be a headset, or, who knows, maybe a headset cozy? Stay tuned for more tweets, I guess.

More tidbits here.

Psst… Whispering Other News

More tiny bytes for you. Did you know 3v3 VR brawler Brazen Blaze’s now free on Horizon and Steam? No shocker there, since everyone’s going free-to-play now. With VR being flooded by kids, I see why people think F2P’s a jackpot. But really? VR market’s too puny to sustain this F2P craze. Unless you’re Gorilla Tag.

Some sprinkle of details here.

Oh, and speaking of Alex and the Jets, they’ve added VR mode. Probably because Quest 2’s MR is meh.

Keep those peepers peeled here.

And then there’s quirky Silicon Carbide glasses from Coray with some forbidden tech irony. Interested? Proceed with caution.

Discover more here.

Quick Dips and Dashes

How about squishy stuff? Free key for Squishies on Quest! Mad air-powered motion controls and rotund aliens await you.

Free key scramble here.

Final Tidbits

Your friendly nudge to consider donating to the Red Cross for Ukraine. I don’t need your dollars, but they might. And, a shameless tip of the hat to my Patreon supporters keeping this rambling alive. You guys rock.

Want to help? Donate Here.

Phew, that was a long spiel. Anyway, thanks for sticking through this chaotic ride! Keep peeking at the tech universe, and I’ll catch ya later. Maybe.

So yeah, there you have it. A ramble of this week’s happenings in AR/VR, all jumbled into a delightful mess. Happy reading!