XR Weekly Roundup (2025.04.30): Meta Enhances Ray-Ban Meta, Refurbished Quest 3S at $270, and More!

Sure thing, let’s dive in and give this article a real shake-up. Here goes:

Wow, so here we are. And you’re reading this even though it’s right around May Day, huh? That means while a bunch of folks are grabbing some downtime, you’re trying to catch up on XR news. The irony? I’m here, tip-tapping away, and it’s technically the workers’ holiday. Does that make me a bad worker, or a really dedicated one? You decide. Anyway, if by any chance you can tear yourself away from family or whatever you’ve got going on, I have a little VR treat—get your hands on Harpagun for free. Yay, confetti!

Big News, Bigger Glasses

Okay, so Meta’s blasting through like a runaway train with these Ray-Ban Meta glasses. I’ve heard they’re hustling to get their HUD glasses out by October and meanwhile, they’re throwing updates at the Ray-Bans like… confetti at a parade? Just go with it:

• Now they can translate languages like English, French, Italian, and Spanish live. Why those languages? Probably a love letter to Essilor-Luxottica.
• They’re also dropping AI features all over Europe. Those privacy roadblocks weren’t stopping them.
• And oh, the States and Canada will soon chat live with AI on these glasses. Throw in some new designs, sprinkled like toppings on a pizza.

Meta’s hoping these specs aren’t just a fleeting fancy. In a couple years? Maybe we’ll be all about smartglasses. Or they’ll be the digital equivalent of bell-bottoms—who knows?

More Tidbits

So, you know how you sometimes find stuff in the attic and it’s like stumbling upon treasure? Well, Meta’s selling refurbished Quest 3S for $270. Bargain bin or golden find? Depends on who you ask. Oh, and someone thought it’d be amusing to hold back BigScreen Beyond 2 shipments ’til June because of some PCB hiccup. Props for honesty, but someone lost a lot of sleep over that one.

Oh, Italy. Geez, my homeland released this “strategy” document on VR and AR that’s more sci-fi fantasy than reality. It’s like discovering you’ve been in The Matrix all along. Did I miss the whole country walking around in VR headsets? Or was I too busy at my laptop daydreaming about digital thematics?

I mean come on, who said these ideas even started in ’92? Wasn’t Oculus Luckey just stepping into his first diapers then? Clearly, reality and paperwork don’t always mix.

Quick Bites

• Spacetop’s going software now. A $200 annual ticket to enhance your Windows device with AR glasses. Will it blow your mind or your budget first?

• Varjo’s got Teleport 2.0 now, whipping up 3D scans of spaces with what? Just your phone. Soon enough, you can reconstruct your messy living room, in 3D.

• Meanwhile, Insta360’s newest cam, the X5, promises sharper videos, 11K? Almost makes my eyes hurt thinking about it.

Personal Ruminations

This whole narrative had me spiraling into nostalgia about Mozilla Hubs, and dreaming about transforming TV experiences with things like Relic. They’ll take that fiery scene and boom—your living room’s an inferno. Just don’t torch the place, you know? Execution’s the kicker with all this tech.

And while I’m vibing about The Elder Scrolls IV in VR or those quirky titles like Ghost Town that’s getting rave reviews, I’m thinking—how does one get from a document about VR in Italy that feels ChatGPT-written to actually making waves in XR? Feels like some poetic chaos.

Anyway—what was I saying? Is there caffeine in this thing? Thanks for sticking around. Now, go get that game or enjoy your day off—I wish I was.

And that’s all we’ve got. But let’s pretend you didn’t see me scratch my head halfway through it. Cheers!