Weekly XR Highlights (2025.05.05): Meta Quest Sales Disappoint, Passthrough Apps Arrive on Horizon Store, and More!

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Okay, gotta admit — I wish I could tell you this past week in the XR world was a rollercoaster of thrills, but nope. Super quiet. It was May 1st and people took off — go figure. But hey, I’ve got some trips lined up soon that should be cool. (More on that tomorrow, promise!)

So, what did happen? A few neat XR tidbits, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Weekly Rundown: What’s Actually Happened?

Meta Reality Labs: Not Their Shiniest Day

So, Meta laid down its earnings and let me tell ya, Reality Labs didn’t exactly have champagne-popping news. First quarter of 2025 was down 6% compared to last year. And don’t even get me started on their losses… $4.6 billion spent and whoosh, $4.2 billion gone.

Quest sales really fizzled out — think a drop around 30%. The Quest 3 had its moment in the holiday spotlight, but now? Not so hot. And Horizon Store isn’t helping. Remember Ghost Town? Only like 6500 folks unlocked its first achievement. Ouch. Meanwhile, the Ray-Ban glasses are flying off the shelves. Three times the sales over last year, says the Zuck. If that ain’t a hint they’ll pivot more towards smartglasses, I don’t know what is.

New Stuff: Camera Access Goes Big

Here’s one for the developers: you can now roll out apps with camera access on the Horizon Store. After some test runs, it’s official. You can get all artsy with merging real and virtual (and yes, AI’s playing a role). ImmerGallery’s doing some wild stuff — turning the Quest 3 into a 3D camera, I mean, who saw that coming?

Privacy? Always a nagging thought. But Meta’s saying they’re pretty tight on data usage. Hope that holds up, right?

Blink and You Might Miss It News

Digging Up Data on Quest’s Future

Okay, Luna’s piece on Quest data mining got me curious. They’re throwing hints like a revamp in UI and windows management. Sharing windows with others — kinda neat. And using your eyes to unlock Quest 4? We’ll see.

Pimax Connect Incoming

Oh boy, Pimax has some whispers, so they’re hosting Pimax Connect online. Guaranteed it’s not like every other Connect out there (totally unique name). Everyone’s eyeing the Pimax Dream Air. Fingers crossed they don’t drop another 73 headsets out of nowhere.

MeganeX 8K Superlight’s Bumpy Ride

MeganeX 8K Superlight finally saw daylight, but not without hiccups. Reddit’s abuzz about the fit struggles, lens issues — and if the software runs clean, it’s gorgeous. Otherwise, yeah, a headache. And refunds? Nah.

Infin…Confusion?

Infinite Reality got $3B from some mystery power player. They’re snapping up companies like they’re on a shopping spree, yet no clear aim. Forbes dug up the investor, Sterling Select. Still, everything’s murky.

Quest 3: Live Meshing Magic

Julian Triveri’s back on the radar with live 3D mesh reconstruction — but without camera access. He’s using Depth APIs, don’t ask me how. It’s battery-hungry but kinda awesome.

Miscellaneous Updates and Shtuff

• EA’s hit pause on their rally games. Codemasters made terrific VR rally games, sad to see this happen.

• Psytec Games chatted with Upload VR about their game Titan Isles.

• Legends BMX, the mixed reality cycling game, is coming on May 8.

• VR civilization builder Surviving Mars: Pioneer hits Early Access also on May 8.

Random Gossip and Updates

• Apple’s making strides for its Vision Pro with the Godot engine and more.

• Your Motorola can pair with Quest — what a time to be alive.

• Shiftall had a rough MeganeX launch. The fit’s tricky and tiny lens sweet spots have people grumbling.

And For a Bit of Fun?

Quest 3 looking kinda sus, but in a fun way. Just some goofy stuff floating around.

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