In Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality News
April 9, 2024 – Niantic, a provider of augmented reality (AR) technologies and the creator of Pokemon GO, has recently announced the extension of 8th Wall’s Metaversal Deployment to now include support for development on Apple Vision Pro. With this new addition, developers can build once and deploy across mobile devices and mixed reality headsets including Apple Vision Pro using the 8th Wall platform – Niantic’s suite of augmented reality (AR) tools for the web.
What is Metaversal Deployment?
According to Niantic, Metaversal Deployment “changes the way developers build and distribute spatial computing experiences.” Metaversal Deployment allows developers to create experiences for a multitude of platforms by providing a way to bridge the gap between devices in different ecosystems as mixed reality and spatial computing advances.
Originally launched in 2021 and updated in 2023 with pass-through support for devices like the Meta Quest 3, Niantic stated this latest extension to Apple Vision Pro capitalizes on the device’s WebVR capabilities. The update will now provide developers with an even more immersive platform to showcase their creativity.
How will Niantic’s WebVR tools work on Vision Pro?
One setback for WebVR developers on Vision Pro at this point is the fact that Apple has still not given the browser camera access yet. However, developers are still able to make use of Vision Pro’s advanced VR capabilities with Niantic’s tools, and can create experiences that seamlessly transition from immersive real-world AR on mobile or pass-through devices like Meta Quest 3, to a complete VR environment on Vision Pro, according to the company.
This “flexibility” allows for the deployment of consistent experiences across devices, or as Niantic puts it, “the creation of asymmetrical WebAR and WebVR experiences” that account for the differing and unique capabilities of each device. The company put out a basketball arcade sample to demonstrate how these types of experiences can be used across different devices.
How do Face effects for Personas on Vision Pro work?
One fun aspect of this announcement from Niantic is the fact that developers can now use 8th Wall’s Face Effects with Vision Pro’s Personas feature to make the experiences even more personalized. Personas are Apple’s answer for providing a dynamic, natural representation of the user that can be used while wearing Vision Pro. With 8th Wall Face Effects, these Personas can now be further enhanced to seamlessly incorporate within a WebXR experience, according to the company. This means that despite physically having a headset covering their face, Vision Pro users will still be able to enjoy WebXR experiences that include face filters, albeit through their Persona.
What does Niantic’s Metaversal Deployment on Vision Pro mean for XR?
Niantic stated that WebAR and tools like Metaversal Deployment will be the key to bridging the landscape between AR and VR devices, and by incorporating Apple Vision Pro into its Metaversal Deployment, the company is not only expanding the technical capabilities of AR creation and deployment; but also inviting the developer community to push the creative envelope further.
For developers and creators interested in building for Apple Vision Pro with Niantic 8th Wall’s Metaversal Deployment platform, the company has provided several sample projects in its project library. New users can also sign up for a 14-day free trial.
To learn more about Niantic, its 8th Wall platform, and its augmented reality solutions for the web browser, please visit the company’s website.
Image credit: Niantic
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About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.