The Magic Leap augmented reality headset is one step closer to becoming a reality, as a recently unearthed job posting indicates that testers will soon begin capturing “environments and user behavior” in real-world settings.
Magic Leap’s data-gathering initiative will kick off at the company’s headquarters in Plantation, Florida. Testers will be expected to drive capture equipment to “nearby locations” in order to gather geographic data for future augmented reality applications.
While Magic Leap’s hardware capabilities remain shrouded in secrecy, its creators are enthusiastic about the headset’s ability to deliver “mixed reality” experiences. Recent patent filings feature illustrated designs for the Magic Leap headset, revealing that the device uses a pair of eyepieces covered by a large front-facing shield, similar to technology currently employed by VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
Magic Leap targets the augmented reality field rather than virtual reality, however, putting it in closer competition with Microsoft’s in-development Hololens peripheral. Google, currently making inroads into the virtual reality industry with its own Daydream View mobile VR headset, invested $542 million into the Magic Leap project in late 2014. Other early investors include technology manufacturer Qualcomm and film production company Legendary Pictures.
As anticipation builds for Magic Leap’s forthcoming debut, the company is set to hire a team of data collectors who will capture environmental details in and around Magic Leap’s Florida headquarters.
“This position involves collecting data with Magic Leap devices in real-world locations,” the company’s Field Engineer job listing reads. “Work will entail setting up and using high precision equipment to capture both environments and user behavior in home settings. Applicants will be based at Magic Leap Headquarters in Plantation, and drive with equipment to nearby locations for data collection.”
A targeted launch date for the Magic Leap is not yet known.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.