Latest news with #Rift
Egypt Independent
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Tech promised virtual reality would revolutionize entertainment. That moment might finally be closer than we think.
CNN — Virtual reality was supposed to transform entertainment. At least, that was the expectation roughly a decade ago with the arrival of the Oculus Rift, the first virtual reality (VR) headset that many believed would push VR into the mainstream. In 2025, the industry has failed to deliver on that promise. But tech and entertainment giants alike believe that moment could be closer than ever. The evidence is there. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Meta is in talks with Disney, A24 and other entertainment companies to produce immersive content for its Quest VR headsets. Apple announced an update to its Vision Pro headset in June, enabling users to share content with other headsets — ideal for watching movies together in 3-D. Earlier this year, Apple also launched an immersive Metallica concert for the Vision Pro and announced in July it's readying its first upgrade to boost the Vision Pro's performance. Taken together, this signals that tech and media behemoths are still betting that consumers will be willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands, to experience concerts, movies and sporting events beyond the confines of a traditional screen. A chicken-and-the-egg paradox In the 10-plus years since Oculus debuted the Rift, headset manufacturers have produced lighter, more powerful devices. Meanwhile, companies are finally warming to the idea of another medium for storytelling. Tech companies have a history of flirting with VR projects aimed at mainstream users. In June, Meta offered live virtual rinkside tickets to Stanley Cup games, echoing previous NBA and WNBA offerings. Headset owners have attended virtual concerts for years, including Apple's immersive Alicia Keys session and Meta's Blackpink show. Disney even launched a Disney+ app for Apple's Vision Pro on Day 1 in 2024. But these have been pilots to gauge interest, not long-term investments. Historically, headsets have been trapped in a chicken-and-egg paradox: to woo entertainment content, they need mass adoption; but to reach that scale, headsets need premium content. The technology must also be comfortable, powerful and popular enough to gain mass appeal. For Sarah Malkin, director of entertainment content for Meta's VR division Reality Labs, that cycle is already being broken. 'I think the 'it moment' is when you are regularly engaging in experiences in mixed reality that are super complementary and part of your integrated life,' Malkin told CNN. 'To me, that's already happening.' Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets increased by around 10% in 2024 to 7.5 million and nearly 30.8% to 3.4 million in the US, according to IDC, a global market intelligence and data company. Although IDC predicts shipments around the world will tumble this year due to delayed product launches, it expects a massive rebound in 2026 with worldwide shipments surging 98.5% to 11.3 million. However, the results haven't always lived up to the hype. Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse has cost Meta $46 billion over three years. Reality Labs, the company's VR division, posted $4.2 billion in operating loss and just $412 million in sales in Q1, down from the previous quarter. But tech giants continue to experiment with the technology. Meta invested $3.5 billion in eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica SA to bolster its AI spectacle gambit, according to Bloomberg. (A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the report.) Snap recently said it plans to launch new augmented reality spectacles next year, and Google continues to work with partners like Xreal and Samsung on upcoming headsets and glasses that run on its new Android XR software. Samsung will be among the first to launch such a device with its upcoming Project Moohan headset. Attendees photograph Samsung's Project Moohan mixed-reality headsets with Google at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, on January 22, 2025. Michaela Vatcheva/Bloomberg/Getty Images A young boy plays with Meta Quest 2 all-in-one VR headset during a festival of video games and other digital entertainment in Zaragoza, Spain, on October 15, 2023. Nano Calvo/VW Pics/UniversalWith more sophisticated hardware and a budding content portfolio, Bertrand Nepveu, a former Vision Pro contributor and partner at Triptyq Capital, said wider adoption is crucial. 'It's still early, but there's no technical limitation right now, it's more (that) we need people to invest because you need a critical mass,' Nepveu told CNN. A paradigm shift in content Although big names like James Cameron and Sabrina Carpenter are already beginning to explore VR, immersive storytelling has yet to gain that crucial widespread popularity. Slow growth can be partially attributed to incorrect assumptions by studios. 'You can't just take the flat version of what you put on Disney+ or Netflix or Amazon, and just throw that up,' Jenna Seiden, an industry consultant and adviser who has worked with Skydance Media, Niantic, CAA, and Xbox, told CNN. 'You need to build natively so the audience is going to have a different experience per platform.' While creating media for virtual and mixed reality may seem like a departure from developing content for 2-D screens, Seiden says the secret to success is a tactic media companies are already familiar with: exclusivity. 'You look at the creation of HBO (Max), you look at the creation of Apple TV+, they grew their audiences based on exclusives, that's why you went to them,' Seiden said. 'I think that model is very familiar to entertainment companies, and they can go to their board saying, 'Hey, this is how platforms grow, with exclusive content.'' That's what makes live virtual sports an easy way to break down extended reality (XR) barriers for audiences. Paul Raphaël, co-founder of Felix & Paul, said sports can be easily adapted for immersive platforms using 180-degree cameras. Audiences experience VR e-sports games at the 2025 Jingxi E-sports Festival in Beijing, China on June 28, 2025. CFOTO/'You already have quite a few events and sports being broadcast, whether it's live or asynchronous,' Raphaël said. 'As the audience grows, it's a really straightforward path to create the content or to broadcast the content.' For Hollywood, the possibility of a new major distribution platform couldn't come at a better time. In today's fracturing media environment — shaken by streaming, the collapse of the cable bundle, and post-Covid box office woes — a new medium could be a crucial selling point, especially for entertainment boards looking for a new revenue vein. Jack Davis, co-founder of CryptTV, said headsets might provide a much-needed pipeline for premium content. 'As gigantic structural changes happen in TV and film, the industry is going to need to replace those things in the aggregate,' Davis said. 'This could be one of the only formats that premium entertainment actually seems like it makes sense (for) the user base.' Budgetary and content hurdles Over the past decade, investment in VR has been eclipsed by more pressing innovations, including self-driving cars and AI. Although it's difficult to determine how that has directly impacted XR investment, funding data from Crunchbase, a predictive company intelligence solution, shows that backing for AI and self-driving has steadily increased, rising from $39.96 billion in 2019 to $105.36 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, XR funding has experienced more erratic behavior — reaching a peak of $4.087 billion in 2021 but dropping to $347.69 million by 2025. Things were much the same in the venture capital world, where the number of global VR deals has also dropped in recent years. PitchBook, which examines private equity and VC deals, notes that 2019 was the largest year for VC deals in VR in the last decade, recording $6.43 billion in deals worldwide. That was significantly smaller than the $57.084 billion from AI-focused venture capitalists that year. In 2025, VR VCs have fallen to only $3.61 billion in global deals while AI VCs have grown to $130.89 billion. But Nepveu said that's changing. 'Now that AI is more understood, you know what it's good for, what it's not capable of, the budgets now are going back into XR,' Nepveu claimed. People stand in line to purchase the Apple Vision Pro headset at the Fifth Avenue Apple store on February 02, 2024 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Still, tech giants investing in the development of mixed reality headsets face a daunting challenge that extends beyond the entertainment available. They need to convince consumers that the devices are both worth paying for and putting on their faces. That's partially why Apple emphasized the Vision Pro as a spatial computing tool, focusing on work and productivity rather than just 2-D and 3-D entertainment capabilities. Still, even a decade later, experts can't seem to agree on exactly when VR will have its breakout moment. Nepveu said it could happen any day. Raphaël expected one or two years. Davis suggested three to seven. Seiden said five to 10. Raphaël, however, believes 2-D content may soon feel as dated as pre-Technicolor entertainment. 'Content, the way it is consumed today, is going to be much like we think of black and white movies, where, if a film isn't immersive, it doesn't lose its value, but it becomes something of another era,' Raphaël said.
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First Post
09-06-2025
- Business
- First Post
Cone crisis? Why ice cream prices are soaring this summer
An analysis by British consultancy firm Rift found that the cost of ice lollies and cones in UK supermarkets increased by 7.6 per cent in May. With the global ice cream market estimated at $81 billion (nearly Rs 7 lakh crore) in 2024, there is increasing attention on rising prices. Notably, coconut oil, a key ingredient in many ice cream products, has become more expensive, leading to the overall price hike read more An analysis found that prices of ice lollies and cones in UK supermarkets rose by 7.6 per cent in May. Image: Pixabay/Representational Summer and ice cream go hand in hand. But what if that chilled treat ends up costing more right when the heat is at its peak? An analysis by British business consultancy Rift found that prices of ice lollies and cones in UK supermarkets rose by 7.6 per cent in May. ALSO READ | Having ice cream to beat the heat? Here's why it's not the best idea With the global ice cream market valued at $81 billion in 2024, there is a growing focus on what is behind these changing prices. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So, what's pushing ice cream prices up, and which parts of the world are behind the impact? We answer these questions: Why ice cream prices are rising this summer Coconut oil is an essential ingredient in many ice cream products, and its rising cost has pushed up ice cream prices this year. As demand continues to be higher than supply, prices are expected to go up further. Further price gains are likely as demand continues to outpace supply. Last year, the ice cream industry brought in close to $80 billion in sales. Image: Pixabay/Representational Last week, coconut oil from the Philippines, being sold wholesale in Netherlands' Rotterdam, crossed $2,700 per metric ton. That's almost twice the price compared to the same time last year and roughly 200 per cent higher than the average between 2000 and 2020. The earlier peak was in 2011, when prices touched around $2,300, as per a Bloomberg column by Javier Blas. Coconut oil is widely used in the food industry due to its high melting point. It helps ice cream, especially gelatos and varieties with hard shells, stay solid at room temperature without changing the taste or texture. Ice cream is a major global industry. Last year, it brought in close to $80 billion in sales. What is driving coconut oil prices up? Coconuts grow best in tropical climates with plenty of sunshine and rain. But over the past year, weather patterns have disrupted this balance. The El Nino phenomenon, which causes warmer sea surface temperatures across the Pacific, brought drier conditions to Southeast Asia from June to October last year. This has had a direct impact on coconut production in Indonesia and the Philippines, which together supply about three-quarters of the world's coconut oil. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Because coconut trees take around a year to bear fruit, the dry spell has resulted in smaller yields in 2024, reducing the available supply. Coconut oil is an essential ingredient in many ice cream products. Image: Pixabay/Representational However, this decline alone was not enough to cause the sharp spike in prices. The bigger factor lies in a different part of the coconut market: biofuels. In the Philippines, the government requires diesel to be blended with coco methyl ester, a fuel additive made from coconut oil. At first, this policy had little effect on overall supply. But in October last year, the blending target was raised to 3 per cent, with plans to reach 4 per cent by late 2025 and 5 per cent by the end of 2026. ALSO READ | How a Chinese company beat Starbucks, McDonald's to become world's largest fast-food chain Which countries should be watched? The Philippines is the largest producer in this market, accounting for 45 per cent of the world's coconut oil. As the government shifts large volumes of coconuts into biofuel production, ice cream prices in the United States and Europe are expected to rise as a result. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If current plans are followed, the Philippines will divert around 4.5 billion coconuts to produce the 500 million litres of coco methyl ester needed to meet its biodiesel targets by late 2026, according to Bloomberg. Coconuts grow best in tropical climates with plenty of sunshine and rain. Image: Pixabay/Representational Indonesia, the second-largest supplier, contributes 28 per cent, followed by India at 13 per cent. The rest of the supply comes from about a dozen other tropical nations, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mexico and Ivory Coast. Due to poor weather in 2023 and 2024, global production is expected to fall to 3.6 million metric tons in 2024-25, a drop of nearly 10 per cent from the previous season. Early estimates suggest that production will likely remain low in 2025-26 as well. Are chocolates adding to the problem? To cut costs and protect profit margins, more chocolate manufacturers are replacing cocoa with cheaper alternatives like coconut oil. Even at current high prices, coconut oil remains more affordable than cocoa. It is a common substitute for cocoa butter, especially in vegan and dairy-free chocolates. This growing shift in the chocolate industry is adding further demand pressure to an already strained coconut oil supply. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jimmy Kimmel on ‘Dumb Guy' Elon Musk Going ‘Nuclear' on Trump With Epstein Accusation: This Ends With ‘One of Them in a Cell With Diddy'
Jimmy Kimmel joined in on the late-night host riff session tackling Elon Musk and President Trump's escalating feud, which has seen the tech billionaire leave the administration and allege that the commander-in-chief is named in U.S. government documents about Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, died in 2019 in what authorities said was a suicide; he was being held in a Manhattan jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. 'Elon Musk went absolutely nuclear. He tweeted — let's put that up on the big screen — 'Time to drop the really big bomb. Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they've not been made public,'' Kimmel recounted with a grin. 'I knew this day would come, and yet somehow it's even better than I imagined.' More from Variety Seth Meyers Roasts Elon Musk For Waiting Until Now to Allege 'That Trump Might Be a Pedophile': 'You Already Knew That and It Wasn't a Dealbreaker' Elon Musk Claims Donald Trump 'Is in the Epstein Files': 'That Is the Real Reason They Haven't Been Made Public' Donald Trump Says Elon Musk Has 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' as Rift Grows: 'I Don't Know If We Will' Have a 'Great Relationship' Anymore 'That's a serious accusation. What does Elon know? What evidence could there possibly be that Trump was in league with Jeffrey Epstein? Other than this and this,' Kimmel continued, as archival images and footage of Trump and Epstein together were shown on the broadcast. 'If it's not true, he could get sued for a zillion dollars.' Kimmel then turned the monologue onto Newsmax anchor Carl Higbie, roasting an on-air claim that 'Trump might be working with Elon in tandem here to tank his own bill in a 4D chess move.' 'These dumb guys are so dumb they assume other dumb guys like Trump are geniuses,' Kimmel said. 'In February, Elon tweeted, 'I love Donald Trump as much as a straight man can love another man.' They couldn't quit each other. It was like 'Woke-back Mountain' with these two. Now it's all gone and battle lines are being drawn.' Musk and Trump's alliance has rapidly deteriorated over recent days. On Tuesday, Musk slammed the Trump-backed spending bill as a 'disgusting abomination' and wrote that 'Congress is making America bankrupt.' On Thursday, Trump said he was 'very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill' and suggested that Musk — like some others who have left his administration — suffered from 'Trump derangement syndrome.' 'You've got one MAGA hero accusing another MAGA hero of withholding the Epstein files because he himself is a part of them. And what do they do? I can't wait to find out,' Kimmel said. 'My prediction: at the end of this, one of them's in a cell with Diddy.' Guests on Thursday's episode of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' included Seth MacFarlane, Draymond Green and Ty Dolla $ign. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?' What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elon Musk Claims Donald Trump ‘Is in the Epstein Files': ‘That Is the Real Reason They Haven't Been Made Public'
In an explosive allegation, Elon Musk — amid a real-time escalating feud Thursday with President Trump — claimed that Trump is 'in the Epstein files.' Musk, in a post on his X social media platform, wrote, 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' Musk later added, 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' More from Variety Donald Trump Says Elon Musk Has 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' as Rift Grows: 'I Don't Know If We Will' Have a 'Great Relationship' Anymore Jimmy Kimmel Roasts Trump for Sharing 'Deranged' Theory Claiming Biden Is a Robot Clone: 'This Is Deeply Nuts... if Your Dad Was Saying This, You'd Look for an Assisted Living Facility' Elon Musk Slams Trump's Spending Bill: 'A Disgusting Abomination' 'The Epstein Files' is a reference to U.S. government documents about Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced multimillionaire financier and convicted sex offender. Epstein died in 2019 in what authorities said was an apparent suicide while he was being held in a Manhattan jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk's allegation. On Feb. 27, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, who was appointed by Trump, declassified and publicly released the 'first phase' of files related to Epstein and 'his sexual exploitation of over 250 underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida, among other locations,' according to a Department of Justice announcement. Many of the documents had already been public and they did not include a list of Epstein's clients; Bondi had told Fox News in a Feb. 21 interview that the Epstein client list was 'sitting on my desk right now.' Before Epstein's death, federal prosecutors had charged him with sex trafficking of girls as young as 14 years old and collecting child pornography. He pleaded not guilty but was denied bail after a judge determined he posed a significant flight risk. Epstein's network of friends in Hollywood, Wall Street and Washington, D.C., had included Trump and many others, including Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Mick Jagger, Kevin Spacey and former President Bill Clinton. According to the New York Times, Musk was 'photographed at a party in 2014 with Ghislaine Maxwell, one of Epstein's longtime associates and a former girlfriend who was convicted in 2021 on charges that she aided Epstein in his sex-trafficking activities.' Maxwell received a 20-year prison sentence in the case. In 2018, Epstein told the Times that he had been advising Musk but Musk denied that at the time. Musk, who owns X, has more than 220 million followers on the platform (formerly called Twitter). Best of Variety Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?' What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Hypebeast
04-06-2025
- Business
- Hypebeast
The adidas Stan Smith Low Ballet Emerges With an Ultra Flat Sole
New photos have emerged showing a possible Ballet variant of theadidas Stan Smith Lowthat is allegedly landing this Summer. Evolving from the 'balletcore' and 'cocquette' trends that have infiltrated women's fashion in recent years, the adidas Stan Smith Low Ballet forgoes frilly trims and delicate details for a minimal and refined feel. With an ultra-flat sole, a stripped-down upper, and an elegant seam bisecting the toebox, the model evokes luxury leather shoes likeMaison Margiela's Tabis,Lemaire's Piped Slippers, andThe Row's loafers. Closer to adidas' sphere, the reimagined model also evokesNike's polarizingAir Rift, which features a Japanese-inspired Tabi toe and a Mary Jane-like upper. Rather than leaning into performance sensibilities like it did in theTaqwa Bint Ali x adidas Megaride Mary-Jane, the Stan Smith Low Ballet appears to be more of a lifestyle model due to the absence of technical aesthetics. The variant is shown in two colorways: a sleek all-black and a stark white with bold red trims. Like the original Stan Smith, the classic three stripe overlays are replaced with perforated stripes and the back collar showcases the recognizable trefoil logo. Finally, in place of a traditional lacing system, adidas opts for a truly Ballet-geared design with a singular leather strap. As of the time of writing an official release date has not been announced for the rumored Stan Smith Low Ballet, but stay tuned to Hypebeast for further updates on the model's release.
