Zellweger worked on the HTC Vive headset, though he also worked on previous HTC smartphones, such as the HTC 10, and One M8, which was developed in partnership with Scott Croyle, now at Nextbit. For the time being, we're expecting that Daniel Hundt will continue to oversee HTC's smartphone offerings. HTC sources have reportedly told Engadget that Zellweger left the company in July 2016, but stayed on in a "grace period". The Vive, which is widely thought to be the best VR headset available, went through several prototypes before the team behind it settled on a final consumer design. Google has long-been rumoured to be working on its own high-end standalone virtual reality headset. According to a report from Engadget last July, sources at Google said the team is working on a headset that 'blurs the line between virtual reality and augmented reality'.

Google quietly readying Daydream 2 as an HTC Vive killer?

Amazon's retail plans could extend well beyond books and groceries. New York Times sources hear that the internet giant is "exploring" the possibility of appliance and furniture stores with a technological angle. You'd use augmented or virtual reality to see how items would look in your own home, making it easier to pull the trigger on that new couch or stove.

Amazon considers opening augmented reality furniture stores

The HTC Vive is widely regarded as the best VR headset available, with its motion tracking system allowing users to walk around within the virtual world. Despite it's restrictive, £600+ price tag, the headset managed to impress last year with its motion tracking abilities and controllers that allow for more immersive interaction within the VR experiences. But one thing that many users aren't so taken with is the bundle of cables that protrude from the headset and connect to the PC that's powering the whole thing. It's a necessary part of the system at this point, but at CES 2017 in January, HTC demonstrated how high-quality wireless VR will soon be arriving, by showing off wireless PC-powered virtual reality.

Watch a not quite wireless HTC Vive prototype in action

According to a report in the Financial Times, Apple is accelerating development of augmented reality glasses, or smartglasses. It was during Apple's fiscal 2016 Q3 earnings call in July 2016 that CEO Tim Cook uttered the immortal words:

. . . AR can be really great. And we have been and continue to invest a lot in this. We are high on AR for the long run. We think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity.

Since then, there have been numerous reports concerning Apple's development of AR glasses and the FT report is only the latest. At this year's CES, blogger Rober Scoble claimed in a Facebook post that he had talked to an employee of Carl Zeiss AG who confirmed rumors that Zeiss and Apple were working on smartglass technology.

When Will Apple's Smartglasses Arrive? - Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) | Seeking Alpha

Google’s VR ambitions go way beyond the recently-announced Daydream View headset, according to a report on Monday. Engadget sources say Mountain View is working on a high-end mixed reality headset that would not require a smartphone like Daydream, or a computer like the Oculus Rift. Those familiar with the matter say the visor would feature eye tracking technologies and sensors to ‘map out the real world space in front of the user’ to provide positional awareness. This will be aided by AI chips provided by a company called Movidius, which is currently in the process of being purchased by Intel.

Google working on standalone VR headset that’s more HoloLens than Rift - report

If Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has his way, you'll never have to buy a gadget with a screen again. Instead, you'll be using a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses or even contacts in the future in order to place digital content on top of any surface. At a keynote speech at Facebook's annual F8 developers conference Tuesday, Zuckerberg said that while the company is kicking off its AR efforts with the smartphone camera and screen, the ultimate goal is to just have one gadget that rules them all.

Mark Zuckerberg wants to replace all screens - Business Insider

It's easy and obvious to say that Facebook's push into AR and cameras now is a reaction to Snapchat, the rival social networking service with its signature filters and AR effects. And that is probably true. But the much larger motivation behind Facebook's investments in virtual and augmented reality is simple: to not miss out on the next big wave of technology that comes after smartphones. That's why Facebook paid billions for Oculus, is working on its own AR hardware and brain-controlled sensors, and is opening up its AR camera effects to developers now. If Facebook can build the AR equivalent of Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones, it has a shot at controlling the platform on which every other company will have to build AR hardware.

Why Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to kill the smartphone with AR - Business Insider

Let's strap on our hypothetical AR headset and hit the streets. You'll be able to see how much that cafe charges for a cup of coffee without having to go in. Meeting a friend at a new bar? If you're lost, you can literally see step-by-step directions floating in front of you, with arrows lined on the ground pointing you the right way. If you're unsure about the weather, look to the skies and your headset will tell you the forecast for the next few hours. Now, you've met a friend and you like their top -- your AR device can tell you where you can get your own, and for what price.

"What will make, and is actually already making AR big, is the great ability to make everything more engaging," said Mirko Ferrari, head of business development at AR developer Inglobe. In a world blessed with AR, Ferrari says people will do a lot of interacting with buildings -- "whether they are homes, stores, hospitals or cultural attractions" -- with the flick of an eye. There are also workplace applications, with an AR-based "smart helmet" for industrial workers already being designed by a company called Daqri. Suppose a worker is trying to fix a pipe. His boss, in another room but also wearing a smart visor, can add notes and directions that will appear in real-time over the worker's vision. That worker could then add a note to the pipe, such as "crack fixed here", which can then be seen by anyone working on it in the future.

AR is like your phone: Soon you'll feel naked without it - CNET

Magic Leap is beefing up its ranks with artists and animators from an Oscar-winning studio and veteran game designer, in a sign that the $4.5 billion company believes content could play a critical role in the success of its highly-anticipated "mixed reality" product. Magic Leap's special glasses, which overlay detailed digital imagery on top of the real world, have wowed the tech industry's leading personalities and attracted healthy investments from Google and Qualcomm, among others.  Magic Leap is expected to ship as some form of its headset later this year, at a price between $1,000 - $2,000.

Magic Leap acquired Fuzzycube Sotware, looked into buying Moonbot Studios - Business Insider

The splashiest of this bunch is an instant-on, standalone headset — think of it as a Daydream viewer with the phone built in, optimized for VR. Google has built a prototype “reference model” of this headset with Qualcomm’s help, and in the coming months Lenovo and HTC VIVE will release sleek commercial versions. The price is expected to fall in the mid-hundreds range—similar to the higher-end VR rigs sold by Oculus and HTC, but without the $1,200 or so supercharged computer that those products require.

Inside Google’s Slow-Mo Virtual Reality Moonshot – Backchannel

At the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara, VR and AR companies showed off their latest and greatest products. Despite the numerous gadgets, and the huge growth we’ve seen from AWE since last year, our major takeaway is unfortunately a little pessimistic. It looks like AR isn’t going to hit mainstream audiences for quite some time. But there are plenty of groundbreaking AR and VR technologies that keep the field exciting, many of which made appearances at the show. Let’s take a look.

AR Was Everywhere At AWE 2017 -- But Is It Ready For Mainstream? | Digital Trends

Apple announced something on Monday that was "a light year ahead of everything else that's out there," according to Gene Munster, but it slipped below the radar. The company announced a new augmented reality development platform, ARKit, that will bring augmented reality capabilities to hundreds of millions of devices. While most people know AR as the technology behind Snapchat Lenses and Pokemon Go, it's much more important, according to Munster. "AR is going to be the operating system of the future," Munster told CNBC's "Fast Money" on Monday.

Gene Munster: Apple ARkit most revolutionary thing from WWDC

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke on Tuesday from the annual Facebook Developer Conference, or F8, at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. At the keynote address, Zuckerberg said the company's "act two" will be augmented reality, letting users digitally overlay communication on top of the real world. "Think about how many things in our life don't have to be physical, but can be digital," Zuckerberg said. "And think about how much more ... affordable and accessible they will be."

F8 2017: Zuckerberg keynote live

Microsoft has the HoloLens headset. Google has Project Tango for Android devices, and, one day, headgear like Google Glass. Facebook announced its AR ambitions a few months ago, and Mark Zuckerberg even said AR glasses will replace the need for most screens in your life one day. Apple's approach is different. There weren't any AR goggle demos or TED talk-esque prophecies about how a pair of glasses will soon be the only computer you need. Instead, Apple is starting with something already very familiar: the iPhone and a new way for developers to build AR apps for the phone. When iOS 11 becomes available on tens of millions of Apple devices this fall, Apple will immediately have the largest AR platform. Even better, it'll be on the devices that people already use, not futuristic glasses or headsets. Apple will get a major advantage over its AR competitors with one simple software update.

Apple WWDC announcements build toward the future - Business Insider