magic leap livestream (4) — Captured by Road to VR, image courtesy Magic Leap

Magic Leap Promises to Show a Real Demo and Share Specs on Today’s Livestream

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Jul 11, 2018

Following the company’s last session of ‘Magic Leap Live’, wherein the company had promised that viewers would get to “meet Magic Leap One”—but then offered no substantive details and dodged the audience’s most prominent questions—the company is promising to share specs and offer up an actual demo during today’s Magic Leap Live session.

Update (July 7th, 2018 – 1:06PM PT): Magic Leap did indeed offer a glimpse of a developer demo captured on their headset during the livestream, and also shared some specs on the device’s compute hardware. We have a recap of the details here including video of the demo.

Original Article (July 7th, 2018 – 10:05AM PT): Magic Leap has a long history of repeatedly teasing its purportedly groundbreaking AR headset and then failing to deliver substantive details, despite plans to launch the developer version of the headset by the end of 2018.

Things seemed to hit fever pitch with Magic Leap’s enthusiast and developer community last month when the company made it seem ahead of their live developer session like they were finally ready to spill the beans on what the headset could do and what it’s like to use it. But those that took the time to sit in on the session were dismayed to find that the hosts did little more than talk about menial aspects of the headset—like what the buttons do and how to put it on your head—without showing a proper demo of the device and then proceeding to ignore the audience’s most prominent questions like launch date, price, weight, resolution, field of view, and more.

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So we’re not exactly holding our breath for the next session of Magic Leap Live, but the company claimed today that it plans to share “some” specs, and do an actual demo of the Magic Leap headset.

“On our next episode of #magicleaplive, we’ll dive into some Magic Leap One specs and share a demo of an upcoming developer sample,” Tweeted the company’s official account.

The next session of Magic Leap Live will be hosted on the company’s Twitch channel today July 11 at 11AM PT (your timezone here). You can watch the session live right here:

impurekind

I’m totally underwhelmed by this product so far.
- Smokey_the_Bear
  
  That’s because they haven’t revealed anything.
  Hopefully that changes July 11, I watched the last event they had, it was “ok”, it was nice to actually see it, but I want some freaking specs! This won’t hit consumers hands until (probably) mid 2019…which is roughly when Hololens 2 comes out…I’ll be amazed if they can make a better product then Microsoft.
  - lovethetech
    
    Sorry, it will be lower than HL1, forget about HL2.
    
    ML is a HypeStick on a dud as in Lipstick on a pig.
dfg

lol,VR nerds dosent want to like Magic Leap because of all the teasing ^
- gothicvillas
  
  What this got to do with VR? Oranges and apples..
- dk
  
  what teasing ….it’s a slightly better hololens
- Trekkie
  
  If ML1 us version 1.1 of the Hololens then it will Dead on Arrival.
Gil Hagi

“share a demo of an upcoming developer sample” doesn’t mean a demo of the device. It’s probably sample code for the simulator.
- Jono MacDougall
  
  Yup, this article is misleading. They did not promise a demo of the device.
  
  Also the last stream showed a full hardware demo, detailing every bit of the device. I’d hardly call that “no substantive details”.
Kev

I bet some aspects of this are sufficiently disappointing that they are hyperactive about guarding the specs. I hope they surprise us all with something really special.
- bud
  
  It looks out of date and hasn’t even launched yet, click it into a SNES and get a duck hunt gun out.
- LowRezSkyline
  
  I keep thinking they must be holding back. Otherwise it makes no sense the likes of Google throwing bags of money at them. I still think even if it turns out to be ‘magical’ it’s going to be a tough sell at $1500-2000 price point they have alluded too. 3DO all over again.
  - Kev
    
    I hope it turns out to be something special, it just seems the flow of information seems managed to a extremely high degree.
Rolf Adelsberger

Do you know Occam’s Razor?

There are a few companies (I don’t know the details, but I suspect all of the competitors have less cash available/assigned to AR R&D than ML) that already HAVE working units of such system. MS Hololens, Meta etc. just to name probably the most prominent ones.

There ARE systems that work. These companies involve the community and use their feedback to improve the systems. Hololens 2 is due soon, I heard.

So, back to Occam’s Razor: What is the most reasonable explanation for most situations if anybody tells you: “I have X, but I cannot show it to you right now.” Repeatedly… All we’ve had so far are very motivating CG-clips, people that talk about what MagicLeap supposedly can do etc. Do you know anybody who actually used the prototype? I mean: do you know them personally? Why don’t they speak up? Oh, right… Because there is apparently an NDA in place that prohibits to talk about the experience etc… Rrrrriiight…

That said: I’m still curious what they are going to show. However, frankly, I’m seriously troubled by how much goodwill they receive just because they showed some nice videos/pic… People are bashing every little detail of existing systems and are thrilled about something that does not exist yet (proof that it does, please!!).

If the worst case kicks in and they don’t have anything REALLY good to show it will be another hit to the credibility of Hardware-“Startups”. It’s going to be another fail (oh, hello Theranos). And if later on, somebody else comes with a REALLY good idea, that actually works, nobody will believe them…

It would prove once again that it is so much more (financially) effective/efficient to sell dreams/promises than to ACTUALLY create/invent and show it…

Let’s see – I’m really curious…
- dk
  
  it’s basically slightly better than the hololens1 and will be something like $2800
  ………nothing magical to see here
  - Rolf Adelsberger
    
    Magic is an illusion. I want a device that I can put on and use.
    - dk
      
      so u r in the market for an….. expensive somewhat big not that light and mostly meant for developers headset ….which is not massively better than the 2 year old hololens
      …..and it might reach the average consumer in something like 4 generations
      ….but yeah seeing demos like the hololens demos will be neat
      - Rolf Adelsberger
        
        No, I’m in for a AR device that exists.
        Look, if I’m wrong regarding MagicLeap, I’m very happy about that! What they promise is so much better than all the others.
        
        However, these are only promises. There are other companies actually building stuff. Not perfect devices, but there is progress. Anybody that actually develops/invents novel ideas knows that it is a process. Just stating “hey, we just have this magic leap” forward in technology is… unbelievable.
oompah

Make it good looking
bobby reyes

At this point: they need to wow us with something. This is damaging their credibility with future consumers. When this first came out, I was stoked. I was gonna save up some money and buy it at launch etc. What has got me disappointed is this slow, maybe, peekaboo and middle finger routine (maybe that is what it seems like). I get they need to be private and only have one moment to impress ppl, so maybe they are “waiting” for the proper moment.

I want this to succeed and become something if it exists. Ppl who use this claim it’s revolutionary. Ok, now it’s time to show and tell. Please… If this continues, it’s gonna seriously start to annoy ppl. The press is already getting agitated. I suggest going the “Tony Stark” route if they want to redeem all these missteps.
brubble

Hype equals money, widespread disappointment equals none.
cataflic

If they can’t show a prototype of mr with 200° foveated rendering with eye tracking, 8k per eye resolution wireless they’ll be blaimed for useless hyping
- dk
  
  the fov is just slightly bigger than the hololens the angular resolution will be pretty similar to the hololens meaning no visible screen door
  - cataflic
    
    yep, I really don’t know anything certain about that, but so much hype for an average item doesn’t worth it
    - dk
      
      the official reveal article approved by Rony said …..fov slightly bigger than the hololens …..analysis of the patents show about 45horizontal/30vertical/55diagonal fov and the settings in the sdk show that it’s something like that
      it will be a pretty neat device for various reasons but it will be just an incremental improvement over the hololens and it will still be pretty big/expensive/not that great/meant mostly for developers ……..it’s not going to be anything “magical” compared to other headsets….but it will be pretty neat
      - cataflic
        
        We’re waiting for Enterprise warp 11 and we’ll only have Voyager …..beam me up Scotty!!!
philb

From what I gather it sounds like there are still hurdles they have to go over till it’s ready. I believe people like Qualcomm and others are developing custom hardware for it. It sounds like it is a stand alone device that is going to cost around 2,000 dollars. Also if you wear glasses you may have to get a prescription to use it. It sounds like the optics and custom hardware needed could be holding it up. Whatever they have it was enough for Google to invest 100’s of millions and Alibaba too on top of California VC’s millions. So the challenges are huge but the opportunities are great.
Trekkie

1. If the demo sucks I think ML is dead and this will have negative repercussions on the AR industry in general.
2. The ML unit seems to be sensor heavy. Current AI research seems to point to the fact that things like occlusion can be computed by AI using just the single color camera – not even stereo. This might reduce size/cost and might leave ML1 slightly behind the curve.
3. I think the peripheral vision is important. I would like to have wider glasses but the AR overlay can fade out near the periphery. Tunnel vision like in ML1 might not fly with users.
4. My view is that AR glasses will need help from the environment so most walls in the city should have “AR friendly” patterns so that tracking can work. Also be encoded in some way so that the glasses can use that info to overlay graphics. Avoid reflective glass walls – or maybe the glass has an encoded pattern in infrared to help the glass overlay properly. etc….
Sponge Bob

6DoF controller tracking demo pleeeeeaze !!!

If it really works it’s well worth it
If not then the whole thing is DOA

Hand/finger tracking is tiring as hell and doesn’t accomplish much in terms of productivity software (AutoCAD etc), despite all the hoopla
brandon9271

Magic Leap is the Duke Nukem Forever of HMDs. It will never live up to the hype and ultimately flop but those developing it will have a fun time of booze and strippers until it all falls apart.
- brubble
  
  It doesn’t really matter at this point, they’ve made their billions.
  - LowRezSkyline
    
    I doubt they have much of it left, you think Shaq put that thing on for free?
    - brubble
      
      HAHA yes quite!
NooYawker

Next week people will finally be able to put one on and say “WOW, OMG this does exactly what Microsoft’s hololens does!!!”
- JJ
  
  yupp most likely
Johnny

Which Muppet would wear that. You look like a reject from mad Max or Riddick. As good as it might be how many of you would walk down the street wearing that? Maybe at a fancy dress party…
- MosBen
  
  I’m pretty sure that this isn’t intended to be worn while walking down the street, so the answer is “No one”.
  - brandon9271
    
    People love to show off. It might look ridiculous but it screams “I’m so wealthy I have $2000 to spend on useless crap!” Never underestimate pretentious people
    - Laurence Nairne
      
      Were that the case, Google Glass wouldn’t have been a flop. People might buy useless crap for lots of money if they feel they can appear trendy and new age, but they won’t continue to use it if it doesn’t fit their lifestyle.
      
      I’d only really imagine the likes of Will-I-Am wearing this outside of a windowless room and he’d probably leave it switched off.
bud

no body cares any more its like the pacman vs flloyd fight, when it did eventually happen sure it was big but it lost most of its appeal.

I am into new tech but not really interested in this, they have damaged their appeal by over doing the secrecy no?

its like a bad taste in the mouth, you work with the public not treat them as the enemy.

Also how long has this been going on for, its more than 4 or 5 years now no?v (Launched: 2010)

They are irritating people is what I can see.
- brubble
  
  By duping investors with hyperbolic BS these guys sure have a sweet bank roll. IMO the smart ones didnt buy in.
TGIFrydave

I’ll believe it when I see it.
Lucidfeuer

So how does it fare to the HoloLens and at what price? Nobody gives a sh*t besides some corporate tech-washing PRs.
Nerd from Texas

Does anyone else think that the goggles used by the villains in the Incredibles 2 movie look EXACTLY like the current Magic Leap product? It seems rather damaging for Magic Leap that a movie that has sold at least $500 million of tickets in the United States shows their product as evil.
TonyVT SkarredGhost

I see that we all are resigned for what concerns Magic Leap
Get Schwifty!

So tired of the ML hype train… just get it over with, either put up or shut up at this point. Wouldn’t be surprised to see their CEO featured on American Greed at some point…
Jack Liddon

Not to be cynical….but this looks awful.
- brubble
  
  No No, cynical really works in this case.
Ian Shook

This is painful.
- Get Schwifty!
  
  Agreed- complete waste of time. Save yourself the trouble mainstream – go buy an Oculus Go.
Ian Shook

The first set was weird. The current set is very “fellow kids”. It’s overly styled and they put too much time into ‘image’ and so little into actual content and advancement of the device. The tracking looks sketchy. I mean I think they’ve shown a total of 10 seconds of ‘through the device” view.
- R3ST4RT
  
  From the looks of it, when they originally showed the robot it was still building the room mesh. It will be interesting to see a longer demonstration.
peteo

uses a Tegra X2 which is equivalent to NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 which came out in 2010. Thats why they want you to use as much of the real world as possible
- brandon9271
  
  Exactly!!!
hugorune

The demo would have been so
much more convincing with a beautiful
girl sitting on that couch instead of
a rock monster.
- Laurence Nairne
  
  …and this is why gaming expos still have booth babes.
Laurence Nairne

Yeah if they want her to stack it like Madonna, I’ve seen welding goggles with paler lenses.
Daemon Hunt

Well that twitch stream: fail. Utterly boring, nothing new, the viewers are gonna be pissed. For all that money, I would spend it on better presenters to start. Highly energetic, engaging Gen-Y or Millenial kids would be way more gimmicky.