Viveport / Gorillaz / Lifeliqe / Lighter Vive Headset — Inside VR & AR

The newest model of the HTC Vive headset weights 15% less than the Vive Pre launch version, bringing it to about the same weight as the Oculus Rift. Road to VR notes that HTC happily did not wait until the next-Gen headset to make the adjustment, as "comfort is still a major hurdle" in the adoption of VR tech. The company has been refining the unit since its market debut: "We’ve made several improvements since launch including a new 3-in-1 cable. We’ve also made smaller improvements to the weight due to component swaps and improvements in manufacturing," said an HTC spokesperson. (The company has also released a video reflecting on "one year of VR.") – ROADTOVR

HTC is launching its Viveport subscription service, which many are calling "Netflix for VR." For a $6.99/month (or $84/year) subscription, members get to choose five VR titles from Viveport's offerings, which include buzzed-about experiences like theBlu and Apollo 11 VR. With each month's renewal, users can keep the five titles they have or switch them out of for different applications. As with Netflix, interested parties can start with a free trial month and cancel at any time. And users who deselect a title for a month or two and then return will find their leader board stats still active. – MASHABLE

Paid android app "Lithodomos VR" offers visitors to Jerusalem (as well as virtual tourists) a look at a few locations the city as it existed under Roman rule during the first century A.D. The app's developer, Sean Young, a doctoral student in archaeology at the University of Melbourne, says that the building of the VR experience relied on the latest research and will be updated as more data comes to light. "The idea is that when you visit an ancient site... you take out your headset, stand in the right spot, and look around — and what you will see is exactly a perfectly mapped reconstruction within a few centimeters to the real world," said Young. – LIVESCIENCE

The video for Gorillaz' "Saturnz Barz" has broken the 48-hour record for most views of a 360 video in YouTube's history. The music video was watched 3 million times over the first two days of availability. Road to VR says the piece is one of the most impressive 360 music videos they've seen, "employing novel animation techniques and camera positions, and satisfying the viewer with unique and spectacular perspectives at every turn." The video was also released in a standard version, which has logged nearly 20 million views. The new Gorillaz album, "Humanz," is due on April 28th. – ROADTOVR

Lifeliqe, part of San Francisco's Upload Collective, has begun testing educational apps for students using Microsoft's HoloLens AR smartglasses. The visual learning firm (which is pronounced "Life-like") is currently testing separate educational apps concerning the circulatory system and electronegativity. Regarding the former program, one educator said, "When using Lifeliqe’s learning experiences, students were excited to dive into the blood vessel because they could visualize it, which should help their memory retention." Microsoft is the second tech giant to partner with Lifeliqe on similar grounds, after an earlier deal with HTC Vive. – VB

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