XR Industry News: January 2026
Tech News to Make You Smarter
OpenAI Might Have Earbuds on the Way. OpenAI is rumored to be developing "Sweet Pea," AI-powered earbuds with a unique behind-the-ear design, aiming to create a truly ambient AI companion. We've covered this before: OpenAI probably doesn’t feel like competing with Meta by putting wearable AI in glasses. Plus, it’s already normed for people to wear their AirPods and talk to them in public. It’s a socially acceptable wearable microphone, and you can offload all the computing to a phone. Whenever I hear about behind-the-ear earbuds, I think of the "Seashell" thimble radios people wear in their ears in Fahrenheit 451. And while I usually like to talk about science fiction becoming science fact, I prefer that the inspo doesn't come from dystopian novels.
Meta: Reality Labs Layoffs, VR Meeting App Discontinuation, and Dropped B2B Support. If you read that and thought "the metaverse is dead!" go put $5 in the swear jar. Divestment of the metaverse? Not quite. Zuck cut 10% of the Reality Labs team, about 1,500 people, but then also posted job openings for Reality Labs roles, including a Partner Manager. Meta also announced the discontinuation of their VR meeting rooms, spun up during COVID. Finally, a Friday afternoon announcement heralded a stop to selling Quests to business customers and supporting the business services that run on those devices. Overall, Meta cut stuff related to VR and Horizons, but nothing related to glasses and mobile. Shift on the medium of the metaverse and not the metaverse itself.
Google's Gemini to Power Apple's AI, Including Siri. This is not surprising because the AI behind Siri is...lacking. I am surprised that Apple went with Google as they are a direct competitor, rather than going with OpenAI. Apple is one of the only companies on the planet that could acquire OpenAI, and they already acqui-hired Jony Ives from iPhone design fame for a $6.5B buy out. But Apple didn't bite. Which begs the question, what does Tim Cook know about OpenAI and Sam Altman that we don't?
Saved on Socials
The posts, memes, job postings, and videos that caught our attention this week:
Finally, a belt that goes with everything (Instagram)
VR apps to try if you just got a Meta Quest (LinkedIn)
$240k to work in the office or $120k to work remote? (Instagram)
Recently Played >
What we listened to this week.
The Will of the Many (Audible). Started listening for the fantasy school, stayed for the magic system and political intrigue.
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