Google is starting to roll out new photorealistic avatars which they call “Likeness”. Similar to Apple’s Personas, Likeness avatars are generated by scanning a user’s face, then animated it with input from the sensors on a headset. The avatars can be used to represent the user in video call apps, but Google doesn’t yet have a way to have spatial meetings with other Likeness avatars.

The News

Google is launching its own photorealistic avatars called Likeness avatars, for use on compatible Android XR headsets. The idea is similar to Apple’s Persona avatars: scan the user’s face to create a realistic representation, then use the headset’s on-board cameras to animate the scan as realistically as possible.

Likenesses take a slightly different (and probably more user-friendly) approach for the initial face scan; rather than scanning by holding a headset out in front of your face, Google instead released a Likeness (beta) Android app to let people scan themselves with their phone instead. Holding your phone in front of your face for a scan is definitely a bit easier than awkwardly holding a whole headset with both hands.

According to Google, the Likeness (beta) app is only compatible with Google Pixel 8 or newer, Samsung Galaxy S23 or newer, or Samsung Z Fold5 or newer. Without a compatible device, you can’t create a Likeness avatar, meaning Android XR users with an iPhone (or unsupported Android phone) won’t be able to scan themselves. One benefit of Apple’s approach to scanning with the headset itself is that anyone can use a Persona avatar on Vision Pro regardless of what kind of phone they have.

Like Apple’s approach, Likeness avatars can be used generically as a ‘virtual webcam’. That makes them widely compatible with most video call apps that expect a front-facing camera, like Google Meet, Zoom, Messenger, etc.

And just like Apple, the first ‘beta’ iteration of Likeness avatars are 2D only. They are presented as a 2D representation with no way to transmit them in a spatial format, or have a ‘spatial meeting’, like Vision Pro can do with spatial FaceTime calls. However, Google says it’s working on spatial meetings for the future.

My Take

Photorealistic avatars on XR headsets are a great value-add because of the ability to use video call apps naturally. Apple’s Personas are currently the state-of-the-art as far as consumer-available photorealistic avatars, and the company has shown that it’s possible to cross over the uncanny valley with this approach to avatars.

During a recent meeting with Google, I joined a demo video call on Google Meet with one of the participants using a Likeness avatar. From a photorealism standpoint, the results look impressive, and facial movements look convincing too. However, because I didn’t personally know the individual using the Likeness, I was unfamiliar with their actual idiolect, which makes it impossible for me to judge the accuracy of the facial motion. Still, facial motion only needs to be plausibly realistic to be passable in many circumstances, and that’s been achieved from what I can see.

While it’s a bummer that there’s no ‘spatial meeting’ yet for Android XR (allowing users to chat face-to-face with fully spatial Likeness avatars), Google made the right choice in prioritizing virtual webcam usage at the start. It’s less impressive than spatial meetings, but more widely useful and compatible with existing services and apps.

There’s probably no chance we’ll see spatial calls between Likeness avatars and Persona avatars any time soon, but virtual webcam compatibility makes it trivial for both kinds of avatars to chat across headsets.

One thing worth noting is that Likeness avatars probably won’t be compatible with all Android XR devices. Forthcoming ‘Android XR’ smartglasses (which don’t run anything close to the full-blown version of Android XR) don’t have the power or sensors necessary to render or animate a Likeness avatar. Similarly, devices like XREAL Aura (which does run full-blown Android XR), might have the power but don’t have the sensors (eye and mouth tracking cameras) to animate a Likeness avatar.

It’s possible that Google could make Likeness avatars compatible with these devices by doing simulated eye movements and audio-based lip-sync. Although those technologies are already widely in use for more cartoonish avatars, they’re likely to fall deep into the uncanny valley when applied to photorealistic face scans. So I doubt Google will take that approach.

With the introduction of Likeness avatars, Google also has the same challenge I pointed out recently regarding Apple’s Persona avatars: as headsets get smaller, how will they bring this level of avatar fidelity to smaller headsets that have even less room for the cameras that are essential for these kinds of avatars?

Meta appears to be planning to raise the price of its VR headsets moving forward, according to a recent internal memo, which company leaders hope will combat rising costs. Meta may also be retiring the Quest 3 and 3S line a little later than expected.

The News

As reported by Business Insider, a December 4th memo from metaverse leaders Gabriel Aul and Ryan Cairns notified employees that Meta has “made a shift” in its VR efforts which could include price increases to combat costs associated with tariffs, as well as keep existing hardware in the market for longer.

“Our devices will be more premium in price going forward, but we’ll have a healthier business to anchor on and free ourselves from feeling existential about any singular device’s success,” Aul and Cairns’ memo reads.

The memo, which thus far has only been viewed by Business Insider, also includes a call for high-quality software experiences meant to match the “excellence” of its devices. Additionally, Aul and Cairns’ said Meta will “ship new hardware at a slower cadence going forward.”

“We’re committed to VR for the long-haul so we need to align our business model and roadmap to an approach that will make this possible,” the memo says. “We’ve been working hard to bend the curve and accelerate ahead of the category’s natural growth rate, which means running multiple programs in parallel as well as carrying costs like tariffs and subsidies for content, GTM, and devices.”

Notably, the memo also included info on a critical delay of a puck-tethered XR headset, and a new Quest headset which is set to be a “large upgrade” in capabilities from current devices, and will “significantly improve unit economics.”

Meta currently sells Quest 3, starting at $500, and Quest 3S, starting at $300—the latter of which is currently on sale for $250.

My Take

Meta regularly subsidizes Quest in an effort to recoup on software sales, making them technically cheaper than they might otherwise be. It’s a strategy console platform creators have been doing for ages, and it certainly works at getting people through the door.

But now, it seems we’re headed for another rough patch that Meta needs to navigate if it wants to continue its role as the holder of the most popular VR platform. And above all, I’m curious how Meta will keep serving the entry level user while pushing prices higher. It’s basically stemmed the flow of cash to third-party studios, making platform exclusives few and far between nowadays. And competition is coming from both sides: Google’s Android XR represents a threat to the low end, and Valve’s Steam Frame on the enthusiast end of things.

While the memo said the next Quest will “significantly improve unit economics,” I’m afraid that doesn’t really mean much since it didn’t come with a supporting statement. Relative to what? Previous pricing estimations? Current prices?

Anyway, Meta could hike prices in a number of ways we’ll be watching out for in the coming year: Quest 3 may get a price bump over its regular $500 MSRP, leaving Quest 3S at the low end. This could keep the flow of new users coming at the regular pace, while effectively only “taxing” users looking for the technically better headset.

Then again, both headsets may see a modest price bump, which is then teased down in successive sales periods, like it did with Quest 2 when that one was hiked from $300 to $400 following supply chain shock stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company could also equally leave pricing the same, and only apply hikes on forthcoming devices.

Any which way, I’d expect Meta to attempt to soften price shock with included first-party games (even older ones) and possibly longer free memberships to Horizon+, its monthly game service.

And whatever the case, it’s pretty clear the Quest 3 platform is going to be around for a while, which means developers will need to keep it in mind even as Meta tries to push better hardware, which could include more powerful chipsets, higher pixel density displays, and stuff like built-in eye-tracking.