The seventh annual Facebook Connect virtual and augmented reality conference, formerly known as Oculus Connect, goes online today. Facebook is expected to announce a new Oculus Quest VR headset that has been widely leaked for the past few months. But we may also see new virtual reality games, extra Spark AR features, updates to Facebook’s Horizon virtual world, and hints of the company’s long-term AR headset plans.
Like many events during the pandemic, Connect 7 is held entirely online.
Facebook Connect event start time
Facebook Link 7 It begins with a keynote at 10:00 PT / 1PM ET, followed by panels and developer sessions. It concludes at 7PM PT / 10PM ET with an “afterparty” concert by Jaden Smith. Unlike the physical events of past years, it is condensed into a single day.
How to watch Facebook Connect activity online
Connect is broadcast on Facebook Live via the page: Facebook Reality Labs, the AR/VR division of the company. keynote will go live here at 9:55 PM PT / 12:55PM ETand FRL’s page contains links to other events of the day. highly anticipated 5:30 pm PT / 8:30 pm ET annual talk Oculus Consultant CTO John Carmack and 7PM PT / 10PM ET Jaden Smith after-party.
If you have an Oculus Quest VR headset, you can also view the event in Venues, a live VR event space. Venues is currently in beta and does not appear to be publicly available. But if you have access, event link here.
What can I expect?
You can view the full Connection schedule at: Facebook’s event pagebut there are a few important points.
Connect keynotes typically include appearances from Facebook executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and chief scientist Michael Abrash, covering the day’s big VR and AR news. In addition to product and game announcements, they outline where Facebook will lead its virtual reality efforts in the near future, while providing exciting details on experimental research and development.
If you’re into VR development, Facebook offers a number of streams from now on. They start with a 12PM PT / 3PM ET “super session” outlining the state of the Oculus development tools, then continue with specific sessions on topics like improving accessibility and designing live social VR experiences.
Carmack, formerly of id Software, formally stepped back from Oculus to work on artificial intelligence at Facebook last year, but is still listed as the CTO of Facebook Reality Labs. He plans to make one of his “unwritten” talks – typically long, entertaining, and often illuminating interludes about the state of VR and Oculus development in particular.
This is the first time Facebook has removed the name “Oculus” from Connect, and overall, we’re not sure how much it will change the tenor of the event. Connect has been more than just Oculus for a while, but Facebook is increasingly incorporating VR into its core offerings; Among other things, future headsets require a Facebook account to log in. That could mean we’re hearing more about topics like privacy and disinformation – or just keep focusing on games and tech.