Varjo Welcomes the Arrival of OpenXR 1.1

Helsinki, Finland  – On Monday 15th of April, The Khronos Group announced the release of the OpenXR version 1.1, an update to the widely adopted open API standard for high performance virtual, augmented and mixed reality. The standard is supported by a wide range of devices and platforms including Varjo’s professional grade XR headsets.

Amongst a range of improvements and additions that increase the clarity and extend the core functionalities for both runtime implementors and rendering engines, version 1.1 integrates various functionalities into its core specification that were previously only availability through extensions.

Most notable for Varjo users is the inclusion of foveated rendering into the core specification. The Stereo with Foveated Rendering (formerly XR_VARJO_quad_views) offers a Primary View Configuration that supports either eye-tracked or fixed foveated rendering for XR headsets using various graphics rendering APIs. This feature is particularly advantageous for rendering to displays with high pixel counts efficiently, often required in the professional workflows of Varjo users, as those rendering workloads put high burden on the GPU which the foveated view configuration helps to significant reduce.

Commenting on the release, Varjo’s OpenXR system architect Denny Rönngren said “Varjo has been a contributor and adopter of OpenXR since 2019, and we are excited to be able to equip our enterprise customers with the cutting-edge capabilities of OpenXR 1.1. Among other important updates, the quad view configuration is a core part of this release, lowering the threshold for developers to render in human-eye resolution with Varjo’s mixed reality headsets. We look forward to the transformative impact OpenXR 1.1 will have on the XR industry at large.”

In the wake of the release, Varjo is currently working towards integrating OpenXR 1.1 into runtime and is excited about providing enterprise partners with the new features in an upcoming Varjo Base release.

For more information on Open XR 1.1, head to the full Khronos Group release post.