Welcome to Lowpass, a newsletter about the future of entertainment and the next big hardware platforms, including smart TVs, ambient computing and AR / VR. This week: Plex’s next big bet, and Tripp’s new AI meditations.

Plex to launch paid movies, shows in early February

Independent video streaming platform Plex is gearing up for its next big launch: Plex will add paid movies and TV shows to its service in early February, executives told me during a meeting at the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.

Much like other online video stores (or TVOD services, as industry insiders like to call them), Plex will offer movies and TV shows for rent and purchase. Plex executives told me they had most studios lined up for launch, with plans to complete the catalog soon after.

But a movie and TV show store isn’t the only thing Plex is looking to launch in the coming months: The service is also gearing up for some big changes under the hood, additional social features, and a significant redesign. Keep reading for all the details on what’s in store for Plex in 2024, as well as some new Plex usage metrics:

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VR meditation app Tripp is tapping AI for mobile mindfulness

When I went to Amazon’s CES devices showcase last week, I bumped into Tripp CEO Nanea Reeves and Tripp VP Jeremy Nickels. The duo was there because of Tripp’s relationship with Amazon’s Alexa Fund, and they ended up showing me the company’s new mobile AI meditation and mindfulness guide.

I’ve long been fascinated by meditation as a use case for VR, and I’m clearly not alone: Apple has built its own mindfulness app for the Vision Pro. 

At the same time, it’s apparently not that easy to bridge the gap between something very techy and game-focused like a headset and people looking for ways to unplug. Tripp recently stated that its users spent 14 million “mindful minutes” in 2023.

Once you do the math, you realize that’s not actually all that much, as it translates to just around 4500 hours per week – a fairly small amount, considering that some Tripp sessions can take up to half an hour. Leaning more into mobile, and perhaps one day smart speakers, could be an effective way for Tripp to grow those numbers.

What else

Apple leans into streaming for Vision Pro. The company’s mixed reality headset spatial computer will feature a bunch of streaming apps including Disney+, Apple TV+, ESPN, NBA, MLB, PGA Tour, Max, Discovery+, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, Pluto TV, Tubi and others at launch. Notably absent from that list: Netflix.

Apple Vision Pro impresses, strains necks. Speaking of the don’t-call-it-a-VR-headset headset: A couple of outlets got another look at the device ahead of its February 2 launch, and the overall verdict seems to be: Looks great, feels heavy.

Latino streaming service Vix to get ad-supported tier. TelevisaUnivision is going to launch a cheaper, ad-supported tier of Vix later this year.

Piracy hunters take down VRChat worlds. Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has begun to crack down on piracy in the metaverse.

27.6 million people watched Peacock’s AFC Wild Card game. This makes last weekend’s game “the most-streamed event ever in the U.S.,” according to Peacock.

AR/VR funding fell below $2 billion in 2023. U.S funding for AR, VR and metaverse startups was less than $1 billion, according to Crunchbase.

Then again: Magic Leap raises another $590 million from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. This brings the total amount raised by Magic Leap to date to $4.5 billion.

Their songs were stolen by phantom artists. A fascinating New York Times story about a new form of streaming fraud, with an interesting twist: The two victims were both copyright lawyers, who happened to be amateur musicians in their spare time.

That’s it

Last week, I attended CES for the first time since 2020, and it was … fun? Also, very exhausting. Somehow, I managed to walk 23 miles in two days. No wonder I felt like this guy by Friday afternoon …

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend everyone!