Are Virtual Reality Headsets Ready For Prime Time?
A quick review on the current stages of VR headsets and the different purposes they will serve.
Photo Credit: Getty via Forbes
Have you heard of “Ready Player One”?
This novel and film feature is being used as the foundation for Apple’s full-out effort to compete with Meta’s Oculus and upcoming Project Nazare.
So, we thought it was about time to give you a quick “Don’t Count Us Out Yet” review of how we see the virtual headset world today and whether or not to buy a pair now. Let’s start with the basic question everyone always asks. Are headsets going to be used to augment existing reality or to create entire virtual realities like the metaverse in “Ready Player One”? Maybe both?
Just like any new development in technology where working prototypes become actual products for the consumer market, the biggest question is probably how VR glasses incorporate parts of the existing environment or transport you to an entirely different reality (called a metaverse by most).
Apple, as indicated in The New York Times article below, is looking for its glasses to do both, as they are a company in the artificial intelligence area that wants to make greater value in the real world. If you want to read or look at how this augmented reality might work in five years, take a look at the Argodesign piece below… pretty fascinating in our opinion!
Additionally, there is a really good article published in Forbes earlier this year comparing the headset developments by the big four: Google, Apple, Microsoft and Meta.
Here is our brief on each take.
Apple
Shrouded in secrecy, but next year, if all goes according to plan, this headset will create breakthrough ways to sense current reality just as the iPod did for hearing music.
Microsoft
Probably going to be the best tech headsets, but right now is geared towards business training. The purchase of Activision and its already popular game Minecraft leads us to believe they will also attack the consumer market.
Boy, for the company that was at the cutting edge of this VR technology a few years back with Google Glass, they just might have been too early. Our guess is Apple creates a market tied into its cell phones and Google copies with Android. One exception: the AI component of Google Deep Mind could be huge for something innovative here.
Meta
Finally, we come to the company everyone has an opinion on… sort of like the Dallas Cowboys or New York Yankees. We have conflicting views here with many experts stating not ready for prime time in most areas except one: exercise. For Meta, this could be the killer app that gets them into the virtual reality world as a big player. Take a look at the Washington Post article, there is a Peloton-like following here, and it could go a long way to building a solid base of users.
So, what’s the answer to the question we started with?
If you are business with training needs, check out what Microsoft has now. Consumers that want to experiment with the new trend in VR exercise research, look into Meta. Anything else besides wanting to play various games, which has been around for a while, is too early.
For Further Information:
Here is the in-depth article on Apple from The New York Times.
Here is a quick overview of all four tech giants’ products written earlier this year.
Want to see what augmented reality might look like in five years from now?
Finally, this piece is about workouts getting popular using the Oculus headsets.
Best,
Craig