3 Ways Vision Pro Will Snap AR/VR Market Out of Its Misery
Apple’s new Vision Pro headset will put a spotlight on mixed reality (MR) — a technology that combines the best of two worlds: augmented and virtual reality.
Augmented reality (AR) glasses generally work like regular glasses with superpowers, enhancing an unobstructed view of the real world with an overlay of virtual elements. Virtual reality (VR) headsets, on the other hand, traditionally block out the real world altogether and instead immerse their wearers in virtual spaces displayed on small screens.
This approach improves on several distinct drawbacks that have hampered AR and VR devices, which saw their traction in the marketplace slip last year. Last month, research firm Circana reported that U.S. sales for VR and AR devices plummeted to $644 million in 2023 after hovering at $1.1 billion for 2021 and 2022.
1. Mixed-reality headsets will provide a fertile development and testing ground for AR applications.
AR glasses won’t be ready for consumers for years to come, as they will require breakthrough innovations in optics, batteries and chip design. Until those arrive, VR headsets with mixed-reality pass-through video feeds are the next best thing. Consumers won’t wear Apple’s Vision Pro headset on the street, but developers will be able to use the device to test ideas and familiarize themselves with key concepts that will help them build better AR apps if and when those glasses are finally ready for mass-market audiences.
Even for those not building AR apps, mixed-reality headsets will provide a window to envision the opportunities that lie ahead. And once companies like Apple and Google are ready take AR mainstream, mixed-reality devices will likely remain an important development platform.
VR headsets are worn for short bursts at a time, whereas future AR glasses will need to provide all-day battery life. This will force manufacturers to resort to lower-power “smart” glasses that provide limited immersion for the first couple of device generations, guaranteeing VR/MR will stay ahead of the development curve for years to come.
2. Mixed-reality headsets will alleviate one of VR’s chief pain points by allowing wearers to deftly switch between immersive reality and their real-world environment.
One of the biggest drawbacks of VR has long been a tendency to isolation. Headsets are capable of transporting wearers into virtual worlds, but the experience can feel a bit like neglect to friends and family members left behind in the real world.
Sharing what a VR user sees through screencasting or mirroring to a TV or computer monitor can address some of those issues, but the ability of Apple’s headset to quickly switch back and forth between an immersive view and one that incorporates the real world makes VR a lot more bystander friendly. Plus, headsets that are capable of relaying, and to a degree understanding, the world around users also ensure much safer experiences and make it possible to use VR in smaller or more crowded spaces.
3. Mixed-reality headsets will enable a new class of immersive content experiences not possible on existing, fully immersive VR headsets.
Consumer augmented-reality experiences are predominantly accessed on smartphones via social media apps including Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok. For example, consumers have long enjoyed Snapchat filters and other mobile AR experiences capable of transporting Marvel heroes or “Star Wars” stormtroopers into their living rooms. More than 250 million people engage with AR on Snapchat alone every day, according to Snap’s Q3 2023 investor deck.
Mixed-reality headsets would take these kind of AR experiences to the next level by allowing headset wearers or VR players to interact with these characters without having to hold up a phone, making those interactions a lot more believable and immersive.
Developers began exploring novel game and storytelling ideas ever since fall 2022, when Meta gave them access to new developer tools for the Quest 2 and Quest Pro in Presence Platform, the company’s developer product suite for building MR experiences for Quest devices.
The release of the Quest 3 further accelerated those efforts: By the end of 2023, several hundred Quest apps were offering mixed-reality features, and seven of the 20 best-selling apps on the Quest Store were mixed-reality apps.
Notable examples include PianoVision, which lets players learn to play a real-life keyboard or piano via a “Guitar Hero”-like rhythm game; Figmin XR, which turns living rooms into a canvas for art and mini games; and Drop Dead: The Cabin, which tasks players with the defense of their own home against a mixed-reality zombie invasion.
There are clearly signs that U.S. consumers are increasingly looking to these devices for entertainment experiences including movie watching and video games, according to recent survey data from YouGov comparing interest levels from 2023 to 2022.
With the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, we can expect to see a lot more games, apps and experiences that combine the virtual and the real in novel ways.
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