On June 6, Beijing time, Apple will hold the 2022 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) tonight. Although Apple may not release its first high-profile hybrid reality headset device at this conference, it is still the focus of attention. Since the introduction of the iPhone, Apple has launched two new categories of products, iPad and apple watch, but they are not as revolutionary as the iPhone.
Apple's first headset device is the product of multiple acquisition transactions and huge R & D investment, which is expected to become the first headset device since iphone The most important new product since. So, is it that revolutionary? Can I copy the success of iPhone?
"Crossing" function
Bertrand nepeu claims to be a "crazy scientist". He once wanted to drink a beer, but he couldn't see the wine bottle in the real world because he wore the virtual reality (VR) headgear developed by his startup company.
So the engineer began to look for solutions to the problem of being unable to see real objects while accessing the virtual world. His company vrvana has re adjusted the use of the camera in the "totem" prototype device, so that it can not only perceive the user's position, but also allow the user to see the surrounding environment.
This breakthrough prompted apple to acquire vrvana for $30million in 2017. The acquisition is just one of more than a dozen acquisitions made by apple in VR and augmented reality (AR) over the past six years.
WWDC opens tonight
Apple first released this headset device this fall (it is said that it has been postponed to 2023). The WWDC opening tonight may be the last large-scale gathering before Apple launched this new product, which will provide apple with the last opportunity to gather fans and plan the development direction of the new generation of computing hardware.
Little is known about Apple's new product, but vrvana's "pass through" video system is expected to be a key feature. This function aims to open the closed world of VR headgear to the outside world, so that users can also see the physical world around them with digital images superimposed.
"We re adjusted everything, and for the first time, we integrated AR and VR on the same device." Nepu said. Before leaving Apple last year, he refused to talk about his work at Apple.
Can users reach 1billion
These breakthroughs have led people to believe that Apple may once again launch a device that can change the technology, media and entertainment industries, just like its previous ipod , iPhone and ipad Same.
Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, said: "I really believe that there is a way that you do not need to evolve mobile phones and AR glasses into the next computing platform." Qualcomm is a chip supplier to the world's largest equipment manufacturers, including apple, Samsung and meta, the parent company of Facebook.
Although few analysts predict that AR will become mainstream overnight, Citigroup researchers predict that 1billion people will wear headsets by 2030, roughly equivalent to the number of iPhone users today, supporting a market with a revenue of $2trillion.
In order to achieve this major goal, apple and its Silicon Valley competitors are competing to solve technical challenges. For many people, the way VR separates users from the world is embarrassing and antisocial. Some users complain that they feel vulnerable or stupid wearing bulky headgear. Videos of players injured by wearing headgear on YouTube have proliferated, enough to compete for the "best VR accident".
Biggest problem
These problems lead to the fact that the existing headsets produced by meta and other companies are still a niche product, and there are almost no ordinary users except game players.
Timoni West, vice president of emerging tools at unity, a video game software company, said that this was the "biggest problem" in the VR field. The company works closely with apple and iPhone app developers.
Most people are not interested in the headgear that West likens to a "diving mask". "It's still a bit scary," they said. "It's impossible for those who want to see others in the same space as themselves."
Compared with PC and smart phone, VR market is still small, but it is currently dominated by meta. According to the data of IDC, a well-known research institution, last year, the sales volume of Quest 2 of meta was estimated to reach 10million units, which made meta occupy 78% of the VR market share. This gives meta a clear advantage over apple in understanding consumer needs and attracting application developers to its platform.
Quest 2
Meta currently has 17000 employees engaged in "metauniverse" technology, with a quarterly budget of about $3billion. Meta CEO markzuckerberg said that his more high-end "Cambria" headset will be released later this year. Cambria is another vr/ar hybrid device, which is similar to the rumored Apple's first headset device and has the function of "crossing".
Investment of such a scale as meta makes it unlikely that Apple's first headset will replace quest as soon as the iPhone did over the BlackBerry.
"We certainly won't see Apple CEO cook take the stage and say, 'this is a device that can replace smart phones'." Said Sam Cole, CEO of fitxr, a VR fitness application.
Still need a lot of innovation
In order to make VR and AR headset devices become a part of the daily life of tens of millions of people from niche game applications, Apple needs to make a variety of innovations in different fields such as battery life, user interface and physical comfort.
When Apple developed the iPhone, its biggest breakthrough was to replace the physical keyboard with a multi touch screen. Matt Tullis, an executive of ultraleap, a startup supported by Tencent, predicted that using natural gestures instead of game controllers or joysticks would be crucial for AR to become the mainstream. "Hand control technology is to AR what multi touch technology is to iPhone." He said.
Tipatchennavasin, a VR investor in the venture reality fund, said that he expected Apple's first VR device to be an expensive device for professional designers and developers, who were the first Mac users decades ago. "This is not an iPhone moment, but a Mac moment." He said.
Apple's advantages
Apple's advantage over meta lies in its expertise in integrating services, software and hardware, including designing its own ultra efficient chips. It also has an army of millions of iPhone application developers who are preparing to rewrite their software so that applications can run on the platform rumored to be "realityos".
Arki is an iPhone ar application for viewing building models in 3D mode. Its founder, saharfikouhi, tried to use Microsoft's hololens Holographic lens, but she said that only Apple's platform can reach a wider audience.
"We believe that apple can develop headwear devices that are attractive to the mass market." She said.