Will Apple AR be on fire next year?

Knife horse

Various data and analysis show that Apple will launch its own AR device next year. Guo Mingji, a well-known Apple analyst, has said that Apple will rely on AR to completely replace the current hottest iPhone terminal products in the next decade. Next year can be said to be Apple's AR first year, whether it can drive the development of the virtual reality market into a new stage is worth paying attention to. Simply put, can Apple's AR devices catch fire?

1.AR devices to replace the iPhone is still a good wish

The concept of metaverse is very popular today, but the real applications and devices are still in the early stages of development, and AR or VR devices are only a small aspect of metaverse applications, with a main focus on the gaming and fitness markets. In more entertainment application scenarios, there has not yet been a blowout market, even if Apple launches its own AR devices, the scope of application is very limited.

At present, the market expects that Apple's launch of AR is also mainly focused on games, entertainment and news reading. However, as Tesla founder Musk said, no one wants to put a screen on their face, right? When Google Glass was first introduced, it was considered a development direction for virtual reality, but it ultimately failed. Later, the VR devices launched by Sony, HTC, and Oculus were also a narrow-based application, which was only concentrated in the game market.

It can be said that mobile terminals are still mainly mobile phones, whether it is smart watches, tablets can not replace mobile phones, after the AR listing, the same is only a supplement in the existing terminal products. Perhaps for Apple, in addition to launching its own AR devices, the most important thing is how to launch enough content and application scenarios, so that users are used to using AR devices is the key.

Are 2.AR glasses worth looking forward to?

A few days ago, it was reported that Apple in the United States hired Ms. Andrea Schubert, the former head of external communications for the augmented reality project of social networking giant Meta. It is said that this is Apple preparing for the official release of augmented reality or virtual reality hardware products next year.

There are reports that Apple is building a team dedicated to the release of augmented reality hardware and subsequent marketing tasks. To this end, Apple poached relevant talent from rival Meta, who was previously the head of external communication and public relations for Meta's augmented reality project.

The market predicts that Apple's augmented reality devices will be available next year and may be priced between $1,000 and $3,000. I wonder how many people will choose at this price? However, imagine that the flagship version of the iPhone 13 Pro/ iPhone 13 Pro Max are so hot, for Chinese users, as long as it is good enough, someone will always buy it. It's just that AR is not just needed, and there are so many users who chase IPhones to chase AR devices?

Once upon a time, due to technical difficulties, mass production processes and other limitations, AR glasses products were previously mainly for enterprises, and the scene was limited to large-scale exhibitions, industrial production, corporate security, games, etc. Nowadays, with the breakthrough of related technologies, consumer-grade AR glasses for sports scenarios such as cycling and swimming have gradually come out. The wearer looks up to see the motion data and doesn't have to be distracted by looking at the smartphone or smartwatch. This is an application of AR fitness.

3.AR is just a stepping stone to metaverse applications

At a time when the concept of metaversmology is becoming more and more popular, many companies have opened their own metaverse layout, including Facebook at the expense of changing its name to Meta, hoping to have a layout in the metaverse market. But AR/VR is just a simple application involved in the metaverse market, and does not represent the future of metaverse development.

The popularity of the metaverse concept requires a certain carrier to carry, and AR glasses are just a carrier. Some people predict that AR glasses look up to see the content, compared to smart watches, the display screen is larger and the interactive function is stronger, and it is expected to replace mobile phones as an important part of human work and life in the future.

At present, the application of AR glasses shows a diversified trend, such as Microsoft's Hololens to provide portable services for maintenance, logistics, medical and other fields, while Google's Google Glass is mainly used in individual verticals, HTC Vive Flow, Sony's VR products are representative products. It is reported that AR has gradually entered the eyes of the public since 2013, and the global AR market size in 2020 is about 28 billion yuan, an increase of 75% year-on-year, and it is expected to reach 240 billion yuan in 2024.

Nowadays, the pace of meta-universe and 5G commercialization is getting faster and faster, and AR has gradually penetrated from the original live broadcast, gaming and entertainment fields to the medical, industrial, and educational fields. Some people predict that with the development of the metaverse, smart glasses are likely to become a replacement for computers and mobile phones. Because it can not only see the virtual screen directly, but also window operation through voice, air gestures or input methods, and because AR glasses can also directly play the role of headphones and his portability, it is closer to the function of the mobile phone. Of course, this is only a good expectation, and there is still a lot of uncertainty about how it will develop in the future in mobile terminals, including metaversic applications.