It is reasonable to say that the project that Cook is optimistic about, Apple's preparation should be more adequate. Previously, Guo Mingxi said that Apple will launch its own AR products in the first quarter of this year. And it is praised as the existence of the iPhone to surpass in the next decade. However, recently, there is news that Apple's AR products may not be released this year, and it is expected to be postponed until next year.
1. Cook is optimistic about AR products
The reason is that there are still flaws in some technical aspects that cannot meet Apple's needs. In fact, VR devices have been around for many years, and Apple's product development based on other companies has always been relatively progressive, but this time I don't know why I didn't understand my AR products.
Whether it is VR or AR equipment, it is very optimistic about Cook, of course, it also contains Apple's own small plan, that is, a kind of augmented reality performance on the basis of the iPhone, there is more room for expansion in the application, which is why Apple is not willing to call the metaverse, but is more concerned about augmented reality, which is an expansion on the basis of existing devices and applications, emphasizing an improvement on the user experience. Instead of simply virtual worlds, the existence of another parallel space.
Cook has repeatedly said that he is very optimistic about the prospects of AR, and he believes that augmented reality is an inevitable channel to continuously improve the user experience. With such attention, we should be more attentive to the reserve of technology. But in terms of the final appearance of the product, it is difficult to meet the expectations of the market, which is somewhat incompatible with a company with a market value of more than $3,000 billion.
VR devices have been launched for many years, whether it is HTC or Sony, including Oculus and so on, have their own corresponding products, and have been updated for several generations. In order to better apply Oculus, Facebook also renamed the company Meta, and made a full effort to the metaverse world.
2. There are technical flaws, and the possibility of Apple's AR delaying release is increasing
Why is one of Apple's AR devices so difficult to produce? Apple reportedly has a large team called the "Technology Development Group" working on this headset. Apple had previously planned to launch the product at the 2022 developer conference, but due to overheating, camera and software challenges, it may be delayed until next year.
It is reported that Apple's product is expected to provide a virtual reality experience with a high-resolution screen. Some reports suggest that it could cost more than $1,000, much higher than VR devices currently on the market, such as the $299 Meta Quest. However, Apple has always stressed that the product is not a meta-universe product, mainly focusing on communication tools and media consumption, including games.
The market has also previously reported that Apple told suppliers that the product may sell up to 10 million units in the first year of release. The current AR device market, mainly Microsoft launched Hololens in 2015 and then Hololens2, Apple entered this market, mainly because the track is not crowded, of course, the price is not expensive. Microsoft's HoloLens series products are priced at around 20,000. Apple says its AR device is already "economical" at $1,000.
3. Capital is surging and the market layout of the pan-meta-universe is accelerating
As we all know, 2021 is the hottest year for the concept of metaversity. In March 2021, Roblox, the first game platform of the meta-universe, was listed in the United States, and the closing price rose by more than 54% on the first day of listing, and in three months after listing, Roblox's market value has reached 50 billion US dollars; in April 2021, NVIDIA officially launched Omniverse, the virtual work platform of the meta-universe; in July 2021, Roblox landed in China, exclusively represented by the investor Tencent and renamed "Robles" for distribution; in August 2021, Metacostem giant Pico was acquired by ByteDance for billions of yuan; in September 2021, Microsoft CEO Nadella officially announced the enterprise Metaverse Enterprise Metaverse solution.
The market believes that the metacosm around the social, entertainment, creation, display and other incremental space, attracted the layout of many international giants, in the context of the epidemic to accelerate the digital development of various industries, the younger generation of the emphasis on life experience, the metacosmum gradually formed. Although Apple is reluctant to admit that its AR products are laying out the metaverse market, the market basically believes that this is a deep participation in the metacosm.
For Apple, it is natural to look at the consumer application of AR, the market believes that consumer-grade AR products will be the next smart wearable device after the smart watch, there have been a number of well-known companies announced the launch of AR glasses, including Meta, Huawei, Apple and so on. What we can expect is that with the gradual popularization of consumer-grade products of AR/VR devices, AR/VR devices, as an important next-generation terminal, have tens of millions of users, which is enough to carry more commercial scenarios, which is also an important direction in the future.