With the rapid rise of the XR field, many manufacturers inside and outside the industry have been involved in AR shopping. For example, retail giant Walmart launched a series of promotions as early as Christmas 2018, and at the same time brought users an advanced AR shopping experience to facilitate users to view products.
Consumers can log on to the App Store or Google Play to download their app, Walmart AR, and scan Zapcode and brands like Pepsi, M&M's, Clorox, and Blue Bunny Ice Cream for an AR experience. Experiences include the brand's mascot, mini-games, 3D animations, selfies and more. Consumers can also record experiences and share them on social media.
By partnering with AR developer Zappar and marketing partner Advantage Solutions, Walmart promoted the Christmas Sleigh Ride campaign to bring consumers a rather interesting AR experience and played a role in the industry's AR of shopping experience.
Tech giants favor AR
Apple's interest in AR has even outpaced the hot VR, and Cook has publicly denied his interest in the concept of a metaverse, bluntly calling it "augmented reality" internally. At the same time, although many fruit fans are looking forward to the giant's headset appearance, the news seen from any channel is not complete enough.
However, just after apple's spring conference, Apple's official website unexpectedly launched an AR service designed to help users choose the Mac device of their choice.
Heartwarming Mac Studio
At yesterday's "Peek Performance" event, Apple unveiled the Mac Studio, a new desktop computer designed specifically for creative professionals who want to get the most out of their workstations. The device is the first to feature Apple's new M1 Ultra computer chip, which has a great improvement in performance compared to existing PCs.
Of course, all of the upgrades mentioned above come with a higher price — the Mac Studio with the M1 Max chipset starts at $1,900, while the Mac Studio with the improved M1 Ultra starts at $3,999, and that doesn't include the $1,599 Studio display.
In fact, while the product's performance and appearance are stunning enough, most people are hesitant to buy a Mac Studio, or simply curious about what the device will look like in their work environment. In response to these concerns, Apple has quietly released a new AR experience that brings the device to life in your real-world environment, and the service is completely free.
To experience this service is also very simple, users simply access the apple.com/mac-studio with an iPhone or iPad device and select "View Mac Studio in AR". The website will then open the camera app and automatically scan its surroundings, then project a virtual Mac studio in real-world space. In this process, the user can freely adjust the size, angle and position by sliding their finger on the screen.
Not surprisingly, while the service works well on most Apple devices, those with LiDAR technology (iPhone 13, iPad Pro) clearly offer the fastest and highest quality experience.
Like all of Apple's products, the AR Mac Studio features an incredible level of detail, even its textures. In order to experience the perfect effect, the author recommends that when you use it, you can ensure enough lighting and a clean surface to project virtual objects on it.
As mentioned above, Apple has been unabashedly interested in AR technology. According to industry insiders, Apple is developing a consumer-usable mixed reality headset capable of running both VR and AR experiences. Due to various objective factors, this mixed reality device has been postponed to 2023, while Apple has always been tight-lipped about it internally.
Expectations for Apple AR glasses
For a long time, everyone is unfamiliar with the LiDAR components on some Apple devices, and even think that it is definitely a chicken rib for people in the non-home improvement industry. However, if we combine it with this special AR service, its outstanding effect also explains why Apple launched LiDAR two years ago, that is, to lay out the AR ecosystem early, collect data from user use, and continuously optimize its performance.
When we lament the amazement of Apple products again and again, we don't know that we are the biggest cornerstone of the giant's success. It is everyone's unconscious use of new technologies that allows Apple to have a wealth of real data years ahead of its competitors. And all this will also be the biggest guarantee for the birth of Apple AR glasses.
According to foreign media reports, Former Apple design director Jony Ive has delayed the launch of its first XR device on the grounds of design problems. However, analysts believe that Apple is now ready to dive into the AR/VR headset field through its upcoming wearable devices, but the overall layout is expected to be achieved by 2025 (affected by the epidemic and chip shortage).
According to the current market pattern, if Apple's head is really consistent with speculation, then the global influence it brings must be huge. The high-end market in the VR/AR field will inevitably be cut off by Apple, but it will also set off a new round of reshuffle in the industry. And among them, there is danger and organic.