Apple Inc. is widely expected to announce a new headset that will blend video from the outside world with the virtual at its annual software developer conference next week.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and MetaPlatforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg are jockeying to explain how consumers will use a new generation of technology where the real and digital worlds merge. Is.
Zuckerberg has floated a vision of a “metaverse,” a parallel digital universe where people would come together to work and play, and has had products for years.
In contrast, Apple’s marketing chief Greg Juswiak recently called the metaverse “a word I would never use”. And Apple’s device is just a rumor so far. Apple’s presentations at its Worldwide Developers Conference begin Monday in California at 10 a.m. PDT (1700 GMT).
Until now, the company best known for iPhones has limited its augmented reality efforts to technology that works on existing devices, for example by enabling retailers’ apps to display virtual furniture in a customer’s living room. of the.
“Meta and Apple are competing with each other. The difference is that Meta is doing it publicly, while Apple is doing it privately,” said Ansheel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.
Analysts say the Apple device, which JEE News reported could cost around $3,000 and look like a pair of ski goggles, is a placeholder. The Cupertino, California, company’s grand vision remains to create a pair of transparent glasses that overlay digital information on the real world and can be worn all day, every day. Your glasses
Apple declined to comment on its future plans and products.
NO ‘KILLER APP’ YET
The technology for Apple’s glasses is years away, and in the meantime, Apple’s rivals such as Sony Group Corp. and Pico, which is owned by TikTok parent ByteDance, have released mixed-reality headsets that indicate that What is possible by combining the real and the virtual? World Meta Platforms this week announced its Quest 3 headset for $500, following last year’s release of the Quest Pro, which retails for $1,000.
Apple has been pushing augmented reality features for its iPhones and iPads since 2017, but its mainstream uses have mostly been limited to furniture-shopping apps and a handful of games.
Analysts say one reason Apple has kept its efforts private is that no one in Silicon Valley is sure how people will eventually use the mixed or augmented reality technology, which industry insiders say Sources are abbreviated as “XR”. There is no “killer app” for the device yet.
So instead of targeting a mass-market price point, Apple is creating a premium device aimed at showing software developers what’s possible so they can come up with compelling apps.
“No one out there believes that this market is anywhere close to being mature in the near future,” said Ben Bajarin, chief executive and principal analyst at Creative Strategies.
The biggest risk for Apple is putting its reputation on the line for polished products while engaging in a costly battle with the Meta for dominance in a market that still barely exists. Last year, Meta had 80% of the total augmented and virtual reality headset market at just 8.8 million units, according to data from research firm IDC. In contrast, IDC estimates that Apple alone has sold 226 million iPhones.
While Meta has products on the market, Apple has major advantages in defining the emerging field among software developers, said Jitesh Abrani, a research manager who tracks the XR market at IDC. Apple has strong relationships with developers who want access to an installed base of 2 billion devices that spans Macs, Apple Watches, iPhones and more.
“They can leverage the ecosystem they’ve already created to keep customers in their walled garden,” Abrani said. “And Apple is in a much better position to give you an experience that works across devices than the Meta.”
