I guess what I'm trying to say is I think AR should be home, private focused at first and gradually moved into the everyday all the time realm. I can say that personally I don't think I want virtual holograms all over public spaces that only I can see and interact with. I think Glass understood that and went with more of a HUD approach that seems more appropriate for out in the wild interaction. I also recall when I got my very first iPhone in 2007 there were so many people saying "I don't get it, why would you want to be on the internet when you're not at home" and time answered that question for pretty much all of them. Admittedly I was in high school so alot of that commentary was probably just justification for why their new RAZR did everything they wanted it to do and was a better choice. Haha. I saw the practicality of having the internet in my pocket and jumped in head first, many didn't as fast and that's fine and probably the smarter way to go about things. It's just Apple was able to create a product that appealed to the masses in a few years time and now it's odd if someone doesn't have a touchscreen smartphone in their pocket. They made what is (arguably, I know) the smartwatch with the most mass appeal and "normalcy" and I think they could do it with AR/VR too if they do it right and in the right way. And for me I'm loving the concept of Hololens, so if Apple could come around and push out a better product or stir of competition it's a win for us all.
Also, I know it's easy to see all the entertainment, comunnication, blabla "cool" features of AR/VR, but the stuff it could do in the medical field and such is really something to think on. I imagine a google glass type device a deaf person could wear that could listen to the conversation and put subtitles for the deaf wearer to see. I could see a VR type device putting children who aren't able to attend school due to medical reasons in the middle of a real life classroom. I could see a Hololens type device working really well in a hospital situation, where a doctor can have the patients chart pulled up when he enters their room.
But we're in agreement I think for now it's likely to be more of a home type interaction, and with time it will move into the real world. Though I don't know if it will gain as mass appeal as the cell phone, I'm interested in seeing what happens.
Again I'd like to apologize, I ramble alot. Lol
In regards to AR ( Alternate Reality ), that's been around for a long time now and certainly not home based. I've seen book publishers have their own versions of that when you use the phone, you activate the app made as a lens to see what's happening on the page, or providing a 'virtual' information page, or HUD format. Even toy companies have done that, too. It's way past " home based " now. It's already here.
As for Apple getting VR, I hate to say it, but they are too late on this one. There's not much for them to perfect because other companies are already getting it right through trial and error, despite the so-called leading expert Apple hired recently. By the time, Apple gets their VR product out, others would have already improved on it. The problem with Apple is they think they can get way with doing it at " the last minute ".
Microsoft had the right idea even though HoloLens is expensive. At least, they got it out there and don't beat around the bush like Apple does.
Oculus will evolve and improve, and so will other VR competitors. Even Sony/Microsoft already has VR plans for PS-4 and X-Box. Even PC is getting on board. The VR units for the game consoles will not be as high end as a professional version of Oculus but will certainly be somewhat cheaper and more accessible. And they will exert graphics to the level of those machines just fine. This is where VR will make an entrance this spring of 2016 ( from what I heard ), and from there, the industry is going to change.
Ever seen the anime " Sword Art Online " where a bunch of online gamers use goggles to log into a virtual world? Or ".hack"? Well, that's gonna happen sooner or later when some MMORG makers get the idea of using VR for it. Picture World of Warcraft or Guild Wars using VR goggles. This will NOT surprise me one bit. Someone is going to do it, but I don't know if it'll be Blizzard. But who knows?
Granted, VR isn't all about 3D gaming but has wide ranging applications.
In regards to Google Glass, yes they did kill it however, from what I heard it's going through some changes under Fadell ( the guy who helped engineer the original iPod ). The other thing is that when it comes to using regular glasses, other companies are making better versions compared to Google Glass. They're not meant to be used casually but rather for the work or home front.
In fact, Garmin already has a special HUD eyewear unit for people who ride on bicycles. That tech is now a reality. See the article here:
http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/previews/first-look-garmin-varia-vision-heads-up-display
Or this:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/wearables/garmin-varia-vision-news/
You can read either article on that product but the latter I think explains it better. I like Garmin because their products are focused and dedicated, getting it done. And they're far more reliable than using a map on the phone, especially if you're in a mountainous area with no phone signal, the dedicated GPS is a godsend. But I digress.
Again, this is not meant for casual wear but dedicated to this particular type of activity, nor for the vanity of fashion. It's designed to get the job done and for safety reasons.
As a deaf person, I'm sure using subtitles as a HUD display would be handy but the problem lies in live transcribing actual conversations. I know there is an iPhone app that captures group conversations but if Siri can't understand certain speech accentuation or due to background noise, then this will be a huge problem for 'live' conversation captioning.
For medical uses, they can pull up hard 'up to the minute' data instantly. Or if you're in a room networking with people, that's handy to pull up data on who's who, kind of like a LinkedIn database ( which would NOT surprise me if they do it ). The only concern I have is for people who have astigmatism who are near/far sighted. There would have to be the option to tweak how far or near the AR data can be viewed on the HUD screen. It will not surprise me that the medical industry will use an HUD type of wearable in the very near future within a couple years, maybe less.
If you think Apple is going to be ahead of the pack with streamlined design, you might want to think again because Zeiss is already doing that now. See here:
http://www.wired.com/2016/01/zeiss-smart-glasses/
The whine about bulkiness the others have made on MR? Apple can't make that claim now, thanks to Zeiss. And they have 170 years of experience.
As far as the claims of 'motion sickness' goes being made by at least one or two MR members here, I can certainly say that I did NOT experience that at all when trying out the Oculus. The motion sickness claim is just an act of denial of the reality of the product already here, and denial that Apple lost out. Oculus is already working out the kinks and HTC Vive ( I've heard extremely good things about it ) has something a bit different using various sensors.
On to porn using VR, that's already out now. It's not an illusion nor a pipe dream. It's here. Not that I have anything against the porn industry, so more power to them for being creative.
Even 3D modelers or CAD architects use HUD displays for their line of work. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, one aircraft carrier was recently designed from scratch using just that for the very first time.
That said, the HUD AR/VR tech is already here. I think within a year or two, Apple is going to get drowned out big time and good 'ol Timmy will not have an easy time catching up, that is, if he still has the job by then. I don't trust his future successor who already got promoted to COO but that's another argument for another time.
Oh, and one more thing in regards to AR being around a few years. I've been using it in the guise of the game " Ingress " for iOS
. Just be warned that it's extremely addictive, if you know what you're doing.
