I've been following this tech for years now, Apple's acquisitions, and their research and development. From my perspective, every advancement they've made in both services and hardware has all been cleverly, strategically, progressing towards this one objective, to deliver world-changing next-gen VR/AR/MR technology. Impressively, they've monetized many of the results along the way, and it seems they're right on the cusp of bringing it all together.
Meta, Sony, and others are also making advancements. Competition and collaboration in the space are just going to accelerate progress.
I also saw Meta's preview, and had mixed thoughts about it. #1 they've addressed a number of challenges, #2 they have a hint of what Apple is about to introduce and it's better to show some of their hand before, not after, #3 they want to own the metaverse, and their hardware is a means to that end. If they rely on Apple's platform, they won't have unfettered access to private user information. If they have their own platform, they'll have 100% of user information. So, having several players competing, will ultimately be good for consumers. I hope Meta's products retain a fair presence in the market and they don't just give up on hardware development and switch back to software only.
Immersive and augmented view devices will gradually replace phones and tablets, PCs and laptops, and even compliment group viewing devices like television screens. Most, if not already all, of the hardware is in place for next-gen devices. From this point forward it becomes an iterative improvement cycle, further miniaturization, improved power efficiencies, and steady progress on resolution, emitters, and lens technology.
