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Google Begins AR Headset Development to Compete With Apple and Meta

DocMultimedia said:
Rumors of "coming next year" for AR/VR products will now have Google in the mix. Just what I need for the next decade or two before a useful product is released.
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Even Meta rushed their existing products out based on the rumours *cough* Vapor ware of Apple’s VR/AR headset.

I do think if Apple releases this headset or Glasses it will be a good product. However can’t we just accept that other companies can be working on products simultaneously with Apple or have their own ideas. They aren’t just sitting around waiting for Apple rumours or apple to release a product so they can copy it.
 
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Let them have theirs. I say this is good. Competition will ensure prices stay competitive and features remain innovative. If these companies all release something that allows the internet v3 to be interoperable, I’m all for it.

Of course that being said I’d never trust my data or privacy to “meta” or Google, so I’d of course choose Apple. But competition will help all three be better so I say bring it on.
 
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Google and Facebook are 10 years behind Apple in wearables. They will not be able to field a competitive AR headset.

Why? They chased the mirage of voice assistant speakers and VR while Apple turned Apple Watch and AirPods into a powerhouse. What does that have to do with AR glasses? Wearables are a platform play. AirPods, Watch, iPhone, AR glasses will all work together seamlessly, with glasses possibly being powered by the Watch and/or Phone. Just like AirPods make Apple Watch much more powerful by enabling music/calling/Siri from the wrist. And Apple has been building the AR software platform for years in anticipation of headsets. And they have a brand and fashion sense to make things people actually want to wear on their bodies - AirPods and Apple Watch both seen as desirable and appealing. They have this locked down.
 
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I trust Google about as much as I trust Facebook these days. The last thing I want them to have is the ability to see what I see.
 
Simmias said:
Google and Facebook are 10 years behind Apple in wearables. They will not be able to field a competitive AR headset.

Why? They chased the mirage of voice assistant speakers and VR while Apple turned Apple Watch and AirPods into a powerhouse. What does that have to do with AR glasses? Wearables are a platform play. AirPods, Watch, iPhone, AR glasses will all work together seamlessly, with glasses possibly being powered by the Watch and/or Phone. Just like AirPods make Apple Watch much more powerful by enabling music/calling/Siri from the wrist. And Apple has been building the AR software platform for years in anticipation of headsets. And they have a brand and fashion sense to make things people actually want to wear on their bodies - AirPods and Apple Watch both seen as desirable and appealing. They have this locked down.
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I'm about 80% in agreement but the VR tech from the oculus is highly useful as is the research from google glass. Think you're right that Apple has a serious edge on the hardware and ecosystem play but in terms of software, even with AR Kit being pretty welll hammered out, Im note sure they have the edge in the software side.
 
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mzeb said:
I'm about 80% in agreement but the VR tech from the oculus is highly useful as is the research from google glass. Think you're right that Apple has a serious edge on the hardware and ecosystem play but in terms of software, even with AR Kit being pretty welll hammered out, Im note sure they have the edge in the software side.
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Not to mention the fact that google has their own well hammered out AR framework that is baked into android. Daydream may have failed as a product, but for what it was, it was actually pretty good. It's not like Apple is the only company that is playing in the AR/VR world. People around here get their blinders on and think Apple is the only company that can possibly do whatever the hot technology of the day is and it's just not the reality. And none of this is even getting into the headstart Meta has with Oculus in their corner.
I do agree with the person you responded to on one thing though, Apple has completely mastered the ecosystem concept and whatever they come out with is going to slide right into the fold and it will be cool to see how it all works together. (Though you don't need airpods to listen to music/use siri/make calls from the apple watch, not sure what that was all about.)
 
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8KYUP said:
It is an odd view to think of Google copying Apple when they would both be entering a mature space where a huge chunk of what they will potentially introduce will have already existed for years.

Of course, Meta and others are currently running Android so there is that.
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Smart phones and tablets existed long before Apple entered and showed everyone what they ought to be like. It’s a stretch to even think of Meta as the BlackBerry of VR. VR/AR exists, but undeveloped and incomplete. Apple will to show us what a complete AR/VR device is going to be.
 
filmantopia said:
Smart phones and tablets existed long before Apple entered and showed everyone what they ought to be like. It’s a stretch to even think of Meta as the BlackBerry of VR. VR/AR exists, but undeveloped and incomplete. Apple will to show us what a complete AR/VR device is going to be.
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There is a reason they are using Android. They can fork AOSP and do whatever they want with it. You need to divorce the concept of Google Android with AOSP. It's an OS that you can do whatever you need to do with and not be forced to wait for someone else to do it and then allow you use what they did.
 
8KYUP said:
It is an odd view to think of Google copying Apple when they would both be entering a mature space where a huge chunk of what they will potentially introduce will have already existed for years.
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I'm reminded by Apple entering the "mature" wireless handset space with iPhone, competing against Motorola, Ericsson, and Nokia.

Where are those wireless industry giants today, commonly referred to as MEN in the industry 20 years ago?
 
filmantopia said:
Apple has been working the hell out of their AR platform, both software and hardware. They’re the only company that has the wherewithal to take an idea as big and abstract as this and figure out how to make it into an appealing, exciting and useful lifestyle product rather than some niche tech toy/tool.
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Nailed it. Fully.
You managed to say, in one efficient sentence, what I've struggled to convey for months. Thanks.
 
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Why do I get the sense that project Iris will be the AR equivalent of Pro Skater 5?
 
giggles said:
A completely different product in terms of implementation/scope doesn’t cut it for “we were first” bragging rights. (even more so if it’s a commercial failure)

The Android prototype before the iPhone looked like a Blackberry.

View attachment 1947326
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I had a Google Glass a long time ago and am very familiar with the hardware limitations head mounted equipment have. This included getting good battery out of such a small form factor as well as the backlash from putting a camera on someone’s face. Apple, Meta, and others are going to be able to learn from the risks Google took when they made Google Glass.

They deserve a little bit of credit.
 
Privacy called. This isn’t a good idea though I trust Google a little more than Facebook … but not by much. With Google and Facebook your privacy is the product they market to their real customers. I’ve said it a million times. We need a data bill of rights. If it’s your data you should own it, know who has it, what they are doing with it and have the ability to have your information deleted and not collected moving forward. Let those who don’t care trade it for products and services and those of us who do care pay fair market value for what these companies are offering up for “free” but are actually financed by selling your data.
 
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If people are concerned about social media causing more anxiety, depression, detachment from reality, social awkwardness, social unrest, sociopolitical diviseness, etc., they haven’t seen anything yet. Meta will be that times 10.
 
I can see it now:

You put on your fancy new Google View (or whatever the hell they’ll call it) headset on to settle into the evening.

As you start to view your favorite show, advertisements inundate the corners of your media.
 
Some strange takes here. Both Google and Microsoft are light years ahead of Apple in this space and so many others. Even Meta is obviously ahead. Apple makes stuff for kids that can't keep track of their car keys, Google and Microsoft are doing insane enterprise development that is going to be at the forefront of this whole silly metaverse push.
 
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Simmias said:
Google and Facebook are 10 years behind Apple in wearables. They will not be able to field a competitive AR headset.

Why? They chased the mirage of voice assistant speakers and VR while Apple turned Apple Watch and AirPods into a powerhouse. What does that have to do with AR glasses? Wearables are a platform play. AirPods, Watch, iPhone, AR glasses will all work together seamlessly, with glasses possibly being powered by the Watch and/or Phone. Just like AirPods make Apple Watch much more powerful by enabling music/calling/Siri from the wrist. And Apple has been building the AR software platform for years in anticipation of headsets. And they have a brand and fashion sense to make things people actually want to wear on their bodies - AirPods and Apple Watch both seen as desirable and appealing. They have this locked down.
Click to expand...
Huh? What's Oculus then, Meta has lots of experience with VR hesdsrts? How about HoloLens? Apple sucks at software and will lack the enterprise expertise and distribution channels. Apple will have their niche with the cult of apple crowd.
 
All I know is I’ve yet to use a headset(Playstation, etc) that didn‘t make me sick almost instantly.
 
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