Magic Leap knows that it’s going to have a very strong competition with Microsoft and Magic Leap. We are talking about companies who for them $2bn like Magic Leap was invested in doesn’t count as a huge investment. Magic Leap now try to raise even more capital to be ready to sustain a long-term rivalry from Apple and Microsoft, according to ft.com.
This kind of worries me, if I was on Magic Leap’s side. As I see it, Apple, when it releases its own AR/MR headset, most probably will make it interface with its mobile devices in some way or another. It will probably be using or based on an ARKit extension APIs that will make jumping to MR/AR development for those glasses an easy leap for current developers. Making it easier for those who are already familiar with ARKit to quickly prototype and developer apps for those AR glasses.
I’ve read that paragraph where Rony Abovitz talked about privacy and a device that “sees what you see and hears what you hear” (quotes from ft.com). This is actually something that I’ve mentioned in my article. Having to option for shared spatial visuals or streamed view of what the glasses see is something that has serious privacy implications. Many companies talked about it and actually incorporated strict privacy constraints in how they store spatial data, this includes Google and Apple with their ARCore and ARKit shared experiences, as well as many if not all of the AR Cloud solutions that are available right now. There is definitely an advantage in being able to share the 3D spatial mapping data among other uses, platforms, and applications. It can allow cross-use between VR and MR/AR and support different types of collaboration apps, and other types of applications.
Right now, Magic Leap seems like a dream for many and a reality for a fortunate few. I am pretty sure that this marketing strategy can work for them for now, but as we know this industry, once Apple steps in, those companies will have no choice but adapt to whatever Apple throws in. Apple is a pivot company in the AR industry and it has already shown its commitment and dedication to the AR market. Maybe this whole Magic Leap strategy is to release the product and wait. Yes, wait, because Magic Leap might need to make some significant changes after it sees what Apple’s is coming up with. Now, don’t be so surprised. We’ve already seen that a great technology like Google’s Tango was replaced with an inferior technology which was similar to Apple’s ARKit. Google had a great technology, but it lost that battle because Apple was able to release a cheaper product for the mass market and enjoys a very fast adaptation of its technology, with hundreds of millions of its devices supporting it from day 1.
Now, the same thing can happen here but in a different form. Apple can release a product that might be inferior in terms of technological advancement, but it’s cheaper, more accessible and can provide a high-quality experience that doesn’t fall far from what Magic Leap offers. Another thing is that it might interface with current mobile phones as a computing source and therefore enjoys all of its functionality and therefore users won’t need a second external computing device, making its AR glasses more suitable for outdoor use as well. The Magic Leap One had around 3 hours of battery life from what I’ve read, so it’s definitely not suitable for long use outdoors. This is an area where Apple can have a significant advantage over Magic Leap, by offering AR Glasses that not just look great, but also ones that are suitable for long user outdoors. It has to keep a good balance between features, usability, comfortability, and price to make Magic Leap’s life much harder.
Magic Leap also seems to target the business market segment based on the pricing, current design and outdoor use limitations, and current applications that we’ve seen for it. So in some ways, Magic Leap might take a different marketing strategy and focus on targets the eCommerce and business sector, rather than competing against Apple in targeting the mass market, the general public. I’ve searched but haven’t found any concrete information with which I can share more detailed information about Magic Leap marketing strategy regarding its latest product release, the Magic Leap One.
It’s like it showcases its product as one that can do many things, including gaming, but as far as I can see it, this product is far from being attractive for gamers based on its current price, let alone game companies who will have a very limited audience to work with. Honestly, it feels like a dead gaming platform from day one, I just can’t see any way that the Magic Leap One can have any mark on the gaming market even a few years from now. Magic Leap might release a secondary product with different specs and different price that will match a different market segment, but there is nothing right now that suggests that.
Magic Leap had some really impressive promotional content that presented the Magic Leap as an entertaining device, but maybe this was done just because it’s the best way to impress people, not because the aim was to focus on that particular market. This is why I kind of got confused after seeing the specs, price and bundled apps. It’s a picture that you usually get when a hyped gadget is released and found out that the things look far less bright as what the company has to lead us to believe in.
In that aspect, I am quite disappointed. Still, the Magic Leap One, as of the time of writing, is by far the most impressive Mixed Reality Glasses gadget out there. As a technology enthusiast, I prefer having a product that I know that I can enjoy either right now or in a year to come at most. One that I can afford, one that has a wide appeal and will very likely to have thousands of apps available in a very short time. I don’t want to spend more than $2K on a product and just see and wait. If you do aim for the mass market, you already know that this industry has no time for these type of products.
For myself, I just tagged the Magic Leap One as “let’s wait and see”. Until then, I hope that some company, whether Apple, Microsoft or other company, will come with a product that will appeal to the mass market and let people like me and you have fun with this amazing technology without waiting a decade for it. I’m sure that there are many Ar developers who see a huge potential in this technology, understand its benefits and just can’t wait to get their hands on one of those future-tech AR/MR glasses. Of course, those developers want to be profitable. Many of them have no time or spare money to just “asses the market”, they want to make great things now and profit from their hard work. This is one of the reasons what the iPhone was such an amazing product, it attracted a lot of developers and created so many new companies and job opportunities, it literally changed the world.
This is Apple’s vision, and why I do believe that Apple will be the one to make such AR/MR glasses that will fit my wishes. Other than that, I do spend time reading and learning more about Magic Leap One, because this technology is here to stay, one way or another. Future Mixed Reality glasses will definitely use a subset of its currently implemented technology and even if you don’t intend to develop for Magic Leap One, this product can still inspire you and get you ready from what’s coming up next.
The past has taught us that Apple’s product has a wide appeal to both mass market and the business segment. Making Apple’s product appeal to a wide audience, doesn’t make them inferior to other product in the business category. I do believe that when and if Apple releases AR/MR glasses, they will have technology capabilities that will allow developers to build apps that can appeal to both markets.
How this rivalry between Magic Leap and Apple will actually be, we’ll need to wait and see. I’m sure there will be other competitors who will try to target niche markets to help distinguish themselves from the competition and try to gain some market share that way, while others will try to rival the big companies face to face and those big companies will try, each one in its own way, stay at the front of the technological advancement and convince developers that this is the future platform to develop for. This will be a very interesting “fight” to watch and it will surely lead to many new technology investments and inventions.