Opinion: How Apple can Save the AR/VR/MR Industries

I know what many will say. The AR/VR/MR Industries are still in infancy stage and do not need saving. While I mostly agree with that, I still believe that the Marketing aspect, ie “how” the techs are explained to Consumers, is way off. We are confusing the People with what seems like a plethora of terminologies. From VR to XR, from Mixed Reality to Google’s “Immersive Computing”, we are doing a great job at confusing folks. As an example: the “360 isn’t Vr, maaan” crowd. The only thing folks like that accomplish is create division within the industry itself, and keep the Consumers further away from what we all want: for these technologies to thrive.

This is where Apple steps in.

Industry Insiders like Robert Scoble have been talking up the upcoming Apple iPhone 8 announcements, making statements like “VR will be wiped out by Apple by September”. While that may be a little overly bold, there may be some large nuggets of sense and truth to those statements. For the rest of this op-ed piece, keep in mind that this will mark the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, which many suspect is going to be used by Apple as an opportunity to flex their muscle.

Fact: the iPhone disrupted the smartphone category when it first came out. Before it did, Nokia & Blackberry ruled. They were pretty much wiped out. We need to see the release of the ARKit for what it truly is: a pre-release. As always, we remind you all that Content is King. Imagine if Google had pre-released the software to create AR content to hungry devs months prior to releasing the Google Glass. It might not have needed its current “comeback” attempt, would it?

So now, if you consider that Content is the most important thing for a new tech to be adopted by the masses (read: not the gamer crowd that adopted Oculus/Vive), the release of Apple Glass (only calling it that for the sake of this opinion piece, not in any means the actual name of the product yet to be announced) would fail just like Google’s product.

Remember that if there is one thing Apple is absolute King of, it is Marketing.

So… WHAT IF the release of the ARKit is nothing more than a way to get news of their product out prior to even launching the product itself? One of the more difficult hurdles of AR/VR, other than having loads of quality content for the masses to enjoy, is HOW TO EXPLAIN AR/VR to the masses.

Quick Reminder:

• Augmented reality lets you interact with both computer-generated and real world objects, like capturing a Pokemon on your bed.
• Rumours that Apple is working on a pair of AR glasses have been around for a while, and in June, Apple purchased a company that specialises in eye tracking technology, which is essential to improving AR glasses.
• That same month, Apple released its ARKit platform, and developers have since created amazing AR tools for the iPhone.
• Although Apple has neither confirmed nor denied that it’s developing AR glasses, its expansion into augmented reality will change the way we use our iPhones.

I, for one, absolutely agree with the Scobles of this World that Apple will find the way to Market these Technologies to the Masses like no other has prior. What I add to that is the reminder that behind all this marketing and technology, one constant must be respected: Content, and its Creators.

Go out there and Create, dearest Creators. For in the end, it is YOU who can truly help these technologies survive.

As a little Friday Extra: Enjoy this Facebook Live session by Robert Scoble, which followed his infamous statement from the top of this article: https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/videos/10155535524679655/