Apple Vision Pro, the $3,499 mixed reality headset announced for release in early 2024, could be getting a B2B marketing push, as evidenced by a recently published Apple post on development apps. That would make competing products in the $3,300 to $5,000 range — including the Microsoft HoloLens and headsets from Magic Leap — Apple’s competition for the Vision Pro. That would also leave Meta Platforms and its Quest line, including the $500 mixed reality Quest 3 that began shipping last month, unchallenged in the consumer space, where it currently enjoys an estimated 80 percent market share. Continue reading Apple’s Vision Pro May Compete in the AR Enterprise Space

Meta View, a new spatial computing company backed by Olive Tree Ventures and BNSG Capital, has acquired the IP assets of Meta Company, a pioneer in AR head-mounted displays that shut down earlier this year. Meta Company previously generated a lot of buzz regarding its Meta 2 headset and wide field-of-view display system. To run the new San Mateo, California-based company, Meta View has hired former Qualcomm VP Jay Wright as CEO. Wright co-founded Vuforia, where he served as president and GM cultivating the popular AR platform. Continue reading New Company Acquires Meta’s AR Assets and Hires CEO

Snapchat has been making hires and acquisitions in augmented reality that may signal development of smart glasses. The company has brought in key people from Microsoft HoloLens, PTC’s (formerly Qualcomm’s) Vuforia and Eyefluence, an eye-tracking technology company. Snapchat’s interest in AR dates back to March 2014, when it quietly acquired Vergence Labs, maker of glasses with an embedded camera, for $15 million. At the time, the acquisition seemed out-of-place but now appears to be part of a larger AR strategy. Continue reading Snapchat Working on AR, Gamer Developers Turn to VR Titles

While companies prepare to release virtual reality experiences into the consumer market, an increasing flow of money and effort is going toward developing and buying augmented reality (AR) technology and ideas. Augmented reality is any situation where your personal experience with the world around you is enhanced, supplemented, or added to via personally worn technology. The AR space is getting busy and increasingly crowded as companies position themselves to secure a piece of a new media ecosystem that is projected to yield $120B in revenue by 2020. Continue reading CES: Augmented Reality Getting Ready in the Green Room