As the Notorious B.I.G. once said, via his hit single, "Mo Money, Mo Problems." However, it would appear that Magic Leap feels a bit differently about piling on the cash.
In any business, there are a number of questions companies must answer in order to get customers to buy a product or service. The same holds true for companies selling augmented reality headsets.
While the consensus among some in the augmented reality community is that the Microsoft HoloLens is the best device available at present, it also remains the most cost-prohibitive option, with the development edition costing $3,000.
Investors aren't keen to throw money at a new technology sector without at least some hope of a significant return on their investment in the future. That's why a recent run of activity within the augmented reality business space has stoked some new optimism among the financial community.
It used to be that the best kind of swag was T-shirts and hats from your favorite music artists, but now the symbol of casual insider cool falls to the tech companies, and Snapchat has just joined the ranks of branded apparel purveyors.
Facebook just ratcheted up its ongoing augmented reality war against the competition by stealing away Google's director of product for AR, Nikhil Chandhok. In his new role, the executive will serve as Facebook's director of product on the company's Camera/AR team.
Coming into this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the common sentiment among observers was that this was expected to be the big year for augmented reality.
Digital imaging company OmniVision Technologies and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) entered the CES fray this week with a new reference design for an augmented reality headset capable of 60 degrees field of view (FoV).
On Tuesday, original design manufacturer (ODM) Flex used the CES spotlight to help introduce a smartglasses reference design aimed at companies interested in bringing their own enterprise AR headsets to market.
Who said brushing your teeth can't be fun? It certainly isn't Kolibree, a company that's introducing the world to the first augmented reality toothbrush for kids at this week's CES tech conference in Las Vegas.
To commemorate the rollout of the AR+ update for Pokémon Go, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter to promote and celebrate the moment his company's ARKit platform made possible.
Augmented reality has given companies worldwide great powers for innovating business practices and engaging customers, but on Monday, Honda demonstrated that with great power, also comes great social responsibility.
While Animal Crossing's emphasis has always been on making friends with the animals that populate your world, each subsequent game following its initial release has stressed relationships with human players more and more. In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, making human friends is a crucial part of the process with the inclusion of market boxes, Shovelstrike Quarry, and giving "kudos."
Just as the modern travel experience has improved thanks to the internet, Airbnb wants to make your stay in a stranger's home easier by way of augmented and virtual reality.
Just days after we found out that Apple is working on its own augmented reality headset, we now learn that the company is accelerating its AR headset efforts with the acquisition of Montreal-based hardware maker Vrvana.
French manufacturer Renault Trucks is looking to the HoloLens to improve quality control processes with its engine assembly operations.
The next frontier for AR hardware is the consumer headset, and tech companies of varying size and tenure are working hard to strike the right mix between comfort, cool factor, and cost. How these companies handle the hype and flow of information vary wildly.
When you run an augmented reality company worth billions of dollars, backed by some of the biggest names in tech, and you haven't even released a product yet, even late night tweetstorms rank as worthy of dissection. Such is the case with Rony Abovitz, CEO of Magic Leap, who decided to spend a little time on Twitter on Wednesday to outline his vision of the future of immersive computing.
When the Super Bowl airs, every other TV network puts on reruns because no one wants to face that juggernaut for ratings. The launch of a new iPhone is the Super Bowl of the tech world, with the launch of the iPhone X being the biggest one yet.
Investors are ready to throw their money at augmented and virtual use cases that demonstrate a business purpose and a return on investment.
Augmented reality headsets with larger eye boxes than any device currently available could make their way to market by the end of next year if current timelines hold true.
As demand for AR and VR developers continues to increase, particularly with the advent of Apple's ARKit platform, Unity has partnered with online learning company Udacity to help developers sharpen their skills for these jobs.
Google just bought a huge chunk of HTC for $1.1 billion. They're bringing in around 2,000 employees, mostly from the hardware division, and these folks will presumably work under hardware chief Rick Osterloh. There's a massive patent portfolio involved, too, so stop me if you've heard this before — Motorola, anyone?
Every year, football fans get excited about the next crop of blue chip prospects joining their teams, from five-star high school recruits graduating to college to first-round rookies drafted into the NFL.
Influenced by the growth of augmented and virtual reality technology as well as 3D computer vision, Ericcson Ventures invested in Matterport, whose hardware and software help companies create AR/VR experiences.
Thanks to augmented reality, fashion companies can let customers try on cosmetics, clothes, more cosmetics, and sunglasses from the comfort of their homes and through the non-judgmental eyes of their smartphone camera.
The creative possibilities are part of what makes Apple's ARKit so exciting. We've seen new camera effects, painting, and new ways to tell stories through ARKit. Now, the app developer studio "Orb" has created an app to let you create scenes with 3D objects of your choosing.
A top executive from Baidu's telematics division believes the company will become the word leader in driverless by 2020, according to a report in today's South China Morning Post.
Augmented reality can be used to fascinate and entertain, but it can be applied in the workplace. While companies on the entertainment end received their votes of confidence via funding, two companies working with enterprises demonstrated their worth by teaming up to pursue customers.
There is an Indian story called the Legend of Paal Paysam, and while it doesn't seem like it at first, it has a lot to say about what motivated Paul Travers in the augmented reality space.
At Facebook's first Communities Summit, admins from top Facebook groups assembled to discuss tools to better manage and optimize their members. Here, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that these changes fuel the company's shifting focus from connecting the world to uniting it.
Tesla hopes high-level personnel changes will help it gain an edge in neural network knowhow for its models' self-drive features, following the replacement of its Autopilot chief and the appointment of a recent Stanford grad to head its AI and Autopilot vision research.
Wegmans recently partnered with Instacart, an online grocery-delivery app, to bring your groceries right to you. The collaboration will begin in the suburbs around Washington, DC, and Wegmans plans to expand to other areas later on.
Yes, you read that headline correctly. Spotify now has 140 million monthly active users, which is up from the 126 million users on the streaming service last year. (If you're wondering, Mexico's population is currently 127 million.)
Quanergy CEO and founder Louay Eldada is, by any standard of measure, a pioneer in the development of LiDARs for driverless vehicles.
Here it is folks, after weeks of constant leaks and speculation surrounding the highly anticipated OnePlus 5, the company has decided to release a high-res image of the new phone on the official OnePlus Google+ page.
Uber's struggles are expected help Lyft get ahead in driverless development as it confirms its third partnership with autonomous tech company nuTonomy today.
Global design and technology services company Tata Elxsi says it has licensed its advanced autonomous vehicle middleware platform "AUTONOMAI" to a "leading automotive OEM."
Meta CEO and founder — and Next Reality 50 member —Meron Gribetz unveiled a new operating environment for augmented reality called Meta Workspace for the audience at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara, California, today.
The common thread between this week's Brief Reality stories is that augmented reality is beginning to prove its worth as a technology that improves workflows and processes. From customer service to healthcare to manufacturing, augmented reality is helping companies improve productivity.
