Market Reality: Magic Leap Seeks Series E Funding, Apple Delays AR Headset, & Snap Starts Selling Spectacles 3
The week in AR business news started out with a bang with two bombshell reports that cast a shadow on the AR industry as a whole.
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Market Reality: Snoop & Mark Ronson Hit AR, DreamWorld & Mad Gaze Launch Wearables, & Google Tests Mobile Hand Tracking
Before smartglasses makers can dream of taking smartglasses to mainstream consumers, they must first determine the right mix of form, function, and price that will drive customers to buy into what they're hoping to sell.
News: Qualcomm & Bose Back RealWear's Enterprise Augmented Reality Wearables in $80 Million Funding Round
Some investors play the short game, placing their bets on industries that show the quickest return on their investment, and, in the augmented reality space, that means the enterprise sector.
Market Reality: Microsoft's HoloLens 2 Team Speaks, Apple AR Glasses Update, Matterport Lands $48 Million
While the long awaited HoloLens sequel is scheduled to arrive later this year, Apple may force Microsoft to share the AR wearables spotlight, if reports of the company's first entry into smartglasses territory end up coming to fruition.
Market Reality: Microsoft's Next HoloLens Close to Arriving, Apple Prepares for Big AR Marketing Push
The hype around augmented reality has risen to a fever pitch over the past two years, and if this week's selection of business news stories are any indication, the din is about to get down right deafening.
News: Epic Games Files Legal Action to Stop Augmented Reality Startup Nreal from Using Name in the US
Augmented reality startup Nreal was a hit at this month's CES event, with some even calling the device a worthy challenger to the Magic Leap One.
Market Reality: North Plans Smartglasses Pop-Up Stores, Adobe Buys Allegorithmic, & Candy Ventures Snags Blippar Assets
The era of smartglasses designed for consumers has officially begun, as shipments of North Focals began arriving at its stores this week. And the company now has plans to expand its retail footprint.
News: AR Cloud Startup Ubiquity6 Turns Up Volume on Audio AR Through Acquisition of Wavy
Among a crowded field of AR cloud companies aiming to power the future of augmented reality by creating a world of persistent holographic content that lives in a cloud, accessible across devices and accounts, Ubiquity6 is hoping it has found a way to differentiate its platform.
News: Blippar's Mobile AR Business Collapses After Funding Falls Through
Mobile augmented reality pioneer Blippar has now completed its fall from hopeful AR startup to the immersive computing history books.
Market Reality: Apple's Acquisition of Leap Motion Fails, While Snapchat & Magic Leap Make AR Fashionable
This week, inside sources divulged details of how Apple nearly acquired Leap Motion, twice. Otherwise, companies offering or working on augmented reality technology had more successes than failures to talk about.
Market Reality: Tim Cook Tops NR30 Mobile AR Leaders, Magic Leap Expands, & Snap Exec Departs
Cited by many listed on this year's NR30 list as the most important event in the last 12 months, last year's release of ARKit catapulted Apple CEO Tim Cook to the top of Next Reality's rankings. This week, we dug deeper by explaining why he's at the top of the list of NR30 Mobile AR leaders.
Market Reality: Apple Assembles AR Team, Google & Amazon Invest in New UI, & Qualcomm Powers Next Vuzix & Meta Devices
The Augmented World Expo is winding down in Santa Clara, where Qualcomm, Vuzix, and Meta Company were among the companies making big announcements.
Market Reality: Apple's Smartglasses Timeline Shifts, Continental Invests in Automotive HUDS, & Target Ships Web AR App
Consumers are chomping at the bit for augmented reality smartglasses from Cupertino's finest, but one market analyst is saying not so fast, Apple fans. Meanwhile, automotive AR is gaining speed, with the latest milestone coming courtesy of a major investment in waveguides by Continental. And although mobile AR apps have already arrived, retailer Target is taking a different approach. So why is Target tinkering with web-based AR? Answers below...
News: New Magic Leap Images Appear as Saudi Prince Gets Demo from CEO Rony Abovitz
It turns out that the government of Saudi Arabia has managed to do something last month's Game Developers Conference couldn't — give us a few new glimpses of the Magic Leap One being worn by someone other than Shaq.
Market Reality: Magic Leap's Branding Comes into Focus, Google Backs AR Cloud, & L'Oreal Takes Over AR Beauty
Noted poet T.S. Elliot once wrote that "April is the cruelest month." But Magic Leap might argue that March is the most miserable, as the Ides of March brought more legal woes to augmented reality startup. Elsewhere, its closely-held branding secrets have been spilled by way of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Market Reality: Magic Leap Gets New Cash & NBA Deal, AR Supplier's Apple Rumor, & HoloLens Gets into Rental Business
While the company is adamant that the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition will ship this year, currently, it seems its CEO is more interested in striking deals with content partners than releasing details about the headset.
Market Reality: Apple, Niantic, Intel & Facebook Pursue the Trophy in the Super Bowl of AR
With the Super Bowl just days away, it seems appropriate to draw parallels between football and the professional sport of technology business, or, more specifically, the augmented reality segment.
Market Reality: Auto Industry Ramps Up AR Use via Microsoft & Snapchat
Between Renault Truck's testing of the HoloLens in factories and BMW promoting its newest model through Snapchat, the auto industry is hot for augmented reality to improve internal operations and engage consumers.
How To: Acorns App Makes You a Better Saver Without You Even Noticing
Investing is like exercise—we all know we should be doing more of it, but we often just can't find the time. I mean, really, who's got the hours, inclination, and skill to pour through volumes of data and put together a balanced yet sophisticated portfolio of investment vehicles tailored specifically to optimize their returns while mitigating potential risks. Not me, that's for sure.
How To: Ship a car when moving
You've boxed up and shipped all your other possessions for the big move and all you're left with is the little issue of how your getting your car there. There are companies out there that will ship your car to you, just make sure your car is prepped for the journey.
How To: Create a rocker chick look for concerts
Miss Jessica Harlow provides a step-by-step tutorial on makeup application to get a perfect smoky eye inspired by rocker Taylor Momsen.
News: Verizon Acquires Jaunt After Startup Moves from VR Services to Augmented Reality Focus
It looks like Jaunt's pivot from VR to volumetric captures services for augmented reality experiences has paid off.
News: Siemens Adds Augmented Reality Visualization to Its 3D Industrial Design Software
It's no secret that the enterprise sector is hot for augmented reality, but the move into the enterprise AR software market by one of the biggest names in industrial engineering announces the technology's arrival loud and clear.
News: North Hits the Road Again with New Focals Smartglasses Pop-Up Stores Across North America
After testing the waters with a few pop-up stores along the West Coast earlier this year, North is bringing its smartglasses to more cities across the US and Canada.
News: Scope AR Snags $9.7 Million to Expand Its Enterprise Augmented Reality Platform
While the tech industries giants and eager startups chase the dream of widespread consumer augmented reality, enterprise AR is living the dream today.
News: Lyft's Pick Up of AR Cloud Startup Blue Vision Labs Could Bring AR Features to Ride-Sharing
On Tuesday, Blue Vision Labs, one of three Google-backed companies working on AR Cloud platforms, announced its acquisition by ride-sharing company Lyft.
News: Magic Leap Filed Police Report on Over $1 Million Theft Linked to Employee
It turns out that coming up groundbreaking technology and raising billions may actually be the easy part for Magic Leap, as a new report has revealed yet another legal entanglement at the Florida-based company.
News: Niantic Boss Throws Shade at Star Wars AR Between Reveals of Pokémon Go China & Harry Potter Launch Timeframe
In the midst of outlining plans to release Pokémon Go in China and debut its new Harry Potter game during the back half of 2018, Niantic CEO John Hanke turned to the dark arts by taking a swipe at the company's AR gaming competition.
News: This AR Experiment Adds a Life Clock to Anyone with a Face
Do you know when you're going to die? Your iPhone or iPad does. That's the premise behind Death Mask, an experimental app developed by Or Fleisher and Anastasis Germanidis.
Market Reality: Ericsson Ventures Invests in Matterport
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.
News: Zillow Invests in Augmented Reality Interior Design App Hutch
Hutch Interiors, Inc., makers of an eponymous augmented reality home design app for iOS and Android, has closed a series A round of funding, led by online real estate company Zillow Group, totaling $10 million.
News: Aryzon Joins the Race to Be the Cardboard of AR
Another entrant — Aryzon — has joined the competition to be crowned as the "Cardboard of AR." The Netherlands-based startup launched their Kickstarter campaign Monday (May 29) and the campaign has already surpassed its funding goal. The company expects to ship units to backers in September.
News: Self-Driving Cars Are Coming to New York, but Only for a Limited Time
The east coast is becoming a hotbed for driverless. Sure, the west coast has all of its fancy tech companies testing self-driving cars, but we've got the goods too. Uber has brought the technology to Pennsylvania and will soon do the same in Toronto. (Stratford, Ontario, has plans to test out driverless too!) And today we got some great news: Governor Andrew Cuomo just approved of driverless testing in New York.
News: The Government Is Coming for Your HMDs!
Beware: After a new caucus — the Congressional Caucus on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality Technologies for the 115th Congress — formed in the US House of Representatives, the government has decided to go after all mixed reality head-mounted displays. The HoloLens, Magic Leap — nothing is safe anymore.
News: Is Verizon Getting into the Driverless Game?
Verizon could be getting in on the autonomous vehicle party, judging by its recent investment in driverless software company Renovo Motors.
Market Reality: Boeing HorizonX Takes Flight with AR Investment
Welcome to the maiden voyage of our new Market Reality column. Each Friday, NextReality will give you a roundup of news briefs from the financial end of the augmented and mixed reality industry. We'll cover funding news, market analysis, and more.
Have You Seen This?: Secrets of Ancient Egypt Shows the Potential of HoloLens Tourism
A few days ago, I pulled up the Windows Store on my HoloLens and saw a few new applications. One that caught my attention was Oriental Museum, which lets you explore China's Forbidden City, and the other one is very similar free demo app called Secrets of Ancient Egypt by Link Development.
News: The World of Horror Just Got Real with the Augmented Reality Game 'Night Terrors'
Augmented reality allows for all kinds of experiences to happen just about anywhere, and that creates some incredible potential for entertainment. While games like Pokémon GO take you out into the world, one crowd-funded game wants to keep you inside—to scare the crap out of you in your own home.
News: DrinkTanks' Growler & Kegulator = Your Very Own Portable Beer Keg
With all due respect to the fine folks at DrinkTanks, it's a little surprising that no one came up with their idea sooner. After all, last I checked, beer was pretty darned popular.
How To: Keep Your Pocket Belongings Safe with Help from OtterBox (Sponsored)
When you're on the go, it's important to keep your belongings organized and at an arm's distance so you're not fumbling in public for your keys, cards, or phone.