Are smart glasses and AR headsets the "next big thing"?

[Deleted member 215]

Will they really be able to replace smartphones? How soon do you think it will happen? Are you at all interested in Apple's upcoming rumored AR headset?

 

[Eric]

Will they really be able to replace smartphones? How soon do you think it will happen? Are you at all interested in Apple's upcoming rumored AR headset?

It seems like an inevitability at some point but it there are a lot of lessons to be learned from Google's epic failure with them. They'll need to work out privacy and transparency concerns, a delicate balancing act.

 

[Citysnaps]

Did google Glass have any serious AR capabilities? Or was it just a remote display for your phone and a camera to sneak photos?

I suspect Apple's glasses will be far more sophisticated with genuine AR utility/capability.

 

[Clix Pix]

Not interested.....

 

[Deleted member 215]

Not interested.....

That's how I feel right now. I just can't seem to get interested in AR or "smart glasses". The day Apple replaces the iPhone with AR glasses is the day I quit Apple for good. But watch me in a few years defending Apple Glasses as the greatest thing ever and wondering how I ever used a phone or laptop...

 

[MEJHarrison]

I'm very interested in their upcoming VR stuff. Whatever that may be. I'm not saying I'll buy in. But I'm a happy VR user already, so some more competition ought to be interesting.

AR is a different matter. And honestly, a different use case. I'll have to wait and see. It seems intriguing. But that's as far as I'm willing to go until I know more.

 

[Citysnaps]

Looking forward to their AR glasses. And doing my own surgery on my left knee that's been feeling a little weird.

 

[Yoused]

 

[Joe]

I think most people aren't interested in it at this time.

 

[throAU]

Yes, assuming they get the form factor down to something not space cadet size.

As above, imho it is inevitable, once hand tracking and other AI assistant stuff gets good enough there's no reason to bother with a phone handset. Unless its the base station to do the processing so the unit on your head can be lighter (and just tether via wireless to the larger device in your pocket).

AR/VR is still in its infancy, but there are apps coming that will change the game that simply are not possible on a handset.

 

[B01L]

Be looking like the gargoyles in Snowcrash...

 

[Pumbaa]

I think most people aren't interested in it at this time.

Probably a safe bet. Most people don’t even know what an “AR headset” is and nothing really usable is available yet…

Apple fans asked for an iPod phone, they didn‘t ask for the iPhone. Let’s see what Apple (and/or competitors) can come up with in the AR headset category.

 

[Edd]

Someone should call Newt to hash all this out.

Newt Gingrich doesn't know what a smartphone is called | Digital Trends

Politician in "Really Puzzled," shocker! Former Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, 69, has spoken out about his confusion over what to call his cell phone. While sources say several names have already been vetoed, including "Gary," it's "Handbrain" that's currently topping the polls.

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[Nycturne]

Honestly, when it comes to AR and VR I think it’s going to end up like the recent attempt at 3D movies and games using shutter glasses (again). VR probably has an interesting niche that will give it a market for years to come for folks who want immersive no matter the drawbacks. AR has some interesting use cases, but I find myself rarely using it. Throw in this new push around “Meta” and the like and I just want it to blow over and turn out to be a fad.

That said, I’m reminded of Douglas Adams’ comments on technology in general, and realize I could very well just be getting “old”.

1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.

Apply this list to movies, rock music, word processors and mobile phones to work out how old you are.

 

[MEJHarrison]

VR probably has an interesting niche that will give it a market for years to come for folks who want immersive no matter the drawbacks.

What drawbacks? I'm just curious.

For what it's worth, I had my first VR meeting for work today. Basically, a buddy got a headset last week, so we hopped into a room for a while to see how practical it could be. For some types of meetings I do believe it could be super valuable for those of us working from home. In other use cases, it would be like shoving a square peg into a round hole.

For brainstorming, it could be amazing. Not once was I distracted by my phone or my second monitor during a meeting. I was forced to put that aside since my eyes were covered. The white-boarding was the best substitute I've seen yet for the real thing. Since I'm in IT, a lot of people hate turning their camera on for meetings. In VR, you can still get some body language. People could raise their hands to speak. Or raise a finger to "speak" without speaking. It was cool.

The most shocking thing was I was able to share my Mac screen during our meeting. It was incredibly small. I suspect a PC would do this part much better since it can do considerably better on games. Still, the fact that it worked at all, and worked well, on a Mac was shocking. I'm including a picture of what it did to my work desktop. My Mac switched to whatever resolution that window was. Not good at all. Thankfully, all my Mac windows were returned to their proper sizes and locations. Windows didn't do as well.

The keyboard integration was... interesting. There's one PC keyboard, and two nearly identical Apple keyboards. Unfortunately, I've got the larger keyboard with the number pad. That was wasn't supported. So it tracked it ok, but not fantastic. Next time I'll dig out my old, smaller sized keyboard. Still, from the testing I did, unless you're a touch typist, having a virtual keyboard mapped to your real keyboard has a ways to go yet. I couldn't write code for 5 minutes that way. Even with a proper sized screen.

The spacial audio was really good. Not a big deal with 2 people. But it would be more useful in a group.

If nothing else, it was a fun experiment.

 

[throAU]

Honestly, when it comes to AR and VR I think it’s going to end up like the recent attempt at 3D movies and games using shutter glasses (again). VR probably has an interesting niche that will give it a market for years to come for folks who want immersive no matter the drawbacks. AR has some interesting use cases, but I find myself rarely using it. Throw in this new push around “Meta” and the like and I just want it to blow over and turn out to be a fad.

That said, I’m reminded of Douglas Adams’ comments on technology in general, and realize I could very well just be getting “old”.

I have to ask:

Have you used a decent VR headset?

I was a naysayer until I received one as a gift.

 

[fischersd]

Me, I think they should be working on deciphering the signalling between the optic nerve and the brain. Build interfaces that directly connect there so we can add whatever information we want (run your antenna for communication to your phone out to the ear) BT, UWB, Wifi. Has the added advantage that we could give those without site vision without eyes (provided they at least have the optic interface area of their brain functional.

Could do the same for audio.

And, yes, then we get into "people hacking"

 

[tobefirst]

The only glasses I wear are sunglasses, primarily when running or driving. I did see the video Nike and Snapchat had, and that was pretty cool. And, though I've never used it personally, Zwift – an interactive, shared virtual workout space – seems awesome and I could see something like that coming to AR glasses and being really cool.

But I'm 1000% more a contacts guy than a glasses guy, so if this is a wear-all-the-time product, it probably wouldn't be for me.

 

[Yoused]

Me, I think they should be working on deciphering the signalling between the optic nerve and the brain. Build interfaces that directly connect there so we can add whatever information we want (run your antenna for communication to your phone out to the ear) BT, UWB, Wifi. Has the added advantage that we could give those without site vision without eyes (provided they at least have the optic interface area of their brain functional.

Could do the same for audio.

And, yes, then we get into "people hacking"

Here is a scene from a 1967 movie, The President's Analyst, which covers that

Spoiler: this is the end part – watch the whole movie

 

[Nycturne]

What drawbacks? I'm just curious.

I have to ask:

Have you used a decent VR headset?

I was a naysayer until I received one as a gift.

It’s not about the quality of the headset, it’s the whole thing taken together. The tech is interesting, but that’s not enough by itself to reach mass market acceptance is the point I’m trying to make. Without that acceptance, and with it being a technology that depends on a bunch of other hardware to work, I suspect it will remain niche. And it applies to both AR and VR, in the home user space.

In terms of drawbacks of VR, what about the cost of the equipment? The setup time to use it, however small? The space requirement for some activities? Motion sickness that some folks experience, which at least at the time of the report in 2019, hit 40-70% of users, and affects women more than men? Sheer lack of accessibility? This all robs the technology of a convenience factor that helps it succeed when looking at mass market acceptance.

When it comes to VR, I see a tech that acts a lot like 3D TV did. Or the Kinect. Something layered on top of something else that was already functional as it was. I honestly expected the Kinect to do better, since that was a case of “Setup the camera once, go.” But with VR I also see inherent hurdles that make it less convenient than just using a messaging/meeting app, or playing a game on whatever TV/display/device you have available to you already. See how much money is in mobile gaming today versus consoles or PC for an example.

But I also see dangers of inequality from tech embedding itself into our work/social lives. Hurdles like motion sickness and accessibility need to be addressed by a US-centric tech industry that historically been really poor at understanding that the market isn’t all middle-class able-bodied white men. What does accessibility for the blind or people with motor difficulties look like? Is it reasonable or ethical to mandate participation in VR meetings, I wonder? Worry not, with enough traction someone will try it and we’ll know the answer for sure.

On the AR front, my opinion is more bland. I honestly expect it to continue to trickle out in the form of product features, rather than as whole products, for the most part. I don’t need glasses to get AR-enhanced street guidance with the phone I already have, and the phone can provide accessibility options to users that AR glasses providing the same feature have to tackle differently (i.e. solved problem vs problem to be solved). That said, AR glasses have a couple interesting uses in industry that I think will be lucrative for a handful of companies. See the market Hololens is attempting to tap into. But also see how chonky Hololens is that makes me think a lot of this is still very early days.

But again, I’ve pointed out that I could very well be wrong on how this plays out. I just wish I was closer to retirement so that if I am, I don’t have to deal with it.