Proper Terminology

[somerandomusername]

This isn’t a long post. I just want to make clear terminology for general use

Types of technology for HMD/HWDs:

Augmented Reality (AR): Superimposing digital content onto your real world view. You can interact with people in the real world.

Virtual Reality (VR): Replacing your entire real world view entirely with virtual content, typically a video game/CGI world. It is not possible to interact with anyone in the real world.

Spatial Computing: Blending digital content with your real world by making computing 3 dimensional; also a unique combination of various AR/VR features. You can interact with people in the real world, or you can choose not to. Note: this terminology predates Apple’s usage.

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Types of HWDs and their terminology:

Note: “VR headsets” are the most common HWD as of right now, so anything uses a combination of displays and lenses that occlude your real world vision is erroneously referred to as a “VR headset.”

Head Mounted Display/Device or Head Worn Display/Device (HMD/HWD): This is the product category that all products that allow you to interact with digital contact that are worn on your head are.

Types of HWDs:

Game Consoles: Focused on VR video games, typically come with Android or some custom basic software, require high performance PCs for popular VR video games.
Examples: Oculus Quest 1/2/3, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR

Viewfinders: Focused on enabling users to see a realistic view of 3D renders in the real world, do not typically have an OS and require high performance PCs. Examples: Varjo XR 3 and XR 4, Sony’s “Spatial Content Creation device” launching later

Spatial Computers: Products that use spatial computing as their fundamental use case. Examples: Apple. To a lesser extent, as “AR headsets”: Magic Leap, HoloLens


Technology to enable Augmented Reality experiences:

Waveguide AR: A transparent piece of glass that has etches inside the glass lens to let lasers or light shine into which enables digital content imposition on your real world view without occluding your real world view. Typical referred to as “see through,” but is only actually see through in a small set of scenarios. Examples: Magic Leap, HoloLens

Passthrough AR: A combination of cameras, sensors, and displays with optical lenses which enables digital content imposition to blend with a view of your surroundings through recreating what your real world view looks like on displays, but it occludes your actual view of the world. Typically referred to as “blocking your physical sight.” The only device that is shipping en masse that has “reverse passthrough” is Apple, which allows the device to look the most like transparent glass out of any HWD. Examples: Apple






Extra:

When people refer to apple’s device as a “VR headset” it frustrates me, because what they’re really trying to say is “HWD.” VR headsets, as in the name, only do VR, which entirely cuts you off from the real world and replaces your world with a digital world. It’s typically used for video games, and because it tries to remove you from the real world and thus real life interaction it (for good reason) does have extreme negative connotation to it. Even when Apple lets you turn immersion levels up with the Digital Crown, it still lets you stay connected with others in your space by letting those people “breakthrough” your digital content and increases how clear they are the more you focus on them with your eyes, as I’ve read from people’s demos. Apple does NOT want to transport you to some weird, alternative place created by them to escape life, unlike Facebook with the so called metaverse that they’ve lost around $50 billion trying to convince people they want. The primary usecase of Apple’s is blending digital content with your real world, and letting you stay present in the space around you, just like a regular MacBook or iPad.

People have been confusing Passthrough augmented reality with VR, because VR up to this date have been the only HWDs that use a combination of displays and lenses to show you digital content that occlude your real view of your surroundings, but VR HWDs all been bad at passthrough augmented reality. There are multiple kinds of ways to achieve augmented reality technology/spatial computing , passthrough tech is the best at the moment.

Hope that helps.

 

[dada_dave]

This isn’t a long post.

 

[somerandomusername]

That made me laugh. I couldn’t help myself, sorry. Once I started writing it I forgot I should include other terms that might help as well.

 

[dada_dave]

That made me laugh. I couldn’t help myself, sorry. Once I started writing it I forgot I should include other terms that might help as well.

Oh yeah, I totally understand how that goes

 

[somerandomusername]

Oh yeah, I totally understand how that goes

I hope it was helpful though

 

[dada_dave]

I hope it was helpful though

Yop! Btw @Eric added the ability to write articles for these kinds of long, informative posts. I think only @Cmaier has used them in the technology forum. I don’t think anyone has written an Apple article yet, but this feels like the sort of thing that would be appropriate for an Article.

 

[tomO2013]

I used to be part of a team that had early access to Holo lens and we were exploring use cases with Microsoft at the time.

I have to be honest I always uses the terms AR and spatial computing interchangeably and still really do.

To me , I find it difficult to differentiate what Apple wants to call spatial computing with what Microsoft referenced as mixed reality with more comment definitions such as Augmented reality.

Language is important and the nuance of detail matters. I think what I'm getting at above, it is hard to infer the difference between AR and spatial computer or mixed reality from the definitions above ... beyond marketing terms for each big corporation.
Anybody else feel this way ?

 

[Cmaier]

I used to be part of a team that had early access to Holo lens and we were exploring use cases with Microsoft at the time.

I have to be honest I always uses the terms AR and spatial computing interchangeably and still really do.

To me , I find it difficult to differentiate what Apple wants to call spatial computing with what Microsoft referenced as mixed reality with more comment definitions such as Augmented reality.

Language is important and the nuance of detail matters. I think what I'm getting at above, it is hard to infer the difference between AR and spatial computer or mixed reality from the definitions above ... beyond marketing terms for each big corporation.
Anybody else feel this way ?

I do. And I think the average consumer is even more confused.

 

[somerandomusername]

I used to be part of a team that had early access to Holo lens and we were exploring use cases with Microsoft at the time.

I have to be honest I always uses the terms AR and spatial computing interchangeably and still really do.

To me , I find it difficult to differentiate what Apple wants to call spatial computing with what Microsoft referenced as mixed reality with more comment definitions such as Augmented reality.

Language is important and the nuance of detail matters. I think what I'm getting at above, it is hard to infer the difference between AR and spatial computer or mixed reality from the definitions above ... beyond marketing terms for each big corporation.
Anybody else feel this way ?

They’re interchangeable to a degree, which is why I referred to Hololens as an AR headset. The difference is the objects that are in the OS act like objects in real life, whereas AR has mostly been and is overlaying information with your real world. HoloLens wasn’t even advertised as AR, as far as I can tell. They kept talking about holograms, but yeah.

I do. And I think the average consumer is even more confused.

I think everyone is confused because there are twenty different terms talking about digital content intersecting with your actual world or replacing it (AR MR XR, XR VR, no I didn’t have a stroke, there are apparently multiple “XR”). this is all CES tech demo bullshit. The primary thing I was trying to illustrate was that apple’s product isn’t a VR headset, which a lot of people are calling it that because they interchangeably use these terms.

 

[Citysnaps]

The primary thing I was trying to illustrate was that apple’s product isn’t a VR headset, which a lot of people are calling it that because they interchangeably use these terms.

But it can be.

And I see a lot of people, myself included, using it in that manner as I've said in previous posts here. And... of course, there are similarly a ton of uses as an AR device, which I've listed here (and on MR) in the past.

It's like a Certs. Which can be a breath mint and a candy mint. It's two mints in one!

 

[somerandomusername]

But it can be.

And I see a lot of people, myself included, using it in that manner as I've said in previous posts here. And... of course, there are similarly a ton of uses as an AR device, which I've listed here (and on MR) in the past.

It's like a Certs. Which can be a breath mint and a candy mint. It's two mints in one!

But they’re referring to it as a VR headset, which is a very specific kind of device with a very specific experience, not a HMD that can do VR. Pretty sure you know what I meant.

 

[Citysnaps]

But they’re referring to it as a VR headset, which is a very specific kind of device with a very specific experience, not a HMD that can do VR. Pretty sure you know what I meant.

Who is "they're" ?

 

[somerandomusername]

Who is "they're" ?

Too many god damn people I’ve read and watched who know better.