Virtual reality has been a part of pop culture since the 1992 film “Lawnmower Man,” but it wasn’t until the release of the Oculus Rift VR headset in 2010 that the technology became something tangible and accessible.
Since then, VR headsets (and now augmented and mixed reality models) have seen success and failure, with modern options like the Pimax Crystal aimed at PCVR enthusiasts and the Meta Quest 3 offering a standalone option with wider appeal.
But we’re still a long way from VR headsets being recognized as a platform comparable to consoles, PCs, and other wearables. We hear a lot about these devices being the future, but it often doesn’t seem like that future is coming anytime soon. Meanwhile, the next logical step for technology like headsets — smart glasses — is steadily gaining popularity.
Are VR/AR and mixed reality headsets destined to miss their moment to shine and be overtaken by this new generation of hardware? Let’s take a closer look.
Virtual Reality: The Bridesmaid Isn’t Always the Bride
The arrival of VR feels like a mirage always hovering on the horizon: Despite growing popularity and year-over-year increases in shipments since 2021, VR has yet to gain the mainstream recognition it needs to thrive.
Despite their impressive capabilities, it feels like VR headsets are heading towards their end. With each passing calendar day, VR headsets are once again on the brink of mainstream adoption, facing a make-or-break year. Perhaps unfairly,
This comes on the back of the Quest 2 having sold over 20 million units since its launch in 2020, and is an especially impressive figure considering the Xbox Series X | S have sold a combined total of approximately 28 million units since their launch in the same year.
But while the Xbox Series X|S have gained mainstream acceptance, VR has been dismissed as an enthusiast fad or a passing gimmick. Despite being more popular than ever before and with impressive numbers to back it up, no one seems to be confident in claiming that VR is anything more than a product of tomorrow that you can’t find today, no matter how hard you look.
Welcome to Vision Pro. Leave Vision Pro
Even Apple, the tech world’s answer to bespoke tailors who offer expensive suits with too few pockets, too many buttons and a penchant for saying they’re made from iLux fiber instead of a polyester blend, couldn’t propel the market to new heights with the Vision Pro.
Apple’s double premium headset may be more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to mainstream acceptance of VR/AR headsets.
Still, perhaps the ridiculous $3,499 price tag is to blame more than anything else. Apple’s headset is otherwise a great product, at least on paper. I’ll be honest, I have my gripes with Apple’s headset, but from a purely technical standpoint, it’s by far the best VR, AR, or mixed reality headset you’ll ever own.
But when it comes to mainstream acceptance of VR/AR headsets, Apple’s double-premium headset may end up hindering rather than helping: its ultra-powerful technology and audacious pricing make spatial computing seem like a distant future possibility, rather than a very real and attainable technology today.
(Image credit: Bloomberg/Contributor)
Vision Pro may not be a consumer product at all, but rather just another odd prop occupying a booth at the World’s Fair, a sideshow where men in pinstripe suits and boaters stare, raise their eyebrows, whistle, turn to one another and say, “Imagine that!”, laugh in bewilderment, and stumble past robot butlers and hovercars to the cotton-candy stand.
Interestingly, Apple’s original vision for its AR/VR debut was a lightweight, glasses-like design, and given the struggles of VR/AR headsets and growing interest in smart glasses, the company may have made the wrong bet.
Smart Glasses: Something We Were Told Not to Worry About
Smart glasses are a promising future: face-worn wearables have already seen success with the popularity of Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, and AR glasses like the VITURE Pro XR and XREAL Air 2 are pushing the boundaries of what VR/AR experiences are possible within this form factor.
Smart glasses also have yet to gain mainstream acceptance, but their unobtrusive form factor and potential for enhanced realism already overcome some of the hurdles faced by VR/AR headsets.
Their lighter, more open design means they don’t feel isolated or burdensome to the wearer, and because they reinvent commonly worn items with smart technology, for many people there’s little adjustment required when switching from regular frames.
While it’s a low-profile underdog to some, a report from Verified Market Research pegs the market at $4.8 billion in 2022, a figure predicted to double by 2030, paving the way for big brands like Apple and Microsoft to explore their options. Even Google is reportedly considering returning to the market after the misstep of its premature Google Glass eyeglasses, but a former Google division head doesn’t think that’s the case.
Can smart glasses outperform VR/AR headsets?
As for the question of whether smart glasses will surpass VR/AR headsets, I think the chances are good given the wide range of use cases.
Smart glasses are not only gentler on the face, but they also offer many benefits to a wider audience: While VR headset sales have been primarily driven by gaming, smart glasses offer a wider range of everyday uses, from listening to music to navigating unfamiliar places.
When we start bringing AI into the equation, like Solos Air Go 3 (ChatGPT) and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses (Meta AI), the possibilities and uses of this wearable in our daily lives become even more powerful. Having access to state-of-the-art large-scale language models that can answer, resolve, and recommend almost any question asked can be a game changer.
(Image credit: Laptop Mag / Rael Hornby)
The headset will likely continue to captivate gaming fans for at least some time to come, but it may also remain in unknown territory for mainstream awareness, especially considering that AAA titles from popular franchises are coming to the medium (games like Alien: Rogue Incursion, Metro Awakening, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded and Batman: Arkham Shadow are all scheduled for release in 2024).
It will be years before we can pack the technology that powers headsets like the Vision Pro and Quest 3 into a mainstream frame, but that is undoubtedly the end goal for many manufacturers in the smart glasses market. Until then, smart glasses will continue to expand in functionality and audience as technology levels evolve.
Headsets and smart glasses may always co-exist for different purposes, and there may always be a boom in VR/AR headsets, but if things continue on the same trajectory, smart glasses may shatter the mainstream dreams of VR/AR headsets and go down in history as the next big thing in technology in computing.
