For several months, we have only heard of the metaverse, this virtual world on which Mark Zuckerberg is betting heavily (he even ended up renaming his company “Meta”). Indeed, the Facebook group’s AR/VR products will be part of the gateways to this virtual world.
And moreover, other companies have followed this trend, to name only Samsung, Tinder or even Microsoft. Nevertheless, it seems that Apple is not interested in this idea of a virtual world.
Apple wouldn’t want Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse
In a newsletter published recently, Mark Gurman, journalist for Bloomberg, explains that he would be shocked to hear the word “metaverse” during the presentation of the first AR / VR product from the Cupertino company, which should be done this year. Indeed, according to the journalist’s sources, for Apple, the idea of a virtual world in which the user could escape (as in the vision of Meta/Facebook) would be “off limits”.
Lots of interest in my take on “Apple Reality” and the Metaverse https://t.co/ZmacFcOC9k pic.twitter.com/C4SNbFbULp
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) January 9, 2022
At the highest level, Apple officials would not consider virtual reality headsets as a product that the user must wear all day. For the Apple brand, it would rather be a type of product for gaming, communication, and content consumption.
And that’s why Apple would be more favorable to augmented reality. Indeed, this technology will not cut the user off from his real environment.
Apple and Meta, soon to be competitors in AR/VR
Either way, when Apple releases its first AR/VR product, it will become a competitor to Meta. Currently, Mark Zuckerberg’s company is one of the main players in the field of virtual reality. And it develops augmented reality glasses.
The project is important because for the boss of Meta, within the next decade, augmented reality glasses will replace smartphones. And when that time comes, Meta will no longer be dependent on Apple and Google platforms.
Has the war already started?
Note also that currently, in the field of recruitment, hostilities have already begun between Meta and Apple. Previously, we relayed information that Apple had recruited the communication manager for Meta’s AR/VR products.
For its part, the Cupertino company would be very generous with its engineers so that they are not recruited by other groups, including Meta. Bonuses would go up to $180,000.
And while Apple is preparing to launch a competitor product to Oculus headsets, Facebook, for its part, could release a competitor to the Apple Watch. Indeed, many leaks and rumors are already circulating on the web about this future connected watch from the social network.
Another player, Google, could also move up a gear. After launching its Google Glass glasses, the Mountain View company has more or less abandoned augmented reality in recent years. But recently, we discovered that Google is recruiting a team that will be in charge of developing a new operating system for its future products.