Happy New Year and welcome to 2023! We kick things off by looking back at 2022 and looking forward to what 2023 might bring for the Metaverse, Metaverse adoption and Metaverse technologies.
Let’s kick things off with Metaverse technologies. 2022 saw a number of companies release their “next generation” virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (XR) headsets. These included Meta’s new Quest Pro, unveiled at Meta Connect 2022, the companies’ annual conference, and Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX headset. While the Meta Quest Pro has more of a consumer focus than Lenovo’s enterprise-oriented ThinkReality VRX, both demonstrate lighter, more comfortable designs, and full-colour, high-resolution passthrough, paired with higher resolution, high-contrast graphics.
We’ve only days into 2023 and we’ve already seen HTC unveil its consumer-focused virtual reality and augmented reality headset and Magic Leap show off its imaginatively named Magic Leap 2 enterprise-oriented smartglasses at this year’s Consumer Technology Association (CES) 2023 annual conference in Las Vegas.
HTC’s Vive XR Elite is a powerful and lightweight XR headset that seeks to go head-to head with Meta’s Quest Pro headset, retailing at around $1,000, which is significantly cheaper than the Quest Pro’s $1,500 price tag. Like the Quest Pro, the Vive XR Elite utilizes thinner pancake lenses and comes with full colour passthrough, but lacks the Quest Pro’s built-in eye and facial movement tracking and runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 chipset – the Quest Pro uses Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon XR2+ processor. With a $3,000+ price tag, Magic Leap 2 is aimed squarely at industry. The new smartglasses are 50% lighter and smaller than the original, and, like the original, allow for prolonged periods of use by separating the processor and battery to a separate unit intended be worn at the waist. Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson used AMD’s CES 2023 keynote to announce that Magic Leap 2 had obtained IEC 60601-1 certification, allowing it to be used by doctors during surgery. With all the main players “next-generation” headsets already on the market, 2023 may be the year that Apple finally brings its long-touted headset to the market.
So what else to expect from 2023? Well one thing’s for sure is that, despite a predicted global economic recession, we’ll see companies and organizations around the world continue to prepare themselves for Metaverse adoption, and this preparation will manifest itself in a number of ways. Some organizations will seek to learn more about the Metaverse, and how they can exploit the benefits of more immersive, virtual experiences. Others will continue to adopt Metaverse technologies and increase their presence in the Metaverse, creating new and more engaging ways to connect and communicate with their customers.
A safe prediction for 2023 will be increase adoption of Metaverse technologies by large, corporate companies, who will use Metaverse technologies to conduct training and employee onboarding, creating virtual replica’s of their offices and Metaworlds that reflect their ethos, mission and values. Industry will continue to adopt Metaverse technologies, notably AR and XR headsets and smartglasses that provide a digital overlay on the physical world and help enhance efficiency and accuracy, especially in industries like manufacturing. Finally, brands will continue to expand their presence in the Metaverse, developing IP axis strategies to leverage and deploy their intellectual property assets in the Metaverse. 2023 may be the year that Nike announces that every pair of sneakers it sells comes with a pair that can be worn in the virtual world, perhaps via cross-platform avatar creator like Ready Player Me.
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