From The Business Engineer Newsletter:
https://mailchi.mp/thebusinessenginee...

Some AR/VR news.

- Google is expanding its real-world testing of AR to Canada: https://9to5google.com/2022/10/23/goo...

Why is this relevant?

Google launched its first AI glasses in 2014, ahead of anyone else.

Due to a complete lack of understanding of the commercial use case, its weird aesthetics, and bad timing, it was a colossal failure.

Google Glass has survived as an enterprise device, used primarily in manufacturing and healthcare.

Google is back at it, trying to launch a new Google Glass for consumers.

- Meta mixed reality headset: https://www.macrumors.com/2022/10/11/...

Why is this relevant?

Meta is moving beyond the gaming use case (which is what the Meta Quest is primarily used for) into business productivity.

Meta partnered with Microsoft to bring its productivity tools within the VR/AR space.

The partnership Meta-Microsoft is very unusual and shows that the feeling the duo has for the Apple-Google duo is quite strong.

Mobile pipelines are now owned and operated by Apple (iOS) and Google (Android).

To be alive in the next decade, Meta-Microsoft must be able to build their own VR/AR infrastructures.

- Bytedance, owner of TikTok, sold more than 46,000 Pico 4 VR headsets online in China in a month: https://amp-scmp-com.cdn.ampproject.o...

If TikTok's quick rise wasn't enough, now Bytedance is also quickly iterating with its VR device.

Bytedance has an excellent war chest of billions of dollars of capital available for R&D.

And incredible access to the Chinese consumer market, the only (for now) able to compete against the US consumer market.

Suppose Bytedance can quickly iterate on developing new VR/AR models.

In that case, it can gain traction quickly, becoming the de facto standard for VR/AR in China and planning for expansion worldwide.

- Apple ramping up its AR efforts:https://www.cnet.com/videos/what-appl...

Why does it matter?

Apple is among the tech companies that can build incredible hardware while leveraging its software.

Apple is secretly working on its AR headset (we don't know the specs), which might be launched next year.

Apple controls the pipeline of the mobile Internet. And the next ten-trillion dollars business platform will be AR.

Thus, for Apple to be the company that we know today, it needs to be on top of it in ten years!

- Microsoft is providing the first batch of combat HoloLens to the US army, entering the space from the enterprise side: https://www.govconwire.com/2022/09/ar...

Why does it matter?

Microsoft has mastered the enterprise playbook of launching new products and slowly expanding them to B2B.

What playbook will work for developing the next AR business platform?