Apple and Snap Pick Up Where Pokemon Go Left Off
Advances in technology are laying the foundation for augmented reality to disrupt markets beyond gaming to social media and commerce.
Several industry leaders are making large bets on the technology, including building dedicated AR headsets. Last month, Snap unveiled its latest Spectacles prototype and bought AR display component supplier WaveOptics for more than $500 million. Facebook Inc. has more than 6,000 employees working on its virtual-reality and augmented-reality projects. And Apple Inc. is said to be developing a virtual-reality headset with some AR functionality for a possible release in 2022.
On the back of its ownership of the widely-used Unreal programming engine, Epic has unique insight into budding trends in the gaming industry. So it was telling when Apple’s counsel cited an internal board presentation in which the Fortnite maker indicated the need to act quickly before AR took off and further entrenched the App Store’s high fee structure. The fact that Epic then sued the world’s most powerful company speaks to how seriously Epic is taking AR’s imminent rise.
Pokemon Go was based on rudimentary AR with basic, cartoon-like overlays. Imagine what’s possible with newer technologies. E-commerce software company Shopify Inc. said last September that product pages with AR experiences led to a 94% higher conversion rate compared to traditional listings. I expect businesses will figure out more effective ways to reach customers as they get accustomed to the latest tools.
See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-06-09/apple-snap-take-augmented-reality-to-next-level-after-pokemon-go
