This delivers enhanced data of physical surroundings and should be much more appealing to a broader audience than a closed VR experience where being stationary will be a key dimension of any VR experience. We have already seen how companies like Ikea have used AR Kit apps on the iPhone to superimpose a piece of furniture into an actual room, giving people a glimpse of how AR could work.Īpple's building an AR headset or glasses that integrate this kind of experience into everyday lifestyles. However, where AR is in use today, it is primarily used in vertical markets such as field service, surveying, and field analysis of physical settings.Īs Tim Cook points out, AR, which superimposes information on physical surroundings, will have a much broader appeal. VR Usage across Demographics Artillery IntelligenceĬurrently, we do not have much intel on AR adoption as very few true AR headsets are available. To date, VR headsets have gained the most traction with gamers and in vertical markets like manufacturing, field service, medical and industrial simulations.Īs the following chart points out, VR's appeal so far has been generationally driven with older users not being as interested in VR as a younger audience. More importantly, it will probably be a smaller audience that will integrate VR into their lifestyle.

While I stated that this might be the battle of the century to date and has major ramifications for both companies, the bigger question I often receive is, who wins this battle? To some degree, both could have winning strategies, but it is clear that millions more people will adopt Apple's AR strategy than Meta's VR program.įor one thing, VR headsets will be the most expensive device for delivering Meta's 3D immersive experience. So while it is a big bet that, as Cook suggests, will be transformational, in the same way the iPhone was transformational, it is less betting Apple's future on AR than expanding Apple's sphere of influence. However, given its enormous success with the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Apple sees AR as a new frontier that will bring more people into its hardware, software, and services ecosystem. Zuckerberg and Meta have bet $10 billion on this venture, and he appears to be betting the company's future on VR.Īpple also has a substantial investment in its AR strategy. These avatars can represent one's persona in work, in communication, playing and learning within a VR headset that transports an individual into virtual worlds. To some degree, Mark Zuckerberg has telegraphed a similar thought in that he envisions immersive 3D experiences through personal avatars.

we are really going to look back and think about how we once lived without AR.'- Tim Cook 'I think AR is a profound technology that will affect everything.

Apple vr headset