Virtual worlds
“Quasi taboo”: Apple wants nothing to do with Zuckerberg’s Metaverse
Apple CEO Tim Cook, in the archive picture at a product presentation, announced that his company will produce face protection in the future.
© Karl Mondon / Picture Alliance
If you ask Mark Zuckerberg about the future of the Internet, he has a clear vision: Mankind is drawn to the Metaverse – virtual reality. But he will have to do without a big player. Because of all things tech giant Apple seems to think little of the plans.
It was a memorable presentation that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg invited to in the fall. In his virtual lecture, he revealed how the company envisaged the future of the Internet – and invited people to the newly proclaimed Metaverse. How convinced he is of this is shown by the fact that he himself renamed the company Meta. But Apple of all people doesn’t want to know anything about it. And take a different path.
That comes from a report by the usually well-informed Apple journalist Marc Gurman. Apple clearly rejects the idea of a metaverse into which people shift a large part of their lives. A large number of sources within the group agree on this, explains Gurman in his weekly newsletter for “Bloomberg”. “I would be shocked if Apple used the word metaverse on a keynote.”
Metaverse as a taboo
The idea of completely losing oneself in a virtual world is “almost taboo” for the iPhone manufacturer, emphasizes Gurman. It is true that there have been credible reports for a long time that Apple is developing not just one, but two different data glasses. Unlike Metas Vision, they are about something fundamentally different. The Apple glasses expected for the end of the year, which should enable closed virtual reality, are essentially thought differently than Meta’s concept. “High-ranking employees, such as former head of design Jonathan Ive, have made it very clear that this is not a device that you wear all day,” said Gurman. Instead, the VR glasses should only be designed for short periods of time, for example to play games or to consume media.
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It looks different with the planned augmented reality glasses. This is based on a different concept: while VR is about masking out the surroundings, AR covers the field of vision and expands it with additional information. Apple is much more convinced of this approach, said Gurman. And focus on it accordingly. In addition, this type of glasses is also designed as an all-day device.
Crossroads between AR and VR
Apple wanted to answer the current rumors at the request of the star do not express them, but they do match statements made by the group management in the past. CEO Tim Cook has already emphasized several times that AR is seen as one of the most important future technologies. The company’s own AR-Kit interface and its options have always played a prominent role at the Group’s product or software presentations.
Apple’s approach differs significantly from the idea of the metaverse. While Mark Zuckerberg and his company are likely to want customers to spend as much time as possible in their own online worlds, Apple has little interest in this. This is not least due to the different orientations of the group: Meta needs the attention of customers in order to be able to show them advertisements. The few hardware products that the group offers – such as the Oculus Quest VR glasses – merely serve as simple access to the meta-world. Apple, on the other hand, thinks exactly from the other side: The group lives off hardware sales and, with its own software and services, only offers the environment for the smoothest possible product experience.
The fact that Apple should initially release VR glasses at the end of the year is primarily due to technical reasons. There are already well-functioning AR glasses such as Microsoft’s Hololens. Because of their bulky appearance, they are hardly suitable as everyday glasses. Other smart glasses, such as those from the Chinese manufacturer Oppo, are more subtle, but have considerable technical limitations and only offer single-color overlays. Accordingly, Apple’s AR solution is not expected for a few years. The primary purpose of VR glasses should be to occupy the market before others take it over – and to gain some experience for the AR solution at the same time.
Source: Mark Gurman (Twitter)
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