26 Jan 2024 | Mike Boland

AWE Talks: What's in Store for XR in '24?, Part II

XR Trends

Key Takeaways
– Spatial computing continues to see both promise and peril as we enter 2024.
– What defines the industry now? Inbar and Emrich weigh in on 10 key trends
– Continuing with trends 6-10 (1-5 covered in Part I), here's the highlight reel.

6. The Race for AI Glasses?
– AR glasses with rich visuals used to be the endgame, but that changes with AI
– Though visuals are still valuable (AVP anyone?), AI is filling an important gap.
– This is exemplified by Ray Ban Meta Smartglasses and their multimodal AI. 
– The value here isn't in a visually-robust UX but rather in relevant info and utility.
– Altogether there will be a continuum of devices from audio AR to full-blown AR.
– Somewhere in between are private large-screen experiences like Xreal Air.
– The latter could be promising due to a widely-appealing entertainment use case. 

7. The Industrial Metaverse?
– While all the above continues to evolve, we can't forget about enterprise XR. 
– This is where many of the consumer markets' adoption barriers are mitigated. 
– There's also a clearer ROI story for various flavors of enterprise productivity.
– For these reasons, much of the XR action (read: revenue) is in the enterprise.
– According to Inbar, enterprise XR funding pitches still use the M-word.
– The metaverse still makes sense in the enterprise because it's more realistic.
– Building a virtual simulation of your factory floor is attainable and valuable.

8. The Year of Big Tech in XR?
– Another key question: will the deep pockets of big tech continue to drive XR? 
– Beyond Apple (covered in Part !), this includes several influential players. 
– Microsoft is building real value in enterprise XR including Azure & Mesh.
– Meta is pushing boundaries across the device continuum noted above.
– Google has retracted from hardware but is a software powerhouse (e.g., Lens).
– Samsung will fill the hardware gap left by Google in partnering on a device.
– And Qualcomm, which is everywhere in XR, will be the third leg of that stool.
– Altogether Apple will be Apple in its vertical integration of a full spatial stack.
– Meta will do the same as it joins Apple's full-stack approach in the spatial era.
– Everyone else will partner to build spatial stacks: the PCs of the spatial world. 

9. What Could Go Wrong?
– There's so much activity in all the moving parts above... what could go wrong?
– There are well-founded concerns over inequity, social isolation, and health.
– Safety, privacy, and security have to be baked into the products, says Inbar.
– They also have to be baked into the business models to truly have an impact. 
– Emrich: Spatial computing could also go wrong if we expect too much of it. 
– Manage expectations about what the technology can and can't do.
– 2024 will be great but AVP (or anything else) won't be revolutionary overnight. 
– Keep in mind this is a long game, with worthwhile milestones along the way.

10. The Year of XR Investments?
– What do investors' demand signals and objectives currently look like?
– The M-word may have disappeared from most pitches but what has replaced it?
– As always, fundamentals win, not buzzwords: Good ideas, teams, and execution. 
– Inbar: Show traction, show value, show a path to revenue. 
– Emrich: find real problems that need to be solved and uniquely solve them. 
– Focus is also key: don't try to do too many things at once and boil the ocean. 
– Meanwhile, all the trends above will create opportunity gaps in the spatial stack.

For more color from Emrich & Inbar see the full video below, or skip right to the second half using this anchor link.  

   

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