Qualcomm has always been on the forefront of leading wireless communication and AR technologies. The Snapdragon XR2 Platform is a great example of their industry leadership, supporting 5G connectivity, advanced AI, machine learning capabilities, and improved graphics performance compared to its previous generation chipset, the Snapdragon XR1. Since the day it was announced, the Snapdragon XR2 Platform has been marked as a critical enabler for game changing AR and VR experiences, particularly in the areas of gaming, entertainment, and enterprise applications. It has been designed to provide high-performance computing and graphics capabilities, supporting advanced AR and VR features, such as 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) head tracking, room-scale tracking, and eye tracking.

The Snapdragon XR2 platform is already used in various AR and VR headsets, including the Oculus Quest 2, which is widely considered one of the most advanced consumer-level VR headsets available today. Niantic announced Lightship, enabling developers to merge AR content with the outside world. The platform offers world-mapping, semantic segmentation, and shared AR feature sets, allowing developers to create multiplayer experiences with depth, physics, and occlusions.

XR2 was being billed as the world’s first 5G XR platform, but Apple’s announcement of the Vision Pro has made such a huge splash and has dominated mainstream media, nearly eclipsing everything the AR industry has done up to this point. This move really brings XR to the forefront of the consumer market and it really makes a lot of sense for them to pursue this market.

Why is Apple Entering the AR Market?

1. Advanced Hardware: Apple is renowned for its focus on hardware excellence, and the Vision Pro announcement touted impressive specs: 4k resolution per eye, the M2 chip for compute, and the R1 chip to handle the input from its array of sensors, which include 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones. This can greatly contribute to immersive and realistic XR experiences, offering users a more engaging and believable virtual world.
2. Integration with Apple Ecosystem: Apple has a strong ecosystem of devices, software, and services that work seamlessly together. With the Vision Pro, Apple will leverage this integration to provide a unified XR experience across its product lineup. This integration can lead to greater accessibility, ease of use, and synchronization between Apple devices, allowing users to seamlessly transition between AR and VR experiences.
3. Developer Support: Apple has a vast developer community that creates innovative apps and experiences for its platforms. By introducing Apple Vision Pro, Apple is expected to provide robust development tools, frameworks, and APIs, enabling developers to create compelling XR applications. This support can lead to an influx of creative and high-quality XR content, further fueling the growth and adoption of XR technologies.
4. Consumer Appeal: Apple’s brand and reputation play a significant role in consumer adoption. The introduction of Apple Vision Pro can create wider awareness and interest in XR technologies among Apple’s vast user base. Apple’s focus on user experience, design aesthetics, and seamless integration can potentially attract more mainstream consumers to explore and embrace XR, expanding the overall market size.
5. Industry Influence: Apple’s entry into any market typically has a significant impact due to its market position and influence. The introduction of Apple Vision Pro can act as a catalyst for broader industry adoption and innovation. It can drive other companies to invest more in XR technologies, leading to advancements in hardware, software, and content creation tools across the XR ecosystem.

These factors combined will surely generate more demand, but has a very steep price point at $3,500. For sure, this won’t stop the early adopters from buying them. However, will it be enough to capture the early majority? Without checking off these 10 boxes, it’s a tall order.

Minimum Specifications:

1. Transparent lenses
2. Lightweight: ~50g
3. Keyboard and mouse support
4. Monochromatic (more color is better)
5. 1080p resolution per eye
6. 60 frames per second
7. WiFi or 5G support
8. Bluetooth 5.0 support for audio
9. Noise-cancelling microphone
10. 1080p camera

Based on the product demos, it’s self evident that the video overlays/holograms necessitate the use of a camera passthrough for AR support. Regardless of how well calibrated the camera is to the user’s hands and surrounding environment, it will never be as true to life as the real thing, which can already be achieved with transparent lenses, which Vuzix has already achieved with their Vuzix Blade and Shield product lines, thanks to their waveguide technologies.

Below are two simple diagrams to help illustrate the differences between the optics for a VR vs AR headset. Most of the VR headsets on the market today are projecting images through a set of prisms and lenses, as shown in diagram A. Typically, VR is reprojecting images of the full content, closing off the user from their surroundings. Whereas, the Waveguides, shown in diagram B, allow the user to see through them along with superimposed images within the field of view. The optics shown in diagram A may also be used for AR, but requires passthrough mode support incurring latency due to having to process all images, including the user’s environment. This may be a deal breaker for users that want to enjoy real-time experiences, such as gaming, multi-user experiences, or rich content creation, requiring fine-tuned controls and feedback.

The Vision Pro delivers impressive visual quality and fidelity, but it has 3 major drawbacks:

1. High Price Tag
2. Uncomfortable weight distribution
3. Short battery life (2 hours)

On the upside, Apple engineers made a good design decision to move the battery into an external pack to reduce the weight of the headset, enabling a more nimble, less bulky and more comfortable user experience. Regardless, the Apple Vision Pro definitely misses the mark on #1 and #2.

For #3, the lack of keyboard and mouse support on the Apple Vision Pro wasn’t called out during the product announcement, but eye tracking and hand gestures were clearly communicated as the main methods for device controls. This may be fine for quick navigation and viewing videos, but not for gaming or apps that require quick responses or multi-touch support. This seems like a major oversight and should be something they should look into supporting in the future. One of the major use cases of Oculus is simulating a computer desktop experience. It doesn’t seem very interesting, but many content creators/tech reviewers have called this out as a very compelling use case that has its merit, given the advantages of a 360 degree screen. Of course, for a good desktop experience, you need a mouse and keyboard.

More options for XR glasses is definitely a good thing. It gives us consumers the freedom of choice, offers a diverse set of capabilities, caters to different budgets, fosters innovations, and encourage ecosystem compatibility. These factors collectively contribute to an improved consumer experience and the overall growth and adoption of XR technology.

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