Magic Leap just unveiled an advanced prototype of its Magic Leap 2 headset and the agreement among reviewers is that it’s a huge product.
Founded 12 years ago, Magic Leap first introduced a series of term-test prototypes that were initially larger than a large refrigerator. Then, four years ago, the company introduced its first headset, also aimed at the consumer market. The technology wasn’t ready for the planet, or maybe the planet wasn’t ready for the technology, but the company only sold a few thousand and thousands of units. Magic Leap was barely hanging on until it raised more money to proceed.
The prototype, unveiled last week, offers a universal improvement in every aspect of the device’s technology, usability and functionality. And two peculiarities put Magic Leap in contention as a device that can co-dominate enterprise AR, with Apple.
Thinking about the AR market
It is useful to divide the enterprise AR market into 5 broad categories:
- AR, but without glasses. This is the primary category as smartphones can perform basic AR, but the lack of portability of phones makes this category uninteresting.
- Glasses, but without AR. Alphabet’s Glass Enterprise Edition two, the headset previously known as “Google Glass,” is a case of a wearable device that puts contextual information in the user’s field of view. This category is front-facing visualization, as the virtual information perceptible to the user is positioned depending on head movement, rather than being anchored to physical objects.
- Full AR lenses. This category, represented by Magic Leap’s first product and Microsoft’s HoloLens two, gives the user a clear view of the planet, with virtual objects or words anchored to physical objects, for example, with the 3D Virtual model of a building sitting on a real lectern .
- AR/VR lenses. In this category, VR hardware gives an AR experience. Instead of an unobstructed view, the user sees a real-time video of the surrounding environment with virtual objects superimposed on that video.
- All-day AR lenses that look like regular glasses. It’s the holy grail of AR, which is still years away from being real.
In the next few years, I predict Apple will lead the way with its Category Four headset, a VR headset designed for use in AR.
Apple has been working hard on AR over many years, and every time Apple executives chat about AR, they obsess about the Bionic virtual boardroom, which I’ve talked about before. Here’s Apple CEO Tim Cook in two thousand sixteen describing Apple’s preferred AR scenario: the virtualized assembly.
As Cook describes it, Apple’s AR will let people meet holograms of other people. Or, people will be on the real planet, but everyone will have a shared view of virtual objects: holographic 3D presentations, essentially. Or both.
Part 2 of our “AR 101” blog series discusses the differences between #VR and #AR and explores key questions to help you pick the right tech solution for your business case. https://t.co/eCPYiIyzd2 #techtalk
— Magic Leap (@magicleap) February 23, 2022
Apple is obfuscated with the assemblies as I predict that the killer app for quevedos is going to be called Apple Reality. Aside from a cosmos of consumer applications, industrial, medical, military and manufacturing uses will probably likewise continue.
Apple recently won new patents related to the bionic virtual boardroom and updated some older patents with new claims and technologies. To give an example, it patents methods of heat management in AR/VR lenses and rumble attenuation to deal with electronic rumble from radar, projection and other lens elements.
Apple is examining the details already ahead of what is likely going to be the biggest launch in the AR space, most likely next year (with a possible announcement later this year).
Given Apple’s history with triumphant new category launches, as well as the depth of patents in the company’s portfolio, it is reasonable to forecast Apple’s dominance in this market, both for users and for companies.
Two new Magic Leap quirks
While Magic Leap was once aimed at both enterprises and users, the new version is one hundred percent aimed at enterprise markets, particularly military, manufacturing, and healthcare.
Reviewers say the new Magic Leap two hardware is much improved in each and every detail. It offers twice the field of view compared to the previous version, longer battery life, truer images, better hand and eye tracking, a more powerful processor, and a lighter power supply.
Magic Leap two has 9 cameras, including two on the supervisor and 4 that track eye movement. The hand supervisor also employs infrared sensors to track hand movement.
As with the first version, the Magic Leap two has a “disk” component to offload the weight of the helmet. It contains the battery and the primary processor and can be clipped to the belt and connects to the helmet with a physical cable. It features AMD’s 4-core Zen two processor that offers three times the processing power of the V. O..
Battery life is now three.5 hours (around two hours). A larger options package offers more battery time, perhaps up to 8 hours, but adds weight.
Magic Leap two, scheduled for release later this year, has two exciting enterprise features that could let it successfully cohabit with Apple Reality. The first is unique among primordial headsets: intelligent dimming.
The first AR Dark Mode
The lenses have a new dimming function, transforming into sunglasses. While the dimming obscures your view of the surrounding planet, virtual objects remain bright. This contrast dramatically improves visibility and readability and allows the headset to be used in bright rooms and direct sunlight, an indispensable feature for commercial applications in the field.
Even better, it can selectively darken parts of the room to make AR objects brighter and cleaner, and the user can adjust this dimmer with sliders. The effect can transform an AR object, which looks like a transparent hologram, into a VR object, which looks solid. It can make virtual reality objects appear to be in the spotlight in a darkened room, even in a lighted room.
The Magic Leap two has 3 categories of dimming. Global dimming, which is user controllable; automatic dimming, which molds to the light level in the room; and active dimming, where you can mitigate any one part of the field of view.
Unlike Apple’s Reality glasses, which are technically VR glasses that march eminently as AR glasses, Magic Leap’s dimming feature lets the AR glasses function as VR glasses.
Spatial audio helps virtual assemblies feel more natural and can provide guidance for instructional content. To give an example, a sound can lead the user to a specific location or in a specific direction. Not only can you place the sound face up and face down, left or right, but you can even place the sound closer or farther away.
When you have a virtual assembly and hear a holographic colleague speaking, for example, to your left, you can hear them better by turning your head to look at them.
The second noted feature of Magic Leap two for enterprise is that it is truly open source. Magic Leap’s operating system is based on the Android Open Source Project, which is maintained by Google. Magic Leap hopes that this openness will promote the development of a robust ecosystem of enterprise developers. I think they are right.
Magic Leap is likely to get the advantages of using a non-proprietary operating system. It’s not entirely clear that organizations like the Pentagon or major healthcare distributors want to jump through the hoops of a proprietary Apple ecosystem. Consequently, Magic Leap is going to offer a welcome alternative option.
Microsoft could have been a competitor
For a while, it gave the feeling that Microsoft would dominate the high-end enterprise AR market. Just a year ago, Microsoft announced a twenty-two million U.S. dollar contract for the U.S. Army. Together, Microsoft and the military are working on a HoloLens-based military system called the Integrated Audiovisual System (IVAS). But the project is in disarray. Since that time, Congress has cut funding. One report suggested that the military might cancel the contract altogether.
Another report asserts that Microsoft has cancelled HoloLens version three. HoloLens project three, called Calypso, was developed as a full-fledged wearable computer. (Microsoft denies the report).
Yet another rumor pushes Microsoft to develop mixed reality in partnership with Samsung. It’s unclear what’s going on with HoloLens at Microsoft, but it doesn’t look like things are going well.
Why I expect a market dominated by Apple and Magic Leap
In 4 years, Apple will probably dominate AR lenses like it dominates smartphones these days. And just like smartphones, Apple’s focus will be on the consumer, and the company is going to be an afterthought.
Apple’s entry into this space will be a mixed bag for mixed reality companies like Magic Leap. This will capture market share, but also legitimize and generalize the broader market.
Magic Leap is truly in a great position to cohabit with Apple. The reason: Magic Leap beats Apple in the market with real AR, where the user looks at the real planet through a glass, instead of watching videos of the real planet, as will be the case with Apple’s first offering.
In other words, while Apple’s product may generally dominate, Magic Leap’s will not compete directly with it. It’s going to be a true AR, intended only for the company and offering open source Linux as its operating system. This combination (real AR plus screen dimming) means Magic Leap is going to be much better for field and factory work than Apple Reality.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is getting lost in the weeds. Samsung will probably partner with it or someone else and fail to make a serious impact. Google is far behind. Snap is too obfuscated with users. Meta truly believes in virtual reality rather than AR. And the dozens of other players are very poorly funded and will mostly end up being bought out.
