Ross Rubin
| November 9, 2021
| Topic: AR & VR
How Facebook is building the Metaverse
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You’ve seen the new name, the somewhat new logo, and perhaps some of the inevitable parodies. Facebook’s adoption of the name Meta marks a milestone in the journey that started with its 2014 acquisition of VR pioneer Oculus, the products of which are set to inherit the Meta name. What once seemed like a shiny distraction now defines the company’s future, with Mark Zuckerberg progressing from talking about a distant future to committing tens of billions of dollars to build the metaverse.
Facebook: Here comes the AI of the Metaverse
Meta is also covering its bases when it comes to applications. Games may be central enough to its experience that the Quest 2 is a credible game console. But the company is also developing its Horizon environments for social and work applications and recently acquired a VR fitness app. As I’ve argued, of all the technologies poised to challenge the smartphone, an AR headset refined to the point of enhanced eyewear has the best opportunity of supplanting it.
And Meta shows no signs of letting up. While Zuckerberg concedes the engineering challenges inherent in integrating a cornucopia of tech such as cameras, sensors, projectors, radios and a high-capacity battery into an enclosure that may be constrained to 5 mm thick, such is the goal for its “true” augmented reality device, a major leap forward from its Stories Ray-Ban collaboration code-named Project Nazare. And while that may be several years off, its next high-end VR headset, Project Cambria, does a better job of achieving mixed reality, is set to launch next year, and represent a new level of VR experience for what has been the Oculus ecosystem.
Why I will never use Zuckerberg’s metaverse
Simply because Meta has the motivation and a head start on the access devices, though, doesn’t mean that the company will get to define the dominant metaverse model or sustain leadership there. While enticing, interacting in virtual or blended environments represents a big shift, and plenty of challenges await Meta’s efforts to lead the world to them. These include the company’s track record, consumer inertia, and formidable competition from both startups and even more powerful Big Tech cohorts.
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