Head-mounted giants battle "part ways": Meta VR, Apple MR, Microsoft's disgust, Google's abandonment

Author: Zhao Ying

Image source: Generated by Unbounded Layout AI tool

Compared with the hot and crowded AI concept, the head-mounted display track is particularly deserted, and Google terminated the company's AR project.

On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that **Google ended its augmented reality (AR) headset project, code-named Iris, and turned to building an AR software platform. **

At present, the head-mounted display giants have begun to "part ways", Microsoft complained that the VR and AR markets are currently too small, and the XR business department has been disbanded at the beginning of the year.

However, Apple and Meta are still insisting on MR. Earlier this month, Apple released the first head-mounted display "Vision Pro", officially entering the MR track; Meta, which was once All in the Metaverse, continues to invest heavily, but has shifted its focus from the Metaverse to AI. .

Google terminates AR headset project

Google ended its project to make an augmented reality (AR) headset and turned to building an AR software platform.

Business Insider reports that the glasses, internally code-named Iris, were shelved earlier this year due to layoffs, a reshuffle and the departure of Google AR/VR CEO Clay Bavor, among other reasons, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The Verge first reported the existence of Project Iris in January 2022, saying the device looked like a pair of ski goggles. Some Google employees pointed out that the ski goggles are actually a separate AR project, while Iris is a series of devices that are more like glasses.

**Since shelving the Iris glasses, Google has been focused on building an AR software platform. **Employees are developing software using a prototype platform internally called "Betty," with one employee describing Google's ambitions as "Android for AR." .

Microsoft complains that the market size is too small

Microsoft recently complained that the XR market is currently too small, and all XR business departments were disbanded at the beginning of the year.

Recently, Matt Booty, head of Microsoft's game studio Xbox Game Studios, pointed out in an interview that the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) markets are currently too small to support Xbox's gaming platform.

In January of this year, Microsoft disbanded all its XR business units involving the Metaverse, including HoloLens, AltSpaceVR, MRTK, and MWR, and then disbanded the Industrial Metaverse team in February.

Meta wants to use AI to empower the Metaverse

Once All in Metaverse is still investing heavily in Metaverse, and plans to integrate AI technology into Metaverse in the future.

Meta has released Quest 3, a new generation of virtual reality headset before Apple.

Zuckerberg switched the focus from Metaverse to AI at the all-hands meeting. He clarified the company's development strategy focusing on AI, and pointed out that in the future AI technology will integrate with products such as Metaverse and Instagram.

Apple released a blockbuster MR headset

In early June, Apple released its first head-mounted display Vision Pro at the WWDC conference, marking its official entry into the MR market.

Vision Pro supports gesture recognition, eye tracking and other interactive methods. The price starts at $3,499. At the same time, Apple also simultaneously released a new operating system VisionOS for spatial computing at WWDC, which can support various applications on iOS and ipadOS.

It is worth mentioning that, compared with the virtual world created by Meta VR, Vision Pro pursues the integration of reality and virtuality, so that users will not be completely isolated from the surrounding environment when using it, which greatly expands the usage scenarios.

Apple CEO Cook's positioning of this product is that it is a revolutionary space computer device that allows users to operate apps, games, and movies on digital devices in a real space, seamlessly integrating digital content with the physical world .