Virtual reality has been a part of pop culture ever since 1992’s The Lawnmower Man, but it was only with the 2010 release of the Oculus Rift VR headset that this technology blossomed into something tangible and accessible.
Since then, VR headsets (and now augmented and mixed reality models) have endured their fair share of successes and failures, with modern-day options like the Pimax Crystal catering to PCVR enthusiasts and the Meta Quest 3 offering a stand-alone option with broader appeal.
However, we’re still yet to see VR headsets recognized as a platform comparable to consoles, personal computers, or other wearables. While there’s plenty of talk about devices like this being the future, it often feels like a future that’s in no rush to arrive. Meanwhile, the next logical step in headset-like tech, smart glasses, is steadily gaining traction.
Have VR/AR and mixed-reality headsets missed their moment to shine, destined to be overtaken by this new generation of hardware? Let’s take a closer look.
Virtual reality: Always the bridesmaid, never the bride
VR’s arrival feels like a constant mirage on the horizon. Despite growing popularity and a year-on-year increase in units shipped since 2021, VR has never achieved the mainstream recognition it needs to thrive.
Despite its qualifications, VR headsets always feel like they’re on their last legs. Every passing cycle of the calendar results in VR headsets facing a make-or-break year ahead as mainstream adoption once again eludes its grasp. Perhaps unfairly,
This is in the face of the Quest 2 selling over 20 million units since its launch in 2020, a number especially impressive when you consider that the Xbox Series X | S has sold around 28 million units combined since their launch in the same year.
However, while the Xbox Series X|S gets the mainstream nod, VR is dismissed as an enthusiast trend or a passing gimmick. Despite being more popular than ever, and having some impressive numbers to back it up, nobody appears to be comfortable suggesting that VR is anything beyond a product for tomorrow that, try as it may, just can’t find today.
Enter, Vision Pro. Exit, Vision Pro
Even Apple — the tech world’s answer to a bespoke tailor ready to offer you expensive suits with too few pockets, too many buttons, and an eagerness to say they’re made from iLux fiber instead of a polyester blend — failed to propel the market to new heights with the Vision Pro.
Apple’s double-premium headset may be a hindrance more than a help when it comes to mainstream approval of VR/AR headsets.
Still, the blame may fall on its ludicrous $3,499 pricing more than anything else. Apple’s headset, on paper at least, is an otherwise stellar offering. Truth be told, while I have my gripes about Apple’s headset, from a purely technological standpoint, it’s the best VR, AR, or mixed-reality headset by some margin.
However, Apple’s double-premium headset may be a hindrance more than a help when it comes to mainstream approval of VR/AR headsets. Its supercharged tech and audacious pricing make spatial computing seem like a possible glimpse of the distant future instead of the very real and attainable tech it is today.
The Vision Pro may as well not be a consumer product at all. Instead, another curious doodad taking up space in a booth at the World’s Fair — a sideshow piece to be gawked at by men in pinstripe suits and boater hats who raise their eyebrows and whistle, turning to one another as they utter, “Imagine!” before chortling in befuddlement and shuffling their way past the robot butlers and hovercars towards the cotton candy stalls.
Interestingly, Apple’s initial vision for its AR/VR debut was a lightweight, glasses-like design. Given the struggles of VR/AR headsets and growing interest in smart glasses, the company may have bet on the wrong horse.
Smart glasses: The one she told you not to worry about
Smart glasses are a hot prospect for the future. The face-worn wearable is already seeing success following the popularity of the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, and AR glasses like the VITURE Pro XR and XREAL Air 2 are pushing the boundaries of the VR/AR experience possible within this form factor.
While smart glasses haven’t achieved the mainstream nod of approval either, their less intrusive form and reality-enhancing potential already do away with some of the hurdles facing VR/AR headsets.
Their lighter and more open designs don’t isolate or burden those wearing them, and their smart tech reinvention of a commonly worn item means there’s little adjustment for many to make in switching to a pair from regular frames.
They’re an unassuming underdog to some, but a report by Verified Market Research valued the market at $4.8 billion in 2022 and projects that figure doubling by 2030 and paves the way for major brands like Apple and Microsoft to consider their options. Even Google is reportedly eyeing a potential return to the market after the failure of its born-too-soon Google Glass eyewear— even if a former Google department lead believes otherwise.
Can smart glasses eclipse VR/AR headsets?
On the question of whether or not smart glasses can eclipse VR/AR headsets. Given their wider use case, I’d say there’s a strong possibility.
Besides being friendlier to the face, smart glasses offer more to a broader crowd. Gaming has predominantly driven the sales of VR headsets, but smart glasses provide a wider range of everyday uses, from listening to music to navigating unfamiliar locales.
When you begin to bring AI into the equation, as the Solos Air Go 3 (ChatGPT) and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses (Meta AI) have done, there are even more possibilities and applications for this wearable in everyday life. Access to top-of-the-line large language models able to answer, solve, and make recommendations on just about anything you pose to them could be a game-changer.
While it's likely that headsets will keep their gaming audiences captive for some time at least, especially as we see more AAA offerings from popular franchises arrive to the medium (with games like Alien: Rogue Incursion, Metro Awakening, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded, and Batman: Arkham Shadow all set for release in 2024), they will potentially remain in that no man's land of mainstream recognition.
It will be years before we can condense the tech that powers headsets like the Vision Pro and Quest 3 into your average frames, but it’s undoubtedly the end goal of many manufacturers in the smart glasses market. Until then, smart glasses will gradually grow in capabilities and audience as the level of technology evolves.
There may always be a case for both headsets and smart glasses to coexist for different purposes, and a VR/AR headset boom is always a lingering possibility. However, if things remain on the same trajectory, smart glasses may have killed off the mainstream dream for VR/AR headsets and potentially taken their place in history as tech's next big thing for computing.
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