Just when we thought the AT&T partnership with Magic Leap wouldn't really take off until the latter launched a true consumer edition of the Magic Leap One, the dynamic duo jumped into action this week to offer the current generation headset to customers.
Meanwhile, Apple continues to supplement its AR talent by adding an industry veteran with expertise in immersive content software, and the US Army is finally showing off its modified HoloLens 2 from Microsoft. Also, Google has submitted its latest iteration of AR wearables to the US Patent & Trademark Office.
AT&T & Magic Leap Court Buyers with Online Magic Leap One Sales, New Commercial
The era of AT&T and Magic Leap has quietly entered a new phase that ramps up the mainstreaming of the cutting edge augmented reality device.
This week, the wireless giant began offering the Magic Leap One for sale directly on its website, a move that aligns with its recent decision to begin offering the device in five select stores across the US. Along with the website update, AT&T quietly posted a new commercial devoted to selling the Magic Leap One to regular, non-developer and non-enterprise consumers.
Continue reading for our analysis of what this move means for AT&T and Magic Leap's partnership and their approach to the consumer segment of AR...
REALITY BITES: Speaking of AT&T and Magic Leap, the AT&T Shape Hackathon starts on Friday in Los Angeles. Participants will compete for $80,000 in prizes, with Best VR/AR/MR Solution and Best Use of Magic Leap One among the categories up for grabs. The top three overall winners will continue on to the AT&T Shape event on June 22-23 at the Warner Bros. Studio Lot to show off their creations.
Apple Hires Former Jaunt CTO, Possible Move for AR Products
Arthur van Hoff, former CTO and co-founder of Jaunt, is taking his immersive content talents to Cupertino.
As Variety reports, van Hoff began working at Apple as a senior architect this month, after ending a handful of technical advisor commitments listed on his Linkedin profile in March 2019.
Read further to find out how van Hoff might fit in with Apple's augmented reality ambitions...
REALITY BITES: This week, Google hosted Google Next, its developer conference for the Google Cloud platform, in San Francisco. Magic Leap was among the technologies demonstrated leveraging Google Cloud. Apparently, the presentation impressedattendees. The company also posted up in the exhibition hall to show off its cloud solutions architecture.
Microsoft's HoloLens 2 Army Edition Makes Public Debut
New images reveal that Microsoft is already well underway in fulfilling its $480 million contract to provide augmented reality headsets to the US Army.
The Army Futures Command recently gave CNBC a preview of the Integrated Virtual Augmentation System (IVAS), which is comprised of a modified HoloLens 2 with additional sensors, such as thermal sensor by Flir.
Keep reading to learn more about the militarized HoloLens 2 and how innovations for the military may influence Microsoft's future iterations of the headset...
REALITY BITES: We've got dueling perspectives on AR from Medium this week. In one corner, a writer argues that the quest for a killer app is not necessary for the AR industry. And, in another corner, a different writer shows off what might be the killer app that reinvents storytelling.
New Google AR Headset Potentially Previewed in Patent Application
If you thought Google was sitting on the sidelines of the growing race toward mainstreaming augmented reality, think again.
A patent published by the US Patent and Trademark Office last week may have given the world a sneak peek at the AR headset reportedly under development at Google.
Continue reading for more details on the patent application and how it may fit into Google's AR hardware plans...
REALITY BITES: The marketing world has completely embraced augmented reality as a way to capture the attention of customers. To serve that growing sector, we've created a section on Next Reality devoted to the augmented reality experiences pitched by today's marketing geniuses. If you're interested in AR advertising and promotions, check out our Marketing section!
Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This weekly Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. Check out previous editions of Market Reality for more news you may have missed.
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