Market Reality: Samsung Diversifies AR Hardware Bets, PTC Acquires Onshape, & Nvidia Takes AR Content to the Cloud

It's no secret that Samsung is working on augmented reality hardware, as the company has been candid about its intentions. However, what we don't know is exactly how many AR projects the company is working on, as patent filings and reports revealed two more over the past week.

Elsewhere, two tech heavyweights strengthened their AR content offerings, as PTC acquired CAD software maker Onshape and Nvidia launched its CloudXR platform.

Finally, another South Korean consumer electronics giant, LG, is preparing to bring augmented reality ads to TVs in its home country.

Samsung Files Another Smartglasses Patent & Partners with Facebook

Just as Apple, Snapchat, and other tech giants are working on augmented reality wearables in the race to replace smartphones for the future of mobile computing, so is Samsung.

However, Samsung is actually betting on a few different horses in this race. One of those recent bets comes in the form of a patent application filed in South Korea in February and published last week for an AR smartglasses design. But, in case its own AR hardware doesn't get off the ground, Samsung can still contribute from the component side of its business.

Continue reading to learn more about Samsung's AR smartglasses design patent and how the company may contribute components for Facebook's future AR wearables...

REALITY BITES: Augmented reality continues to fuel the growth of Snapchat, which added seven million daily active users in the third quarter of 2019. According to Snap's third-quarter earnings release, Lens Studio users have created more than 600,000 Lenses, and those Lenses account for more than 15% of Snaps sent every day. Moreover, Snap reports that the top-performing Lenses from the Lens Studio community have attained "billions" of views. In prepared remarks, CEO Evan Spiegel continued to reinforce the expectation that Snapchat AR smartglasses on the company's roadmap, but not ready yet, and that the limited volume of Spectacles 3 will enable the company to "test and learn more about wearable computing."

PTC Picks Up CAD Company Onshape, Foresees Synergies with Vuforia

There's a direct correlation between the proliferation of augmented reality apps and the demand for 3D content, and PTC just quantified that in dollars.

On Wednesday, the company committed $470 million to acquire Onshape, makers of computer-aided design (CAD) software that has amassed $150 million in funding and more than 5,000 subscribers since its founding in 2012.

Read on to learn more about Onshape's software, how it fits into the current AR development ecosystem that PTC has assembled, and how the acquisition is part of an on-going trend across the AR industry...

REALITY BITES: In other M&A news, 3D capture startup GeoCV is taking its talents to Occipital. The company will operate as Occipital's Research & Development office in Moscow. Occipital is also "aggressively recruiting" to expand the team.

Nvidia Launches Platform for Rendering AR Content in the Cloud

Higher-fidelity 3D content and next-generation AR experiences take more computing power than most modern AR headsets and mobile devices can handle. But Nvidia is introducing a new cloud-based solution to address that need that will stream AR content to modern devices.

During a keynote presentation at the Los Angeles Convention Center delivered as a lead-in for Mobile World Congress in Los Angeles, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed his company's new AR software, CloudXR.

Continue reading to learn more about CloudXR and how Nvidia is taking a hardware and software approach to enabling AR experiences...

REALITY BITES: Count Asad J. Malik, filmmaker and founder of AR studio 1RIC, as one of the first customers to get his hands on the HoloLens 2, shipped by Microsoft's HoloLens head Alex Kipman himself. His studio, winner of "Best Augmented Reality" experience at Sundance, has also landed a seven-figure investment, though additional details won't be disclosed until later this year.

LG Reveals TVs with AR Ads for South Korea

Best known for its mobile phones and television sets, South Korea's LG has had a quieter presence in the US compared to the country's homegrown efforts.

Now, the company is leveling up its augmented reality capabilities with 3D advertisements that spring from home televisions, in a move that competitors in the US are likely to want to follow.

LG's telecom subsidiary, LG Uplus, and startup Eyecandylab have launched an app that works with two Korean home shopping channels. Read further to learn more about LG's AR innovations for TV...

REALITY BITES: Augmented reality adoption in the retail industry is looking more and more like a necessity rather than a neat gimmick. A report by Boston Retail Partners reveals that 32% of consumers are more likely to choose to shop at a store that offers an augmented reality experience. Conversely, while 27% of retailers plan to deploy AR within the next two years, only 2% of retailers currently offer an augmented reality experience.

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.