Market Reality: Snap Inches Toward Smartglasses with Spectacles 3, Meta Patent Suit Ends, YouTube Launches AR Makeup

This week, Snapchat parent Snap came closer to fulfilling its smartglasses destiny by adding new 3D content capabilities to its third-generation Spectacles. At the same time, the now defunct Meta Company continued its fall from grace, as a judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the patent infringement case against the Meta 1 and Meta 2 headsets.

Despite Meta's fate, the future of AR hardware remains strong, with big name tech companies backing holographic display technology from Light Field Lab. Finally, one of the more mature segments of mobile AR, the virtual makeup try-on field, officially got a new player as Google launched its take on the technology via its YouTube mobile app.

Snap Adds 3D Content Capture to Spectacles 3

After teasing what smartglasses powered by Snapchat might look like with two product cycles of camera glasses, Snap has now added augmented reality capabilities to its third take on Spectacles.

On Tuesday, the company unveiled Spectacles 3, which packs a pair of temple-mounted cameras that can capture 3D images and video, along with an array of four microphones for capturing audio and LED lights to serve as indicators that recording is underway.

Continue reading to learn how Spectacles 3 will facilitate the creation of AR content and where the new product places Snap on its trajectory towards the smartglasses market...

REALITY BITES: Snapchat's creator community is starting to see some lucrative returns from their work in Lens Studio. Also, while Snapchat updated its logo (much to the chagrin of the Twitterverse), the design direction appears to favor the evolution of its AR technology.

Plaintiff Prevails in Patent Lawsuit Against Meta Company

It was a long time coming, but we finally have a meaningful conclusion to the legal case against augmented reality startup Meta Company.

On Tuesday, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware granted a permanent injunction against Meta Company and its founder Meron Gribetz.

Read further for more details on the latest twist in Meta's downward spiral and what this means for the future of the new company that controls Meta's assets...

REALITY BITES: Valerie Vacante, the founder and managing partner of tech consultancy firm Collabsco, recently published her 2019 Connected Play Landscape, which tracks 262 companies that are making connected and smart toys. The results of her analysis show that augmented reality toys are on the rise, leading all categories with 18.3% growth.

Light Field Lab Closes $28 Million Funding Round

The venture arms of Samsung and Verizon Ventures, along with Comcast, are among the strategic investors backing startup Light Field Lab and its glasses-free holographic displays in a $28 million Series A funding round

Bosch Venture Capital and Taiwania Capital led the funding round, which is exactly four times the size of the $7 million round the company closed in Jan. 2018. Liberty Global Ventures (the investment arm of Liberty Media), NTT Docomo Ventures, HELLA Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, R7 Partners, and Acme Capital also participated.

Read on to find out why Light Field Lab appeals to its strategic investors and how its tech compares to its competitors...

REALITY BITES: Last week, RealWear acquired Kopin's Golden-i Infinity smart screen technology. The move effectively expands RealWear's technology portfolio and assets in a way that should make the company even more competitive as the global smartglasses space continues to grow rapidly.

Google Enters the Cosmetics AR Arena via YouTube

While Modiface, YouCam, and others have been playing in the virtual make-up marketing pool for a while, here comes Google ready to splash down with a cannonball.

On Wednesday, YouTube rolled out its first virtual makeup try-on experience in a video by Roxette Arisa, a Los Angeles-based makeup artist whose channel has more than 1.1 million subscribers and 66.5 million views.

Keep reading to learn more about the YouTube AR experience, the first brand partner to take advantage of the tool, and what this milestone means for the rest of the AR cosmetics market...

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.