Interconnected Realities

10Our Metaverse Superpowers

New technology is only successful if it solves a problem without costing too much: This is my rule of thumb for establishing whether an innovation is worth paying attention to or not. For virtual reality, its success path is already largely established. We have both consumer and enterprise hardware and software in this space that gives an excellent user experience, sells in the millions of units, and generates millions of dollars of revenue for its developer community. There are many clear VR use cases and benefits, and more coming every day. There's plenty of room for much more growth, but the rocket is already lifting off the launchpad.

For head‐mounted augmented reality, we have similar success on the enterprise side, with significant growth and revenues already generated from the problem‐solving devices created by enterprise AR headset companies large and small. But for mass‐market, everyday AR glasses that you or I would wear around the house or to the store, well, that rocket is still on the assembly line.

In the previous chapter, I highlighted the industry developments that are occurring to bring down the size and cost of AR headsets over the next decade, and I'm optimistic enough to trust the power of those development cycles over time. That only leaves one final question: What will we do with our AR headsets that will make wearing them worthwhile? I believe that, as with mobile phones, it will take one single point of utility, with a crystal‐clear ...