Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

301–310 of 449 posts

Re: Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

#301

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

xiaolingxiao wrote: post #8

They're exploring a sale valued at $10B, but it's doubtful who would have the appetite to buy it at this valuation. Google declined a follow on round recently, Apple has been developing their own tech for years, and Facebook has quietly stepped away from AR/VR. Magic Leap is reminiscent of another company with "Magic" in its name: General Magic ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Magic ). They both made a product…

I feel like Google needs it most. They killed Daydream and don't have an alternative and Apple is moving towards a wearable AR device.

Edit: I'm ready for Apple to pull a rabbit out of a hat again in a year with an AR wearable- I think the iPhone SE was strategic because AR glasses and an expensive phone and a watch is a tough sell. Cheap but powerful phone in pocket and a wearable makes more sense to me.

Re: Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

#302

Post by bsanr2 »

gkoberger wrote: post #15
Ididntdothis wrote: post #3

This is such a weird company. They created big buzz over years and it seems they are just fading away quietly with nothing to show for the money they took in. Reminds me a little of Theranos (although not as criminal). Why do these investors keep pumping so much money into a company that has nothing to show? I thought they do due diligence.

It's easy to say in hindsight, but investors were taking a bet based on the little bits of promising information they had a decade ago. Both sides knew the risks, and that's the whole point – VCs and the company both believed they could make something happen, and it seems they weren't able to, and that's just how this works.

This is it. Everyone knew that it was a hedge to get in on the ground floor in case the technology blew up faster than anyone could predict. Nobody wants to be the person who missed out on the next Google or Facebook, especially Google or Facebook.

Re: Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

#303

Post by draw_down »

samatman wrote: post #262
braythwayt wrote: post #165

A little perpendicular to the subject, but this kind of thing always brings my mind back to iPhone. Apple had AT LEAST four kicks at the can with mobile devices. They had the "Knowledge Navigator" vaporware in 1987, twenty years before iPhone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_navigator They started working on realizing the KN concept in 1987, and shipped Newton in 1993, fourteen years before iPhone. Alas, the…

Yeah, I've heard a few people (more common around the debut) say "the iPad is Jony Ive's Apple Newton" I always reply "As it happens, the Apple Newton was Jony Ive's Apple Newton..." It was his first product for Apple, the Bondi Blue iMac was just his first successful product.

Strange statement to make about the iPad regardless. The iPad is an incredible success; the only way it doesn't seem like one is in comparison to the iPhone.

Re: Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

#304

Post by vernie »

robocat wrote: post #289
alephnan wrote: post #67

> Citing COVID-19, CEO Rony Abovitz wrote in a blog post that the company needed to shift focus Right... because of Covid-19. As a counter example, Animal Crossing on the Nintendo Switch is doing phenomenal right now, in part due to Covid-19.

Supply chain, factory production, and delivery all affect the ability to produce and supply hardware devices. Animal crossing is software, so not a fair comparison.

What does Animal Crossing run on?

Re: Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

#305

Post by ajoy »

braythwayt wrote: post #165

A little perpendicular to the subject, but this kind of thing always brings my mind back to iPhone. Apple had AT LEAST four kicks at the can with mobile devices. They had the "Knowledge Navigator" vaporware in 1987, twenty years before iPhone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_navigator They started working on realizing the KN concept in 1987, and shipped Newton in 1993, fourteen years before iPhone. Alas, the…

Most people don't know this, but Nokia had hit upon a lot of these ideas before the iPhone, but didn't act on it : https://venturebeat.com/2010/09/27/nokia-had-iphone-like-pro...

They were an innovative company, till internal culture or complacency killed it (conjecture).

Re: Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

#306

Post by dflock »

vernie wrote: post #304
robocat wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Supply chain, factory production, and delivery all affect the ability to produce and supply hardware devices. Animal crossing is software, so not a fair comparison.

What does Animal Crossing run on?

The Nintendo Switch - which Nintendo has already shipped millions of units of, giving them a ready market for any software they release, even if they never ship another Switch.

Re: Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

#309

Post by albertTJames »

TheSoftwareGuy wrote: post #7

Jesus Christ. I personally know two people that started working there right around when the lockdowns were starting to get put in place. They've probably been there less than a month.

I find it shameful that a well funded company would do such a thing in a time of crisis. They're not in the tourism industry. It is sickening.

Re: Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

#310

Post by Bubbadoo »

alephnan wrote: post #67

> Citing COVID-19, CEO Rony Abovitz wrote in a blog post that the company needed to shift focus Right... because of Covid-19. As a counter example, Animal Crossing on the Nintendo Switch is doing phenomenal right now, in part due to Covid-19.

Oh we're going to hear about lots of bad things due to Covid-19. It's the internet crash and Great Recession rolled into one.
Post reply on HN