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HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

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Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#211

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

Jochim wrote: post #196
mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the parent comment, VR is going to be a strictly niche thing. People, as in the vast majority of people, do not like wearing something covering their eyes for long periods of time. I think this is why Meta's big bet on Enterprise VR is going to be a flop. This doesn't mean VR won't be successful for gaming or highly technical niche things just that getting over the chasm of early adopters/niche to mainst…

I wonder if high quality pass-through video would improve the issue with covering the eyes. I've found that even the current pass-through on the Index has made me a lot more comfortable moving around, knowing that if I'm close to knocking something I'll get a low-res view of the real world before I hit it.

Maybe. What I don't get is any sense of what value VR adds for a business.

Imagine a 200 person call center dealing with health insurance claims, questions, etc. They likely have a PC, headset/phone (possibly digital) and a bunch of licenses to software that might cost an average of $1500 per person to have them be functional. It operates in a cost center part of the company, budgets are tight, investments in IT have to have an ROI to make sense. What value is there in a $1500 VR headset per person? How is this going to save that department money?

Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#212

Post by throwaway4aday »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #174
dragonwriter wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The average, casual user isn’t going to do that on a regular basis. So? Plenty of successful products aren’t for the average, casual user. HOTAS controllers aren’t for instance. So what? Not everything is universal adoption or nothing. Also, predictions about the “average, casual user” will want tend to be…unreliable. Trends driven by the kind of non-average, non-casual users that tend to be early adopters can shif…

I agree with the parent comment, VR is going to be a strictly niche thing. People, as in the vast majority of people, do not like wearing something covering their eyes for long periods of time. I think this is why Meta's big bet on Enterprise VR is going to be a flop. This doesn't mean VR won't be successful for gaming or highly technical niche things just that getting over the chasm of early adopters/niche to mainst…

> the vast majority of people, do not like wearing something covering their eyes for long periods of time

I am dubious of this claim given that large numbers of people spend hours staring at their phones every day. They may not be covering their eyes but they are surrendering all of their attention to a tiny rectangle and foregoing a lot of other more worthwhile things.

My hope for VR is that the social experience becomes so compelling that it can break most people out of their addiction to their phones. That's going to be a hard nut to crack but the metaverse will be waiting for them when they finally look up.

Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#213

Post by throwaway4aday »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #211
Jochim wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if high quality pass-through video would improve the issue with covering the eyes. I've found that even the current pass-through on the Index has made me a lot more comfortable moving around, knowing that if I'm close to knocking something I'll get a low-res view of the real world before I hit it.

Maybe. What I don't get is any sense of what value VR adds for a business. Imagine a 200 person call center dealing with health insurance claims, questions, etc. They likely have a PC, headset/phone (possibly digital) and a bunch of licenses to software that might cost an average of $1500 per person to have them be functional. It operates in a cost center part of the company, budgets are tight, investments in IT have…

It won't, they set up the call center so they could get rid of the more expensive in person local offices that used to exist to handle claims and sell insurance. That's not the right business for VR anyways, it's too broadly customer facing whereas VR for business is more B2B or internally focused. Remote workers are a big target for VR. Virtual doctor's visits are another. Remote education. Internal company training for maintenance, emergency or other physical procedures. B2B sales calls. Interviewing. Even tradeshows would be a target with a capable enough network and server setup.

Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#214

Post by throwaway4aday »

chaostheory wrote: post #185
zdragnar wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

VR is, IMHO, a fundamentally flawed concept. To immerse yourself, you need to block out your peripheral vision and everything else. The average, casual user isn't going to do that on a regular basis. It's not something you can do with kids around if you need to keep an eye on them, unlike a book or a TV show or even a game on your phone or laptop. Fundamentally, immersion is a selling point to a very specific audienc…

VR has a lot of problems, but that’s not one of them. The only thing you’ve proven is that you have yet to use modern VR within the last three years. The main problem is that the current VR device form factor is so intimidating for most people that they won’t even bother putting it on to try it. Instead, they’ll just make a lot of bad assumptions about a product that they haven’t actually tried yet for a good amount…

The intimidation aspect is interesting here. I'm old enough to remember people being intimidated by the big scary computer on the desk. People being weirded out by VR and prophesying that it's just a fad very much so reminds me of the same responses to computers.

Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#215

Post by throwaway4aday »

detrites wrote: post #169
tiborsaas wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To immerse yourself, you need to block out your peripheral vision and everything else. Sounds perfect for a flight.

Apart from the flailing limbs and suddenly-rotating head with apparatus. Eliminating those, are we back to just watching a movie? That said, I'd much rather watch a movie on a plane in a VR headset than off of a seat back.

Watching a movie in VR on a flight beats the hell out of the crappy headrest TV. A 2 hour flight turns into a 2 hour experience in a full size movie theatre. The seats are fairly similar so it would probably add to the immersion. With good noise cancelling headphones you might even forget you're on a plane.

Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#217

Post by Terretta »

stranded22 wrote: post #7

I am way more interested in a digital world being overlaid on the real world - augmenting rather than escaping. I’m not sure if I’d like to walk around the streets wearing them though - would be incredibly annoying to other people and a risk of being stolen.

Isn't that specifically what this is?

All photos appear to show AR overlaid on the world in front of the user, while the design of the headset is like a teleprompter mirror so you're looking at the world directly, with ghost of AR reflected at angle from phone above.

Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#218

Post by Jochim »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #211
Jochim wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if high quality pass-through video would improve the issue with covering the eyes. I've found that even the current pass-through on the Index has made me a lot more comfortable moving around, knowing that if I'm close to knocking something I'll get a low-res view of the real world before I hit it.

Maybe. What I don't get is any sense of what value VR adds for a business. Imagine a 200 person call center dealing with health insurance claims, questions, etc. They likely have a PC, headset/phone (possibly digital) and a bunch of licenses to software that might cost an average of $1500 per person to have them be functional. It operates in a cost center part of the company, budgets are tight, investments in IT have…

To be honest I haven't thought about the business case for VR much. I enjoy it as a recreational tool.

I do think AR has some amazing potential for business and I suppose VR efforts could work as a stepping stone to getting that right.

Some random thoughts that might work now that I'm thinking about it:

* A social tool for remote companies. * It might improve remote meetings/whiteboarding. * I'd probably be more likely to go to a VR trade show than a real life one.

I don't think it's going to take over every enterprise. A laptop is more than enough for a lot of work, VR would probably get in the way.

Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#219

Post by graeme »

throwaway4aday wrote: post #199
graeme wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They argued VR total immersion is a niche case. I’m not sure you’re rebutting them? Most people can’t exercise for four hours a day while ignoring their environment, effectively outside of their home. Whereas if you had glasses that let you do AR thing, you could do that while keeping an eye on your kids or on what you’re cooking or while doing some chores or while brushing your teeth etc What you described sounds ve…

I think this argument against VR stems from a misunderstanding of what VR is competing with or excelling at. VR is not your mobile phone. Repeat it with me, VR is not your mobile phone! You will not play bejewelled on the train in VR, you will not check your email while waiting for the kettle in VR, you will not doom scroll Twitter when you're lying in bed in VR. Those things, as you correctly identified, belong to t…

I think VR is cool! Really enjoyed playing a zombie game when I tried it. The cricket thing sounds fun. I can readily conceive more people will use it for niche experiences and use cases will grow.

But you still didn’t address OP’s point. Immersive VR is like being out of the house. You can’t keep an eye on things.

Most people living regular lives have a limited “out of the house” time budget, and would like to spend a good chunk of it on in person experiences or errands or work.

Actually this analysis suggests work has the highest potential to bring in VR, as most people already budget 8-10 hours of “out of house” time for work, so VR isn’t competing with anything except the office environment.

Re: HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

#220

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

throwaway4aday wrote: post #212
mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the parent comment, VR is going to be a strictly niche thing. People, as in the vast majority of people, do not like wearing something covering their eyes for long periods of time. I think this is why Meta's big bet on Enterprise VR is going to be a flop. This doesn't mean VR won't be successful for gaming or highly technical niche things just that getting over the chasm of early adopters/niche to mainst…

> the vast majority of people, do not like wearing something covering their eyes for long periods of time I am dubious of this claim given that large numbers of people spend hours staring at their phones every day. They may not be covering their eyes but they are surrendering all of their attention to a tiny rectangle and foregoing a lot of other more worthwhile things. My hope for VR is that the social experience be…

If the pull into VR is sold as " but now in VR!" or "shopping cart in VR!" its just not going to catch on.

The phone can be looked away from pretty easily. If they can accomplish that with VR headsets/eyeglasses somehow that could be a tipping point.

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