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HoloKit relaunched, $129 AR Headset accessory for iPhone

holokit.io

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

#31

Post by nmfisher »

zamadatix wrote: post #20
nmfisher wrote: post #6

Does this have an embedded microphone for audio input? I quickly skimmed the tech specs and it looks like the answer is "no" (presumably if you want that, the intention is that you use AirPods/some other Bluetooth input device).

I wouldn't be surprised if it just fell back to the iPhone itself when you didn't have AirPods. It'd be a pretty crap audio experience (both input and output) in comparison though.

It's difficult to gauge from the photos but I was thinking that the phone is seated too far from the mouth for reliable audio input (it certainly feels like I have to raise my voice, if not shout, whenever I'm talking to someone with the phone that far away from me).

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

#32

Post by trzy »

zdragnar wrote: post #25
jesuscript wrote: post #19

Form factor for AR is literally like nuclear fusion at the moment. I don’t know when they are going to get it looking like normal fucking glasses, but until then, no one is going outside with this shit. They have to pivot this soon enough to a cheap at-home AR thingy. VR headsets are getting smaller at least: https://en.shiftall.net/products/meganex I would suspect Apple will never release something that isn’t as sma…

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…

100% agree. VR immersion is fundamentally broken anyway due to the locomotion problem. You can walk freely in your play area but it's always too small compared to typical game world size. So you end up being able to look around, duck, and dodge, but if you want to take a step forward, you need to remember to twiddle a joystick instead. It's a lot of cognitive load and discomfort for very little benefit.

Flat games feel quite immersive already. And others can easily be nearby and watch.

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

#33

Post by accrual »

zdragnar wrote: post #25
jesuscript wrote: post #19

Form factor for AR is literally like nuclear fusion at the moment. I don’t know when they are going to get it looking like normal fucking glasses, but until then, no one is going outside with this shit. They have to pivot this soon enough to a cheap at-home AR thingy. VR headsets are getting smaller at least: https://en.shiftall.net/products/meganex I would suspect Apple will never release something that isn’t as sma…

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…

> To immerse yourself, you need to block out your peripheral vision and everything else.

But what if that's what I want? I want VR so I can experience totally different worlds fully as if I was there. I can do that safely from my living room.

I want AR so I can live the cyberpunk dream of seeing data and other extra info overlaid on top of my normal vision while out in public.

I don't think either concept is flawed, they just have different purposes for different times and places.

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

#34

Post by m463 »

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.

I think augmented reality is hard. Practically speaking VR only needs to create an image, while AR needs to create and register an image in space and time.

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

#35

Post by dragonwriter »

zdragnar wrote: post #25
jesuscript wrote: post #19

Form factor for AR is literally like nuclear fusion at the moment. I don’t know when they are going to get it looking like normal fucking glasses, but until then, no one is going outside with this shit. They have to pivot this soon enough to a cheap at-home AR thingy. VR headsets are getting smaller at least: https://en.shiftall.net/products/meganex I would suspect Apple will never release something that isn’t as sma…

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…

> 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 shift this in surprising ways.

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

#36

Post by endisneigh »

dragonwriter wrote: post #35
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…

> 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…

people are expecting and wanting at least AirPod level success here. I can't think of a mainstream product that's direct to consumer that's "niche", perhaps inherently so

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

#37

Post by dragonwriter »

endisneigh wrote: post #36
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…

people are expecting and wanting at least AirPod level success here. I can't think of a mainstream product that's direct to consumer that's "niche", perhaps inherently so

> I can’t think of a mainstream product that’s direct to consumer that’s “niche”

Well, yeah, that’s kind of trivially true; “mainstream” and “niche” are antonyms.

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

#38

Post by actinium226 »

trzy wrote: post #32
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…

100% agree. VR immersion is fundamentally broken anyway due to the locomotion problem. You can walk freely in your play area but it's always too small compared to typical game world size. So you end up being able to look around, duck, and dodge, but if you want to take a step forward, you need to remember to twiddle a joystick instead. It's a lot of cognitive load and discomfort for very little benefit. Flat games fe…

Some games compromise on this by having the character sitting in the pilot's seat of a ship or a mech, making the interaction with the joystick make sense. I haven't tried them, but it seems like a good way to go, particularly for a game with fighter jets or something like that.

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

#39

Post by endisneigh »

dragonwriter wrote: post #37
endisneigh wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people are expecting and wanting at least AirPod level success here. I can't think of a mainstream product that's direct to consumer that's "niche", perhaps inherently so

> I can’t think of a mainstream product that’s direct to consumer that’s “niche” Well, yeah, that’s kind of trivially true; “mainstream” and “niche” are antonyms.

in a sense, yes, but something popular enough could border on mainstream despite the product category being niche, like apple watches.

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

#40

Post by accrual »

eric-hu wrote: post #14
r00fus wrote: post #10

Two thoughts 1. The dork factor is still in play here. I don't see this being popular by any means, so there needs to be a killer app. 2. I need to see a nice AR game like Pokemon GO integrated with this. I imagine that's the first/best killer app.

I can see the killer app being something practical, like being able to look at a recipe and watch a video for food prep while I’m doing food prep. Or being able to look at an engine bay and diagnose am issue and see parts identified as I look and point at them.

I was thinking about that too. Imagine having image recognition within the headset or glasses which can draw boxes around items and match them against a global database. One could be walking around and see something interesting, then press a button or say a phrase to query it for information right in your glasses.

A lot of infrastructure and data would be needed before it reaches a critical mass and mass adoption follows. The more people using it, the more data there is in the system, the more people want to use it.

Another really great feature would be captions for conversations going on around you - a big help for the hearing impaired, and maybe even helpful to ordinary people to keep better track of the conversation flow.

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