Giant leaps: Virtual Reality is heading for huge steps forward in technology in 2022
The possibilities of Virtual Reality are endless. They always have been. In many ways, the technology has come of age already, with steps into wireless headsets at costs accessible by a wider set of society thanks largely to the creation of the Oculus (now Meta) Quest and Quest 2.
The statistics for projected usage of Virtual Reality by 2030 are significant. Truly significant. And that’s why we have always believed that VR was, and is, the perfect place to target and experience the Victoria VR metaverse. But that’s not to say it’s perfect. Obviously it’s not — both the graphics and the ability to mix Virtual Reality with Augmented Reality are getting better, but still limited.
But now things are on the horizon that are going to take VR to the next level — maybe, even more than a few steps up. Meta’s recent declaration regarding the future of the Meta headsets is particularly significant. Zuckerberg is all-in on the future of VR, and having one of the world’s top ten biggest companies makes a big difference to the future of the technology (Meta is ranked #34 by Forbes as of June 22, but within the top ten when accounting for tech only).
As good as the Meta Quest 2 is, there’s no disguising the fact that the technology needs to evolve to get through three areas of improvement in particular:
- Comfort/every-day use
- Graphics/processor
- Combining VR with AR
Both of these areas are a challenge, as highlighted with Meta’s ‘Meta Reality Labs Details Biggest Challenges to VR Visual Fidelity’, their 30-minute review shared in mid-June. But at the same time, Meta showed us their new prototype headsets, and the work going into them. All of these prototypes are, to varying degrees, targeted at addressing the key points listed above. Meta has been surprisingly transparent with the development of its headsets, and it’s easy to see its transparency as not just an explanation of the challenges ahead, but a call-to-arms to other companies to innovate. And that’s what they are doing. We know that a number of the world’s biggest and best tech companies are also working on new glasses and headsets. Snap is currently trialling AR glasses that have been described as promising by accessors to the closed trials. So Victoria VR’s bet is the same bet that many of the world’s most successful tech companies are making. We believe it’s a safe one.
These companies control the narrative. There’s enough work in the space to see that real competition and innovation across VR and AR devices is coming. And greater competition means more innovation. Right now, Cambria — the Meta Quest’s working name for its next high-end headset, shows the greatest potential to break down the barriers between VR and work. However, this is only because of the closed nature of their competitor’s innovation in the space. The Economist’s April 2022 article ‘From Apple to Google, big tech is rushing to build VR and AR headsets’ opens up rumours and leaks surrounding other large tech companies and attempts to bring a sense to the information available. What seems perfectly obvious, however, is the fact that Google, Apple, and Snap are joining Meta on their quest (pun intended).
It is true that not everyone loves the idea of a blend between work and the metaverse, of course. A May 2022 Techradar article, for example, claimed that its writer “couldn’t think of anything worse …” than working in the metaverse — a response that’s not to be unexpected bearing in mind the current devices and tech available.
The Financial Times reported that all VR and AR headsets;
“… face the same impossible choices: better graphics mean heavier headsets and batteries that run out sooner. Compromise on optics and the utility disappears.”
But at the same time, they were also seeing Snap — and its tech, which their writer had access to, as surprisingly comfortable and promising visually. So tech companies are breaking these limits, just as we’ve seen before with cell phones evolving every year to become the smartphones we know today.
We believe that the rate of new devices and innovation will accelerate exponentially in 2022 and beyond, and that its result will be seen in large portions of society using VR/AR headsets for work and personal life within the next few years. It’s a prediction that fuels Victoria VR on its mission to create the greatest possible metaverse, and then to refine, extend and improve that metaverse on newer versions of devices and, potentially, into other platforms too.
The next few years will be great for Victoria VR!
About Victoria VR — https://www.victoriavr.com
Victoria VR is a revolutionary Blockchain-based Virtual Reality Metaverse. Powered by Unreal Engine and featuring realistic, highly detailed graphics, it combines a massively-multiplayer-online role-playing game (MMORPG) with a unique Social Experience Playground.
Like never before, players will be immersed in a virtual reality world where they get to live their digital life. Whether you want to Play games, Develop your digital real estate (VR Land), Own a business, Work up or Get some entertainment, your imagination is the only limitation.
