Around the time when Apple had just introduced its PowerBook line of laptops in the early 90s and Sony debuted the Data Discman, Sega was quietly working on a device that would have been the first consumer VR headset. Although the Sega VR never made it to the market, the idea was to deliver an immersive and realistic gaming experience through a headset. Years later, and despite the massive leap in technology, the industry has been unable to crack what is now called the Extended Reality (XR) space: the assortment of immersive technologies that includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). With Apple debuting its long-awaited and mysterious mixed-reality headset at the WWDC developer conference on June 5, all eyes are on the Cupertino-based company as to how far it can succeed with an expensive headset supporting augmented and virtual reality in a market that has so far failed to catch on in a mainstream way. With that in mind, let's take a look at the failed attempt at the VR/AR market—and what we can learn from them. Google Glass When it debuted, it was seen as a pair of eyeglasses with a computerised, headed-mounted optical display from a sci-fi Hollywood movie enough for the world to get excited. In fact, Time Magazine named Google Glass as the Best Invention of the Year. But the Glass went on to become Google’s biggest failure. Glass was first announced in 2012 and made available (for $1,500) to select early adopters in 2013. It went on sale to the general public in 2014. Even after many iterations and improvements, Google Glass never felt like a convincing product. Many thought the device was ahead of the time but in reality, the Glass had no clear purpose. Glass looked like a miniaturised computer in the form of an eyewear that could be worn all day. You could take a photograph, record a video of what you were looking at, and even do a Google search with the results displayed in readable form on the tiny screen. It was a fascinating piece of hardware, a device envisioned to replace smartphones in the near future. However, the smart AR device sparked privacy concerns and failed to gain traction among both developers as well as consumers. With Google announcing recently that it is scrapping the enterprise version of Google Glass, the move makes it clear that the tech giant’s big bet on augmented reality hasn’t paid off. It doesn’t mean Google is giving up on AR or smart glasses entirely, though. Last year, Google previewed a new pair of smart glasses that could translate and transcribe speech in real time. The plan to launch those smart glasses is unclear, but Google said it would continue to test augmented reality glasses prototypes in public. HoloLens Microsoft has had a mixed history, though, of turning a consumer product category into trends. But for a change, the industry had a leap of faith in Microsoft when the tech juggernaut introduced the HoloLens, a mixed-reality device. At that time, Alex Kipman, the inventor and lead developer of HoloLens, described it as the first fully untethered holographic computer based on a new emerging technology called mixed reality (MR). Where Google Glass failed, Microsoft’s Hololens seemed like a device with a vision. It was based on mixed reality, a blending of your digital world with your real world using 3D objects that show up as floating images. The first version was sold in 2016 as an experimental concept device to developers for $3,000 and enterprises for $5,000. The HoloLens 2, in 2019, fixed a lot of issues that crippled the first-generation product. However, the device was far from delivering the experience that Microsoft demoed on the stage. On top of that, HoloLens 2’s $3,500 price made it from being ready as a consumer product. After spending billions of dollars on Microsoft’s MR division, the limits of the technology did come in the way of the company about where to go next. In 2021, rumours started floating that Microsoft had cancelled a March 2024 release date for HoloLens 3. A year later, with the exit of Kipman, who led the HoloLens mixed reality group, Microsoft lost the vision it once had with its futuristic goggles. The internal changes in management and the lack of a future for HoloLens within Microsoft have put out a question mark on a high-profile $22 billion HoloLens contract awarded in March 2021 by the US Army. One of the main problems with HoloLens was that its usefulness never grew over time, and it contributed to the device’s failure. MagicLeap At one point, MagicLeap was an over-hyped, over-funded startup but things started to change when its headset became a flop. Leap 1 was a poor headset that not only looked weird on one’s face but also lacked purpose as to why it was made in the first place. MagicLeap wanted to go big on the concept of “augmented reality”, a technology that overlays the digital world on top of the real world. But reality soon hit the start. Although Leap 1 was aimed at developers, medicare sales of 6,000 units in the first six months had raised questions about the product that was in the making for years. Its next-generation headset, MagicLeap 2, launched in 2020, was built on the same formula but is now aimed at businesses. Not much had changed between the first and second-generation headsets and despite being somewhat lighter, more powerful and sleeker, Leap 2 would still cost over $2000. MagicLeap, like others, promised the dream of a wearable computer strapped on your face but fell short of what it went on to achieve. The same mistake of replacing smartphones with headsets did cost the company dearly. Before new CEO Peggy Johnson came on board in late 2020, the secretive startup had been looking for a buyer, and the company reportedly laid off 1,000 employees as part of a major restructuring during the pandemic. Google Daydream VR The idea of a smartphone-based VR headset sounded exciting at first, however, the experience was mediocre and poor. That was the case with Google’s Daydream VR, a mobile VR platform aimed at bringing first-time users into the world of virtual reality. No matter what Google said about Daydream VR, the “in-between” solution was only slightly better than Google Cardboard but pales in comparison to high-end VR headsets of its time. For many, the concept of slotting your smartphone into a headset to experience VR was a flawed concept from the start. From setup to using your phone to experience VR was bad. Google had high hopes for the Daydream VR platform but it never took off. The company even made a Daydream headset to show the Daydream platform. However, even at an affordable price tag, Daydream View couldn’t compete with the likes of Oculus. Google Daydream VR was killed and the headset was discontinued in 2019. Snap Spectacles When Snap, the company best known for the popular Snapchat social camera app, first announced its Spectacles years ago, many thought it would revolutionise the smart wear market. As it turned out, Snap’s entire experiment with smart eyeglasses has been a confusing affair. With new models, especially with Spectacles 3, Snap did manage to add a taste of augmented reality but on the whole, the idea to add special effects to their Snapchat posts isn’t convincing enough to shell out $380 on a pair of glasses. One big reason why Snap’s vision for augmented reality could ultimately fail is due to its focus on a “fun” approach, rather than a more “serious” way of taking advantage of the tech. The fact that Snap’s next generation of Spectacles, its first pair of display glasses designed for augmented reality, has no release date or price is proof that the company doesn't see them ready as a consumer product yet. Can Apple do the job? The failure of Google and Microsoft shows that the AR/VR market is tricky and complex. Both companies may have stumbled despite access to infinite resources and valuable experience. The question is whether Apple can succeed where Google and Microsoft failed. With Meta (formerly known as Facebook) still in the race, Apple’s entry into the XR space can rejuvenate the space which the industry is hoping for. But like Google, Microsoft and others, Apple too faces the same set of technical challenges that plagued Google Glass and HoloLens. There's no guarantee that Apple will succeed with a mixed-reality headset, but Apple’s robust developer support and slow and steady approach to AR put Cupertino in a favourable position when Google released the Glass. One benefit that Apple has over others is its ability to sell a high-end device at a premium price alongside two billion active users who are easier to convert to a new product.
