The high price tag on the Vision Pro makes it a developer rather than a consumer toy, one that will spark a wave of experimentation once it becomes available next year.Īnd Apple's language around 'spatial computing' feels more like the firm wants to talk about a device that retains some rooting in the real world, versus a wholly digital alternative reality.

Has Apple understood that most people don't want to walk around with dorky headgear? In short, the metaverse hasn't been an easy concept to crack, and indeed there isn't necessarily much evidence that it's worth trying. Google also took a crack at an immersive headset with the Google Glass, but a tepid reception to its launch and high price tag of $1,500 resulted in its eventual discontinuation in 2015. A new version seems to be off the cards, and all Nadella talks about these days is generative AI. Microsoft, meanwhile, has broadly given up on the HoloLens – a mixed-reality headset that CEO Satya Nadella once talked about as a transformational, metaverse device for everything from remote health services to collaborative design. Some of its products have sparked mockery, such as the cheap-looking digital avatar meant to represent Zuckerberg. Its metaverse-focused Reality Labs division lost $13.7 billion in 2022. His decision has been a costly one for Meta both financially and reputationally.

Mark Zuckerberg has been most aggressive in that race, renaming Facebook to Meta as a kind of binding commitment to an AR/VR future.

The term 'metaverse' was first coined by author Neal Stephenson, who introduced the concept of a 3D virtual space in his 1992 novel 'Snow Crash.' Entrepreneurs have since been racing to create their own versions of a digital universe, touting it as the future of computing. Mark Zuckerberg's much-mocked metaverse avatar. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

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