METAVERSE 5 – The Killer App
After our last Metaverse report we decided to ask What if? And look at what might make this all take off. Yes right now the graphics suck and the Internet sucks for REALVR, but we could live with not quite right I think, remember DOS, remember PACMAN? If the application is good people will live with poor graphics for a while.
It seems that the current thinking is that there will be different metaverses for different groups of people. The logic being that a business person does not want to walk into a portal that shows 4000 game entry points and 3 for business. I am not sure I buy this logic, more of a one ring that rules person I guess.
But history tells us that with desktop Pc’s that all the other interfaces except Apple gradually disappeared as Windows took off, were there others uh yes dozens if not hundreds but the app developers did not like porting to different underlying tech and supported what sold.
The fact that Apple did survive is odd, I lived through this, and at one point the only thing that kept them alive was video and sound people who loved the interface and capability. Go into any TV station or advertising agency in the world and it was all Apple on the creative side and all Microsoft on the business. Until the smartphone Apple was headed to bankruptcy. Today Apple has about 18% of the worlds eye space, Android about 45% and Microsoft still dominating business with 35%.
Strangely enough its Microsoft that serious gamers use most, as it takes sheer power to drive these high res graphics games with close to zero lag times. The closed universe of Apple does not have the same level of choice for hardware or software.
For a long while Apple dominated smartphones, but 13 years ago Android levelled and now the mobile market is simple, over 70% Android, 27% Apple IOS and the 3% “others” mostly China trying to get out of the trap of western created operating systems. Since 2018 its been level so is quite stable, mostly due to Apple technical brilliance keeping them at the forefront and no obvious killer app on one not the other.
When we look to current VR/AP headsets dominance ia not clear, Meta is using an Android variant but other use Windows or Apple. However that VR world right now is awful with most of the headsets connected via wires to the desktop, seriously, I was shocked. But with all the hype its easy to forget this is the very beginning, its rough and ready and no really good software. Over time it will improve.
We suspect Android may end up dominant purely due to the kids, who all use android not desktops, but as the huge processing power needed is key, then Microsoft can still make it. The only other potential we see is Nvidia developing or buying in a true 3d operating system, and because they have the worlds fastest and best chips it all migrating to this new base designed from the ground up to support virtual.
Right Now..
Apple is rumoured to be working on a 3d based new operating system for the new headset LINK.
Croquet.io LINK bills itself as the operating system for the Metaverse. They have assembled an impressive team lets see who buys them out.
Ultraleap LINK is focussed on the tools needed such as haptics and real time vision.
Currently we see no app or OS that fits the future.
next…
Finally having looked at the consumer view of Metaverse, our next article will examine the business worlds and how they will benefit starting with the worlds top industries and the military.