Yesterday Facebook unveiled their $1500 Meta Quest Pro headset. This mixed reality headset is expensive, has limited battery life, but improves upon the Meta Quest headset and allows you to incorporate Metaverse into your existing space. It sounds fun to try, but we’re still years away from the comfortable headset that the Metaverse needs.
Apple’s Strategy
I just got the AirPods Pro 2 and its transparency mode combined with spatial audio builds an audio presence that is superior to most speakers I use. The comfort of the earbuds means I can wear them all day. With transparency mode I can hear everything around me, and a quick squeeze of the stem turns on noise cancelling so I can focus on what I am listening to. It is immersive from an audio perspective and I can wear them all day. A lightweight augmented reality headset with good battery life could add to this experience.
Fitness is a Killer App
Nothing is more metaverse like than the virtual fitness apps that let you work out with people across the world. I just updated my Apple Watch and now have a virtual pacer that can keep me on track. If I am going to have a headset it will need to be lightweight enough for me to wear running. Then I can see other virtual runners.