The technology industry has been infatuated with 3D and Virtual reality for decades. In the field of Computer Aided Design and Engineering; the design of buildings, products, automobiles, aerospace, and large industrial plants embraces these technologies. Leaders being 3DS – Dassault, Aveva, Autodesk, etc. An Airbus or Boeing is today designed in 3D, and engineers do virtual walkthroughs and inspections during the design and construction phase. Pilots fly these aircraft in a virtual world; putting them through their paces even before the virtual blueprints are released. Next to come were 3D movies, projection equipment, and 3D television. Virtual worlds like Second Life and MySpace were launched on the World Wide Web. At the same time, 3D games in virtual worlds were launched on Sony PlayStation and Microsoft X Box. Interestingly, it was the gaming world that set the 3D and Virtual world paradigm on fire. Gaming is a US$ 200 Billion industry, far surpassing Hollywood with revenues of US$ 25-30 Billion and the NBA franchise revenues of US$ 10 Billion. No wonder, Microsoft just acquired Activision a computer gaming company for a whooping US$ 75 Billion, primarily for their “ Call of Duty” game franchise.

In 1992, Neal Stephenson wrote a dystopian science fiction “Snow Crash” set in a virtual world and coined the term “Metaverse”. In today’s jargon, Metaverse can be loosely defined as a number of virtual worlds with virtual creatures living virtual lives with virtual products and commerce. Minecraft, Roblox, and Fortnite are some very early examples. Unity.com and Epic games – Unreal Engine have unleashed tools to create the Metaverse.

The Metaverse will need a major overhaul of the internet, computing power, technology standards, interoperability, and some version of Web 3. For true immersive reality, it also needs a Head Mounted Console which can support Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Extended Immersive Reality ( ER). In 2014, Facebook acquired the Oculus VR headset technology for US$ 2 Billion and renamed it the MetaQuest 3. In 2021, in a Metaverse-inspired hubris, Facebook changed its name to Meta. However, the headset users discarded the low screen resolution and complained of nausea and disorientation. It seems that the human brain perception system would not comfortably adapt to VR. There were bigger challenges on the software stack and industry interoperability. Meta was losing an estimated US$15 billion annually on the technology. In 2022-23, Investors pushed back, with no end product and business model in sight, Meta had to shed its Metaverse dream for the time being and pivot to AI which was becoming the darling of Silicon Valley.

In parallel companies like Samsung, Qualcomm, and Google have teamed up for an AR/VR headset, Microsoft continues to sell its Holographic based HoloLens and Sony has a headset for the PlayStation gaming console.

Now that the dust has settled and billions lost, the industry has come to a tacit conclusion that AR, VR, MR, and ER are developing technologies at this time acceptable to the Gaming, Entertainment, Education, CAD/CAE – Design world, Video Conferencing and Virtual Offices, Medical and Surgical operations, Maintenance of hard to repair strategic assets, Defense and Aerospace. The dream of a Metaverse with a quarter of the planet with strapped-on headsets remains elusive for the time being.

Enter Apple. Apple deftly distanced itself from the Metaverse and other jargon.
As per Apple, Vision Pro-Spatial Computer is the name of a product that supports various applications. Vision Pro blends digital content with the real world. It offers a mix of AR and VR. It hints at haptic interfaces in the future. Vision Pro offers a canvas where the digital and real world co-exist. At this time Apple offers an interface to its applications, entertainment, virtual meetings, etc. It is estimated that 180,000 pieces at US$ 3,500 have been pre-ordered and shall be available in the next quarter. No major technology companies such as Microsoft or Google have come forward with any apps for Vision Pro. No doubt there are other app developers at work in different domains.

Apple is treading the waters with caution. There is a very high possibility that a number of applications will emerge, prices of the Vision Pro shall drop with volumes and in the next two years, Apple and other technology giants shall offer a mass-market solution. The success or failure of Apple shall be a guiding light. So will it be “Open Sesame” to Aladdin’s cave of treasures? It would be nice to see Metaverse Version 2 in the next five years.