Metaverse: Revolutionising the evolution of smartphones
The first smartphone was launched by IBM in 1994 and it became the premise in the boom of digitisation. The world of technology has been known to constantly change, yet smartphones have been with us for almost the past three decades. Although it has become a necessity for most people, it is on the cusp of a major transformation similar to the internet. The world as we see is about to change and the smartphone sector has started to face challenges. The introduction of new smartphones had a moment of awe but in the past few years, smartphone giants have been playing with the camera lens position and mimicking outdated folding phones.
The metaverse is a concept that is heard by many but understood by very few. The reliance on smartphones is already endangered by people who have begun using VR glasses to communicate with people without having a handheld device. In the Mobile World Congress 2022, people weren't talking about “Smartphones” or “5G” rather showed interest in the metaverse. It enables people to communicate, work, play and much more in a 3D environment for which a smartphone is not required. However, gaming on smartphones is likely to get affected first as 56% of consumers use their VR headsets or would want to use them if they buy one to play games.
Is smartphone gaming a big thing? It is the biggest… it accounts for 52% of the global market. AR/VR headsets have the potential to capture the smartphone and console market. The concept of Metaverse for gaming became real when Microsft acquired Activision Blizzard for a whopping £68.7 billion. The Microsoft CEO stated that gaming is the most dynamic category and it will play a key role in developing metaverse platforms. “Sandbox” was initially a mobile phone game but was transformed into a metaverse platform enhancing the gaming experience.
Well, smartphones do a lot more than just gaming so they will still be required for communication and other forms of entertainment… This would have been true if Meta had not stepped into Metaverse. Amongst all the privacy controversy for Meta (formerly Facebook), they came up with their metaverse where one of its features lets people interact virtually in Horizon World which recently hit 300 000 users. Users can create their world and jump between worlds while meeting new people. Meta has scaled up the communication experience and are also working on maintaining privacy.
Games like Fortnite and Roblox are often compared to the metaverse as it follows a similar style, the only difference being its equipment (consoles to VR). When the world was in lockdown due to the pandemic, VR concerts gained immense popularity as 27 million global unique players attended it through Fortnite. This is an application of metaverse as it allows massive quantities of people to gather in an environment irrespective of their geographical location.
The concept of metaverse was also fueled during the Covid-19 lockdown as many people were stepping into the world of cryptocurrencies. Decentraland is a metaverse that allows people to purchase pieces of virtual land, NFTs and wearables through a digital coin/cryptocurrency called “Mana.” Mana is a currency that can be bought by anyone who has a cryptocurrency wallet and can be exchanged for famous digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The craze of cryptocurrency has helped amplify the effect on the Metaverse as Sandbox also has a digital asset called “Sand.”
Apple is a smartphone giant and its plans have the potential to disrupt Meta’s metaverse programme. Although many don't know how the Apple AR glasses will look and function, it is confirmed that they are in the process of developing this technology. It is rumoured that Apple will create glasses that will let people see their surroundings but have 3D digital pop-ups on the lens. Moreover, this technology will be paired with iPhones and will not act as a replacement similar to the Apple Watch. This could be a great challenge for metaverse platforms as Apple has a large range of resources and influence in the technology industry.
The VR headset required to access Metaverse and the time required for people to transition from smartphones/devices to the headset are important factors for its success. The Oculus Quest 2 is the cheapest headset and it costs $299. Google and Apple have smartphones that act as cash cows and Meta’s attempt to revolutionise the mobile market might take much longer or fail. On the other hand, Qualcomm would like to develop phones that are particularly used for gaming and Snapdragon (Qualcomm’s phone chip) is developing its own AR/VR headset. The headset could be used through smartphones to augment the gaming experience. “Too many cooks spoil the broth” seems appropriate to describe the situation.
Data privacy is one of the major concerns in this day and age. Individuals have the ability to select various privacy preferences on their smartphones and have pop-ups that ask the user to authorise the spread of data. The metaverse will be able to track behavioural and brainwave patterns which could help companies get a much deeper understanding of the consumer. Moreover, the intellectual property rights would function differently in the metaverse as digital ownership will be accepted as NFTs and metaverse ownership would differ for every platform.
The metaverse lets people escape reality but if it doesn't make life efficient once the headset is off, then the concept is pointless. After returning to reality, probably the first thing one would do is check their phone. Metaverse as a concept will be revolutionary and probably inevitable in the field of technology which could evade us from using handheld devices but the transition time is still a question mark.
