SMARTPHONES AS A PORTAL TO METAVERSE

By Harsh Raj

“Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the internet was also once a dream and so were computers and smartphones.”

For a long time, we’ve been living in the era of smartphones, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and other powerful devices with exceptional processing capabilities, but recently a new term has entered the picture, leading us to believe that in the coming days smartphones will be more than just communication devices, but rather a gateway to the infamous METAVERSE.

Even while Metaverse rose to fame when Facebook’s name was changed to Meta, its origins can be traced all the way back to 1992, when writer Neal Stephenson described the metaverse as a virtual world where individuals interact with digital avatars in his novel “Snow Crash.”

The term “metaverse” is a combination of the words “meta” and “universe” in the novel. However, the metaverse’s meaning and scope have come a long way since then. Now it isn’t just a fictional concept.

In a nutshell, it is a digital world where fantasies can be transformed into reality. Eventually, we’ll be constantly connected to the metaverse, expanding our senses of sight, sound, and touch. It will easily integrate digital items into the physical world, allowing us to indulge ourselves in fully immersive 3D environments at any moment. eXtended Reality (XR) is the name given to a group of technologies that will allow this to happen.

But wait a moment; aren’t we already seeing shadowy glimpses of what the metaverse may soon become?

If you’re not sure, know that “Sandbox” was originally a mobile phone game that evolved into a metaverse platform that enhanced the gaming experience. Games like Fortnite and Roblox are frequently compared to the metaverse because they follow a similar style, with the only difference being the equipment (consoles to VR) used during the lockdown.

Have you ever thought that your smartphone could be the first portal to this enormous Metaverse?

Smartphones have changed our lives in ways that go far beyond communication in the last ten years. Besides calling, texting, and emailing, more than two billion people around the world now use these devices to navigate, book cab rides, compare product reviews and prices, follow the news, watch movies, listen to music, play video games, memorialize vacations, and, not least of all, to participate in social media.

Smartphones today have 5G connectivity and immensely powerful processors. Moreover, it isn’t the latest news that we have been using VR boxes with our phones for quite a while now. Online shopping, as well as gaming platforms, have seen a great deal of advancement considering how smartphones are now being used to provide augmented reality experiences, such as virtual product trials before buying things (Lenskart, IKEA Place, Apple) and the virtual meet up feature introduced by the infamous game, Pokemon Go as a precaution during the pandemic. Oh, and don’t forget about those trendy Snapchat filters that combine reality and fantasy, allowing you to take photos as you’ve never seen before.

The most crucial thing to keep in mind is that mobile phones are popular and extremely portable. We are already reliant on them due to the fact that nearly everyone possesses one. Millions of dollars have already been invested and will continue to be invested in this business to make it happen.

Mobile phones have made our lives so much easier than we could have dreamed, but now they are on the verge of making the future even more better and advanced. Their advantages would now extend to teleportation, enabling people to attend completely virtual meetings, concerts and so much more.

Some of the well-known names in the technology business have started working towards the next stage of futuristic development and have made quite a significant progress already.

Facebook, for example, has already introduced its own metaverse meeting room equipped with holograms, while Roblox has unveiled the world’s first electronic music festival.

We can undoubtedly state that there are palpable and interesting breakthroughs in the domain of developing digital worlds, with Samsung opening a virtual counterpart of its 837x metaverse store in Decentraland and Apple recently introducing the phrase mixed reality when talking about their AR initiative. One more encouraging fact is that HTC is soon planning to release their metaverse phone soon.

That’s not all; the metaverse’s fascinating uses appear to be limitless with Coca-Cola launching “flavor born in the metaverse” alongside a Fortnite tie-in mini-game that has no rules. The gaming and filming industries aren’t far behind when it comes to reaping the benefits and developing new leads in the area. Epic demonstrated this when it bought a number of companies that help with the creation and delivery of digital materials, reinforcing its powerful Unreal Engine 5 platform. Unreal is primarily a video gaming platform, but it helps filmmakers create films and provides viewers with an amazing virtual experience.

Arthur C. Clarke once said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic.”

Speaking in well-reasoned, logical, and evidence-supported terms, we can say that there are various ways in which the infamous “Metaverse” can be brought to your mobiles, and all of them depend on a mixture of insane amounts of research, innovation, as well as investments. Any attempt to predict winners at this exact moment is notoriously unreliable. But if technologists are correct, 2022 will split thinkers from doers, and last year’s technical advances will pave the way for this year’s initial progress towards making the metaverse a reality.

Therefore, everything that has been progressing and happening around us clearly signals that the magic that everyone has been waiting to see is no longer just a fantasy or a theory; it will come soon, and when it does, it will be the greatest breakthrough of all time.