Augmented Reality alone will drive the entire virtual reality market and become “Mobile Reality” thanks to smartphones
That Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are technological trends now well beyond pure marketing proclamations can be seen from the — very tangible — results on the global market. A business sector that reached $13.9 billion just in 2017 according to the recently updated IDC estimates, with an important growth of 130.5% compared to 2016 (when total spending was slightly above 6 billion dollars).
At this time the use cases able to attract the largest investments are those that concern the Consumer and Retail world, especially in contexts where AR and VR enable digital services that improve the online and offline shopping experience along the whole value chain:
● in the pre-purchase phase, where people are looking for information, often online;
● during purchasing, in the store or on eCommerce channels;
● in the post-sales phase, where augmented reality, above all, can become an “immersive” assistance service for the user.
In the Consumer world, however, the driving force is the Gaming market which, by itself, has recorded an increase of 287.4% in the use of augmented reality services, a number that makes it the fastest and most elevated segment on the AR front.
According to analysts, as early as next year, the specific expenditure for Augmented Reality will make a further leap forward involving sectors such as health care, or segments such as product design and design. In this last context, augmented reality could play an important role not only in speeding up development processes but also, and above all, in product testing from the point of view of design, ergonomics, safety and usability.
Augmented reality on smartphones: mobile confirms itself as a strong propellant
That of Augmented Reality via mobile is among the most promising areas of augmented reality.
According to recent Research and Markets estimates of the 2016–17 market results and forecasts from 2018 to 2021, the market for augmented reality for mobile devices will record an overall annual average rate of steady growth that will be around 70%, bringing total turnover to $80 billion in 2021.
Numbers also confirmed by Digi-Capital which sees a boom of AR mobile growth in the period 2018–21, talking specifically about MR — Mobile Reality with an interesting boost also for the relaunch of the smart glasses market.
Mobile AR could alone represent the largest share of the overall Virtual Reality market, which will approach $110 billion in 2021.
The reasons for these consistent growth estimates are mainly due to the ever-increasing use of smartphones and tablets and the adoption of advanced technologies such as mobile computing software applications.
Mobile, compared to other devices such as smartglasses, could become the most appropriate means to push the mass adoption of AR for two reasons: because it is already in everyone’s hands and has the necessary hardware (CPU, GPU, sensors) that this technology requires.
Smartphones, as a mainstream consumer platform, would also allow certain barriers linked to augmented reality devices to be overcome:
● battery duration;
● mobile connectivity;
● the development of other apps (therefore the creation of an ecosystem to be enjoyed with smartglasses and dedicated headsets).
Technology today allows people not only to view virtual images immersed in real contexts but also to connect with these images and objects, to interact with them, exponentially improving the experience, simply by using the camera on their device.
All of these factors could further boost the growth of the augmented reality market for smartphones. It is no coincidence that Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Google are battling it out on this front.
According to Research and Markets, the key players in the mobile augmented reality market to watch out for are:
● Google (United States);
● Qualcomm (United States);
● Samsung Electronics (South Korea);
● Microsoft (United States);
● Infinity Augmented Reality (Israel);
● Blippar.com (United Kingdom);
● DAQRI (United States);
● Wikitude (Austria);
● Metaio (Germany);
● Catchoom Technologies (Spain);
● Aurasma (United Kingdom);
● Atheer (United States).
In general, analysts agree that leading the market demand for augmented reality will be software, especially in the gaming, sports and entertainment sectors where the engaging and immersive user experience will be the differentiating and distinguishing factor for those who want to offer AR services to its users, fans and followers.
The two giants competing for the Mobile Reality market
It is no coincidence that doing battle at this time are just Apple and Samsung, two smartphone manufacturers who have long understood the potential of the AR market, and who have started to bring home the skills needed to build AR enabled devices, through acquisitions and patents.
Apple, for example, acquired Metaio in 2015, a company that develops software that allows the mixing of real images with information, objects and digital graphical elements both for contexts such as the production of video content, advertising, education and for uses such as mass production, in particular in the automotive sector.
Samsung has already, for many years, patented the display technologies that will allow TV and smartphones to project holograms or holographic icons in 3D.
News which echoes that of Qualcomm who already last year said that its flagship processors enabled mobile AR with significant savings of battery, usable without too many restrictions via smartphone.
The release of new devices by Apple, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, undoubtedly marks a big step forward in bringing the experience of augmented reality to users. These smartphones become the ideal platform for the development of new features: thanks to the ARKit API, developers can create AR apps for devices running iOS 11 on the Apple A9 processor.
Samsung, on the other hand, is strengthening its partnership with Google to integrate ARCore technologies into its smartphones and thus unite the know-how of the two brands in the world of augmented reality.
Augmented reality: the smartphone will revolutionize the customer experience
Digital technologies have undoubtedly opened up great opportunities for innovation to companies through which to develop new services in order to conquer new customers. The augmented reality in this sense plays an important role because it is revolutionizing the customer experience through new types of interaction with products in many areas.
In Retail, for example, consumers are changing their expectations of the purchasing process (which must be engaging and integrated between online and offline) and increasingly appreciate the opportunity to be part of an innovative and personalized experience, such as Ray-ban’s new flagship store. The world leader in the sunglasses market, in fact, has created a physical place where the real and the virtual meet to offer the customer a unique customer experience thanks to the Magic Mirror: a 3D mirror that allows you to customize and share the virtual glasses you wear.
Or the “Ikea Place” app made by Swedish giant Ikea that uses ARKit to allow users to virtually position furniture in an environment without having purchased or installed it prior.
Today, more than ever, the need for producers and retailers to collaborate and innovate to meet the needs of a hyper-connected consumer is growing: traditional touchpoints have limitations that only thanks to the use of technologies like Cloud, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality can be overcome. The adoption of these technologies allows to reach better levels of integration, usability and scalability and to offer new models of interaction, ease of use and an increasingly personalized, frictionless and quality experience for consumers.
If you are interested in consulting in mobile AR, contact us to evaluate the potential and opportunities for your business.
