Will Tomorrow’s Smartphone be an VR/AR Headset?

MWC Barcelona 2024 has begun! The most influential industry conference brings together leaders from all sectors of the connectivity industry. With eager interest, I’m watching this event with my friends and teammates. Technologies that could fundamentally alter industry dynamics within the next few years, and the Metaverse breaking down the boundaries between the physical and the virtual world, are two topics that we are particularly interested in this year.

For those who are unfamiliar with the event, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) is a telecommunications industry event that takes place each year in Barcelona, Spain. MWC presents mobile equipment, software, computer networks, and innovations related to the mobile sector. In every edition, key industry players are invited to participate in a variety of events including product presentations, panel discussions, and networking sessions. Creative ideas are transformed into business deals here and thought leaders become change makers.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market

"Reality Check for XR" was a fascinating conference on Monday, February 26th. The speakers were: Leslie Shannon, the Head of Trend and Innovation Scouting for Nokia, Sabri Ali Albreiki, the Chief Technology Officer of e& International, and Bob Titus, the Chief Technology Officer of Netcracker.

In the opinion of conference participants, several factors drive the global market for augmented and virtual reality. These factors include increased R&D investments and mobile devices. According to a recent report, "Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market Size - Global Industry, Share, Analysis, Trends and Forecast 2022 - 2030" the global augmented reality and virtual reality market is expected to reach over 451.5 billion dollars by 2030. Furthermore, during 2022 - 2030, it is expected to grow at an impressive 38.5% CAGR.

The report, provided by Acumen Research and Consulting, contributes significantly to the discussion about the XR market's future. The study shows that there are 57.4 million VR consumers & 90.9 million AR consumers in the United States alone. The demand for augmented reality applications and devices is rapidly growing.

Digital and Physical Worlds Merge in the Metaverse

A panel discussion on "The Metaverse is Dead." Long Live the Metaverse?" was another captivating event. The session moderator was Muki Kulhan, award-winning CIO, Executive XR Producer and Creative Technologist with over two decades of pioneering interactive, immersive experiences for music, sport, entertainment & broadcasting. Many key observations and conclusions emerged from the discussion she moderated.

The tech world has shifted its attention towards AI, resulting in users exploring the post-hype era of the Metaverse. Beyond the initial excitement, this provides insight into the immersive future. A panel of experts discussed immersive technologies' evolving dynamics, identifying challenges and opportunities.

?3D content should be consumed in an immersive device, something that's on your head, because that's how our brain has evolved over the last, 5,000,000 years - to live in a 3D World. So it actually a 3D version of whatever you're doing in the in the digital world is the most natural form” - MWC Tech Talks 2024

The topic of this discussion reminded me of the report “Value Creation in the Metaverse. The Real Business of the Virtual World”, published in July 2022 by McKinsey & Company. There is no doubt that, with its potential to generate up to $5 trillion in value by 2030, the metaverse is too colossal for companies to ignore. The report illustrates how significantly the Metaverse will impact our personal and commercial lives. $120b+in investment has flowed into it so far in 2022; 79% of consumers active on the Metaverse have made a purchase; 15% of corporate revenue is expected to come from the Metaverse in the next 5 years.

What technologies have the potential to fundamentally change industry dynamics?

“In today’s world, staying ahead means keeping pace with payments innovation. The way we do business is changing, and at the core of this transformation is the evolution of payment systems. It's not just about keeping up; it’s about understanding that progress in payments is the engine that drives the future of business innovation”: in such words, Patricia Devine, Global co-Head of Corporate and E-Commerce Sales and Solutions at J.P. Morgan Payment, sums up the MWC 2024 theme: Game Changers.

The statement is consistent with another crucial publication for the industry, the 2023 Deloitte and Manufacturing Leadership Council (MLC) Industrial Metaverse Study. The study indicates that nearly all (92%) surveyed executives said that their company is experimenting with or implementing at least one metaverse-related use case, and, on average, they are currently running more than six. 80% of respondents believed that the Metaverse would transform research and development, design, and innovation.

"Interactions between people, interactions with each other, interactions with software in actions with machines, interactions with devices through devices is where the future is going." MWC Tech Talks 2024

To answer the title question - will tomorrow's smartphone be an VR headset? It's unclear what the future holds, but there is no doubt that VR technologies will be a game-changer.