Extended reality (XR) is the umbrella term used to cover the full spectrum of virtual and real environments, including AR, VR, MR in addition to any and all future realities that may emerge in the coming years. Using an umbrella term identifies the intersection of all immersive techs, and several ways they are compatible and can collaborate to disrupt day-to-day tasks.
We envision a future where all the mobile VR headsets, AR glasses, and smartphones will be converged into a single wearable and that may be possible with XR. Extended reality is capable of replacing all other screens in our life and quite possibly will do it in the near future. Just like smartphones today, mobile XR can become one of the most disruptive and ever-present computing platforms.
Extended reality has recently started to gain a lot of attention in the tech industry. A survey by Technology Vision showed that 80% of executives think companies can communicate and interact in completely new ways with the help of XR. 27% of them believe that extended reality solutions are very important to excel in coming years.
Every new tech comes with its own set of limitations. So here are some of the biggest obstacles to adopting XR that we need to overcome:
bulky Hardware
Hardware has been the Achilles heel of immersive tech since the very start. At present, augmented and virtual reality headsets are not only costly and bulky, but are also tethered to particular platforms and cannot display realistic images. This is why business-to-consumer XR development still hasn’t reached its maximum potential and has alienated consumers as well.
Lack of Standardization
Currently, there are no clear leaders in sight as over 8 distinct AR/ VR platforms exist and no efforts are being made towards standardization. While major platform organizations with immense resources, advanced hardware and software may do it alone and optimize benefits of leading platform dynamics, other devs and small companies will have to collaborate in robust ecosystems in order to prevail over lack of standards and optimize their investments.
Limited Content
Lack of content in VR and AR has also proved to be a big problem for consumers. Major companies like Oculus and Vive are rushing into significant hardware investments but with limited content they are failing to achieve mass adoption at consumer level.
“Oculus is spending $0.5 billion into content, but the killer app isn’t clear. There are only a few companies right now that know how to make good extended reality content and, for professional developers, it may not be worth their time or budget relative to the installed base.”
~ Solomon Rogers, Founder & CEO at Rewind
Until these issues are resolved, attracting consumers all over the world can be difficult, which will eventually effect the resources being invested in developing immersive tech.