With market news dominating this week’s quarterly earnings report; Apple, Facebook and Snap Inc come into focus for the VR/AR/MR industry. Apple is the surprise leader with earnings beating forecast and it capitalizing on strong iPhone 7 Plus sales. What also should be noted is that Apple appears to be planning for object recognition with it’s recent patents and dual camera’s capacity for depth perception.
Facebook is pushing for VR adoption (Oculus) but also is keeping traction with the market as a whole via Instagram. The bold strategy of Instagram to add new features to copy Snap’s core functionality, a la ‘ Instagram Stories,’ is paying off. Both active users have increased for Instagram ‘Stories’ and a decline in ‘Snapchat Stories.’ Also, Facebook is said to be casting a wider net with Brands and movie studios for Branded "animated masks" and filters, i.e., augmented reality.
Ultimately, Snap Inc. is poised for big things! I’m sure future iterations of it’s ‘Stories’ will be improved and actually I’m super excited to see what Spectacles will have to offer in terms of AR. Reports that Snap Inc. is testing AR overlay’s on scenes viewed with Spectacles, which will recognize landscapes and faces. This has my eyes wide open with rainbows and advertiser dollars.
Also read:
Snap's AR Camera Strategy - It's about Story (Content) Creation and "Advertising"
Snapchat (Snap Inc) is a Camera and Augmented Reality Company
