Xbox head Phil Spencer recently stated that a consumer-ready augmented reality (AR) headset like Microsoft’s HoloLens is at least five to 10 years away. If that’s the case, what should Microsoft do in the meantime?
Spencer said:
“I think we’re five to 10 years away from a true untethered device that’s at a consumer price point that has the fidelity of experience and the kind of ease of use that you need to get to scale.
The good news is Microsoft seems committed to realizing its “holographic computing for everyone” vision. The bad news is that five to 10 years without a consumer-facing AR device in the market could be disastrous for Microsoft’s mindshare among consumers.
Apple’s ARKit for iOS 11 will bring augmented reality to hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users beginning this fall. Though crude, cumbersome and elementary by HoloLens standards, it is “AR” nonetheless.
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I’m convinced Apple’s strategy is meant to build developer support, an ecosystem of AR apps and consumer demand for an eventual AR headset or glasses. While Apple is dominating mainstream and tech news cycles with its evolving AR solution, Microsoft’s more advanced HoloLens and industry-specific Windows Mixed Reality AR accomplishments may be relegated, as they are now, to the shadows.
Even without a consumer version of HoloLens, if Microsoft seizes the opportunity obscurity doesn’t have to be its fate.
Making marketing a priority
According to an internal company memo from Corporate Vice President of Windows and Devices Yusuf Mehdi, Window Mixed Reality which powers both virtual reality (VR) and AR, will get a big marketing push later this year:
As we gear up for this coming holiday season, we enter a new phase of bringing mixed reality to everyone. To match the industry-defining technical work of our engineering team and to build on the broader work to establish the category of Mixed Reality, I am excited today to announce some changes within our team to enable us to accelerate our market presence.
I am creating a dedicated Mixed Reality Marketing Team, separating it from the Surface devices team. With support from [Chief Marketing Officer] Chris [Caposella] and [CEO] Satya [Nadella], we created a CVP level role to head this effort. I am thrilled to announce … we have found an ideal leader in Elizabeth Hamren, the former CMO of Oculus VR at Facebook.
Mehdi’s creation of a dedicated marketing team for Windows Mixed Reality reflects the importance of AR and VR to Microsoft and its intent to be a major player in these markets. Also, since Windows Mixed Reality includes both VR and AR, a reasonable expectation is that the new marketing team will aggressively market both platforms, though Microsoft’s AR investments are not yet consumer-focused.
Marketing AR is a must
We know that the fully immersive VR experiences that Microsoft’s partners will bring to market via mixed reality VR headsets will get a push this holiday season.
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Without a consumer-focused AR product, however, how will Microsoft market AR experiences, where holograms are overlayed on the real world, as we see with HoloLens? This question is particularly relevant since Spencer stressed the consumer investments Microsoft is making in VR while downplaying HoloLens and emphasizing its “not-designed-for-consumers” status:
It [HoloLens] wasn’t made for everybody, we’ve said that, it’s a developer kit. Now we’re doing kind of the other end with Windows Mixed Reality [VR] and $299 with OEM partners.
Where does this leave Hamren’s focus as the corporate vice president responsible for marketing VR and AR? Can Microsoft market its AR platform without consumer-facing AR hardware? I think so.
Augmenting the AR conversation
News that HoloLens version two will be skipped to “accelerate version three” saw a mixed reception. Some believe any new product, while development continues, is better than no product at all. Others see the arrival of version three a year earlier, in 2019 rather than 2020, as being worth the sacrifice of version two.
The question is what will HoloLens version three be? In 2015, Nadella stated that a consumer version of the category-defining wearable computer was five years away. That would have been 2020. Will that consumer HoloLens be the version three we are now expecting in 2019?
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HoloLens is used to train doctors in life-saving procedures.
As consumers hear the story, it’ll build excitement, awareness, mindshare and potential demand for how Microsoft is using the technology. It would also set a high bar for what consumers and enterprise will “understand” AR to be. If Microsoft begins such a campaign now, when Apple launches iOS 11 “AR” apps this fall, consumers will naturally compare Microsoft’s far more advanced solution to Apple’s offering.
In conjunction with this ongoing campaign, perhaps Microsoft should launch a consumer AR wearable as early as 2019. What do you think?
Source: Windows Central