We can’t even get people to routinely turn a webcam on at most companies existing meetings. Even internally at Meta and Apple, staff aren’t exactly falling over themselves to take meetings in headsets right now.
The idea people will be strapping computers to their faces for meetings will “take off in a huge way” any time soon is extremely far fetched for me.
It depends on what you mean by "soon". For sure, it's not happening next year. But within 5 years I think the hardware will get to a point where it's possible, and then within 10 it will be compelling.
The "strapping computers to their faces" meme is just stupid hyperbole. It's no more insightful than declaring that nobody wants to stuff a computer into their pocket - when 99% of people now carry smart phones (and mostly, large ones - as large as they can possibly fit).
Maybe the equivalence was lost: in 1990s, a computer in your pocket would bring about visions of a tower PC and maybe a backpack strap, and then you could only walk as far as the power cord.
When VR/AR makes it, it won't be strapping what I imagine you are thinking to your face. I imagine glasses or maybe people will even entertain a visor or shield
No, it’s not an issue of form factor. It’s the disconnection from reality and the constant literally-in-your-face attention grabbing that would come from wearing AR glasses, no matter how slim and lightweight they become.
I have an Apple Watch. Why? Because it lets me use my phone less. It is a purposefully less capable and less attention-seeking device which I can use to check the nature of a notification in a socially acceptable way and then go back to living life without pulling out my phone.
AR/VR is fundamentally having a phone strapped to your eyeballs. You’re saying “but it can be made lightweight and comfortable!” I’m saying you’re missing the whole point: I don’t want a phone strapped to my eyeballs, even if it weighed 0 g and was soft and velvety. It’s a step backwards.
I would love for that technology to exist, because I have AR applications in mind that I think could be industrially useful. But I would despise that becoming the normal mode of interface to the world, the same way I despise people having their heads in their phones all day long.
The thing is the smartphone took off as soon as it hit the market because its use cases were just that compelling. Vr is nothing new. What are we 10 years into this market with barely any adoption or useful applications beyond a gaming stint until you hit your nausea limit? Says it all I think. Its biggest use case so far is using it to blow wind into the sails of your stock ticker for a few quarters.
>The thing is the smartphone took off as soon as it hit the market because its use cases were just that compelling.
That depends on how exactly you define "smartphone". I might still have an old Nokia brick with a little screen and a web browser lying around somewhere.
> The "strapping computers to their faces" meme is just stupid hyperbole. It's no more insightful than declaring that nobody wants to stuff a computer into their pocket - when 99% of people now carry smart phones
Depends on how you define 'computer': content creation or content consumption?
Because everyone with a 'computer' in their pocket has nothing more than 'interactive television' in their pocket.
They literally do not do computing on it in any meaningful way.[1]
[1] Maybe they use the calculator. But that's about it.
You are missing the forest for the trees here; what we call the device we strap to our face is neither here nor there and of no relevance to my earlier argument.
The issue is a great many people just won’t want to sit wearing anything at all on their face in a meeting - especially those who may have put effort into appearance of their hair and makeup etc etc as just one of many examples.
It’s also not a “meme”, or “hyperbole”. That is literally what you have to do today and in near term with an AVP or meta Quest etc- strap a heat generating, heavy, sometimes fan cooled (AVP) computer across your face.
Compelling to who? Might be to the managers who get some twisted satisfaction from spying on their employees, but most people aren't gonna want to wear a brick on their face so their manager can make sure you're paying attention or whatever.
I don't turn my camera on in meetings and it's often "broken", some idiotic headset that my manager forces on me is going to be similarly buggy and "broken"...
I mean, teams/zoom gets me 99% of the way there. I can see people, read lips. What do I gain from a "virtual environment"? Because I can already talk to people all over the world, right now. And they can share their screen and stuff. It's a pretty good system.
Yes - it’s even more intrusive - you have to strap a computer to your face instead of merely sitting in front of it. That was the entire point I’m making.
The barrier to using a webcam is already lower, and people routinely refuse to do it.
I almost never put my camera on. I think people mostly like turning their camera on to show off their home office, living room or book case. Beyond that, there is just no point. It is a distraction overall.
Business meetings in headsets is just completely delusional. It is one of the dumbest tech ideas of all time.
The idea people will be strapping computers to their faces for meetings will “take off in a huge way” any time soon is extremely far fetched for me.