Arhiva: mai 2024

Create something. A game, a business, something.

Put it out there.

Then hope to be judged. And criticized. And rejected.

Otherwise, be safe and comfortable. Be ignored.

You decide.

Steh Godin said it first.

I think a cheaper Meta Quest 3 would really help the MR space. I mean, the most sold headset right now is the Quest 2, that got there with big discounts, being priced at around $200 at some point.

The device looks like this, according to a leak:

It’s basically a Quest 3 in a Quest 2 body. And I’m all for it. A little less resolution, a little les adjustments, but still good passthrough. That’s all we need for Mixed Reality to move forward.

Oh, and we don’t know the price yet. A $250 is ok, $300 would still be acceptable and $200 would be crazy. If they announce it soon and then they launch it October, Christmas will see millions (if not tens of millions) of these devices activating. What an opportunity!

I was talking to a friend today and he said he disagrees on luck being necessary to be successful in business.

I disagree with his disagreement :D

Joking aside, I think everybody successful in business was lucky. Context, the right people, there’s a lot of things that you were lucky to get.

Of course, you can be the luckiest person ever, if you don’t take advantage of the opportunities, luck doesn’t matter. But to say it’s not there…

So, if luck matters, why even try starting a business? Because you can put yourself in the best position for the moment luck will hit. You can build a great team, you can optimize costs…

Sometimes, the luck comes too late, of course, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare for that moment.

Yeah, the kids are alright 🤩

1 in 4 teenagers play games on headsets.

Many Quest developers report teens being their fastest-growing demographic, and Meta brings in its highest VR revenue in the holiday season of each year when children typically receive gifts like consoles from their parents.

It’s true, 24% teens playing on headsets is half of those that play on desktops and 1/3 of those that play on consoles.

But we got to start somewhere, right?

1492: a monk wrote that the printing press will never last.

1902: NYT said cars will never be cheap enough to be popular.

1943: IBM’s president thinks there might be a market for 5 computers globally

2000: Daily Mail says the internet is just a fad

2007: Engadget tells us why the iPhone will fail

2024: [Almost] Everyone tells you Vision Pro/Meta Quest/spatial computing is not a thing.

And they may be right.

But what if they’re not? 🤩

I’ve just found an interesting article on the Apple Vision Pro.

This is quite a fair, balanced view on the device. And it compares the first year of sales to the first year of iPhone sales:

But when people look back, they never cite the iPhone’s first year of sales, which according to Statista only amounted to around 1.4 million units. Sure, that’s more than 400,000, but that was also for a significantly less expensive device and a drop in the bucket compared to the HUNDREDS of millions Apple has been selling more recently. Those figures were meaningless.

I didn’t know iPhone only sold 1.4 million in the first year, but I’m not surprised. I remember the first iPhone (a friend bought it from the States, since it wasn’t available in Romania). I was shocked when I saw the browser scroll being so fluid and I only had another similar tech experience recently (and it lead to me starting a new company).

But, transcendent experience aside, it was a bad phone. And not a global offered device to begin with. And now? I wouldn’t change my iPhone 15 Pro Max for any other phone (maybe an iPhone 15 Pro Mini, if it existed).

I’m really bullish on the mixed reality/spatial computing devices and this article just confirms my own bias, so take it with a grain of salt. But keep believing anyway.

via X/Twitter (@SkarredGhost)

I feel that multiplayer in VR/MR is more fun. Especially with friends.

It feels a little bit more engaging. Probably because it’s more movement based, I don’t know.

Even when I play poker with friends it’s fun in VR, because we can throw chips at each other, we can move around and act stupid.

I don’t know, it’s more fun!

I liked the first 2 seasons of “What If…” (the first more than the second), so I’m excited to see the Apple Vision Pro exclusive “What If…” episode (or interactive story, whatever they call it).

Disney/Marvel said it’s gonna be an hour long (as opposed to the 30 minutes long episodes in the first 2 seasons) and you’re gonna be able to influence the story in some way.

What If…? – An Immersive Story is the next evolution in how we tell our stories, where fans across generations can experience them and live out the adventure alongside their favorite heroes,” director and executive producer Dave Bushore said. “This experience kicks the door open to the Marvel Universe, and it’s a glimpse of what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.”

What If…? reimagines events from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in unexpected ways.

Now, fans have been chosen to step into the leading role of an all-new immersive story that transforms the space around them as they traverse across realities. Throughout their journey, they will come face-to-face with Multiversal variants of their favorite characters, learn the mystic arts, and be tasked with harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones.

Read more here.

I’m pretty bullish on Mixed Reality being the future of computing and how we’ll interact with our devices in future (including our phone). I’m not just saying, as you might see soon enough…

A friend showed me A16Z’s newsletter with the 5 VR trends they noticed. A16Z also considered crypto the tech of the future and it didn’t pan out (yet), so you shouldn’t believe everything they say. But I’m convinced there’s something happening in the eXtended Reality space.

Here are the trends they mention and my opinion on them:

1. Both Hardware and Software Will Become More Inviting

I agree with this. I think we’ll have glasses soon enough (3-5 years) . Even if it’s a device connected to your phone (like an Apple Watch). The battery is the biggest issue so you can’t put all the processing power in glasses for the moment.

2. The Roblox Generation Is Coming

The friend that sent me the link to this article asked me recently what should his kid use to learn coding. And I suggested Roblox. Coding, marketing, sales, you have it all. The “kids” that learned to code there are coming to every other platforms soon. With an attached audience as well. Will they come to XR? I think it’s easier for them to go to mobile devices and PC, rather than headsets, but we’ll see.

3. Smaller, Faster Devs Will Break New Ground

Oh, do I believe this? Yes, yes I do. A lot!

4. More Cross-Platform Experiences

Some games on the headsets already allow some crossplay with mobile phones. We’ll see more cross-platform development for sure.

5. VR is here to stay

If we consider VR being Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality as well, I agree.

But if you think of VR as the experience where it replaces your environment completely, I don’t think it’s gonna flourish to the level of a computing device. For that, you need the Mixed Reality devices (like Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro).

I wanted to buy an iPad Pro 11′ with OLED screen for a long time. The only issue? Until today there was none.

But starting today, the iPad Pro line has OLED screens across both devices.

Adding in the mix the new M4 processor, this iPad will be used 5-7 years from now as well. Seeing that now I still use a 2018 iPad Pro, it wouldn’t surprise me, frankly.

Other things announced today:

• iPad Air 13′
• Apple Pencil Pro
• camera on the long side of the device

There are other things you might be interested in, including Final Cut Pro changes, but the above are the things I care the most about.