Why don’t we all use AR/VR headsets?

Wondering why we don’t all have a VR or AR headset on our heads?

I think there are three reasons: technological, economic and psychological.

At this time there is no revolution. If we look back years ago, spatial computing (AR and VR) made great progress. But its adoption did not go from 0 to 100. It went, perhaps, from 0 to 10. So, it lacks the speed and the disruption that is needed to talk about revolution.

The tendency to hyperbole is not surprising. It is widely used by the media. It seems to be the only possible way to attract the attention of readers and content users who have less and less ability to concentrate.

But this hype has generated unrealistic expectations in the public. Let’s look at the reasons for this in more detail.

technological reasons

The headphones are quite uncomfortable. They are not meant to be worn constantly. It is possible for a person who is passionate about video games to get lost in a virtual reality game, but the feeling after each session may not be pleasant.

Little can be done for mental restlessness. Virtual reality works if it’s immersive, if it feels like an alternate reality. And this is the problem when you take off your glasses: it takes a while to reconnect with the real world.

For physical discomfort, the solution will clearly be lighter devices and better technology to prevent nausea. This is mainly due to bad experiences, but it is a problem because it creates a negative memory.

Although AR/VR headset shipments grew in 2021, reaching 11.2 million units, that number is actually not very big in terms of mass adoption. The low number of headphones sold leads to a second technological problem.

So far no killer app has come out. There is no single app that is world renowned. Especially for AR, with the exception of Pokémon Go (for mobile devices). Companies are not yet sure of ROI and do not invest in content, leading to slower adoption. According to research, in 2020, lack of content was the top barrier to VR adoption.

A third problem links the previous two. Standalone headsets are not powerful enough to support refined gaming. Wired headsets cost a lot more and also require a high-performance computer. As a result, they sell less. With a smaller potential audience, it doesn’t make sense to invest in disruptive content.

AR headsets do not yet have applications for the general public. And apps on smartphones and tablets are not practical. Viewing magnified content on a screen and interacting with it is nice, but holding the device all the time is not.

Economic reasons

Bottom line: Headphones, experiences, and games all cost money.

If I spend 400 euros to have a separate headset, we can fairly say that I will not go broke. But if I spend, for example, 50 or 60 euros on games that last an afternoon or that are beta versions, I’ll think about it a bit.

For example, Immortal Vader l it’s beautiful for a Star Wars fan. But it’s disappointing for its short length and it doesn’t help the case to know that it’s part of a trilogy (so to finish it off, more money)!

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners it is more elaborate. Too bad they forgot the possibility to save your progress whenever you want. It is not very easy to use.

We should add that at the time of writing, a global issue that has affected costs is also causing delivery delays: components for electronics are hard to find. So it’s also hard to get the hardware.

But, the headphones are the least important obstacle. In the corporate environment, VR and AR experiences can cost figures that are not always within the availability of companies. The perception of value is subjective, but we can safely say that a marketing campaign with VR or AR will not cost as much as one made with billboards and flyers (still much less than one made on television, anyway).

A training program using virtual reality certainly costs more than a PDF with a classroom teacher, videos and photos.

The same goes for an AR marketing campaign. Communication agencies are giving it a serious try with campaigns using AR for their clients, but they often compete with other agencies and price becomes paramount. So cost matters.

psychological reasons

The psychological reasons can be summed up in one word: mistrust.

If you tried a bad experience, you didn’t like it and you won’t have a good memory of it.

Maybe you felt sick. There are some people who are particularly sensitive to virtual reality. Or it may have been because the technology was still in its infancy and nausea was commonplace for many. Or because, again, the experience was poorly done and did not take certain things into account. For example, in the beginning, taking 360° shots of cars on a race track was almost downright nauseating. Now it is no longer the case.

However, if for one or more of these reasons you have been feeling sick, you may not want to try again.

With AR, there’s another sticking point: downloading the app. Now, with WebAR, this friction is partially, but not completely, resolved.

Clearly, all of the above negatively affects demand, which slows down content production.

conclusion

I tried to explain the various reasons why we are not yet in a world like the one imagined by Keiichi Matsuda in hyperreality movie, or we still don’t have VR as in ready player one.

For those of us who work in the field, the invitation is: think about the present. There are enough exciting stories, and there is no need to pontificate about communion, democratization, revolution, etc.

To end users, I suggest you pay no attention to clickbait headlines and news. There is no revolution coming, there is certainly a strong push in the technology, but mass adoption is still some way off.

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