With the mixed AR and VR
market being projected at a
dizzying $108 billion, a further
$83bn is expected to go to AR in
2021. Although many have written
about the business pivots and
fails that have notably contributed
to this previously unexpected
change in the "reality" landscape,
it is interesting to lift the veil
and trace the links between a
technology's success, and our
own human needs.
Simply put, AR augments our
own reality while VR replaces
it. Although both layering and
replacing our reality both have
their place in our lives, the AR
can be useful to us at a greater
number of points throughout our
day. Where VR might immerse
us in a tantalising porn fantasy
or a terrifying video game, AR
can help us choose healthier
groceries, try on clothes or
redesign our living room without
leaving the sofa. It isn't that
VR is becoming increasingly
redundant but rather that our
day-to-day has less space for a
replacer technology than one that
enhances our world.
As humans, we've been
augmenting reality since
organised civilisations came to
being. Ancient Egyptian women
wore kohl to augment the shape
of their eyes and we have only
delved further into this concept
with the eye-watering range of
cosmetics. While fashion seeks to
enhance the body and brands use
Photoshop to push societal ideals
of perfection to unattainable
heights. Augmentation is far
from a new concept; just because
it is facilitated through digital
technologies does not make it
inherently different on a human
level.
The truth is a simple one (for
once), it is more exciting to
overlay than it is to replace.
Augmentation has a bigger role
to play in helping us navigate our
lives. AR allows us to experience
our world in new ways, far more
often than virtual reality, which
affords us the ability to step into
an entirely fabricated one. And
that's why it won.
ISSUE 107 / 2018
TECHNOLOGY
What was only hypothesized a mere two years
ago is now accepted as conventional wisdom
- augmented reality is winning out over virtual
reality.
16
WHY AR BEAT VR