What differentiates AR from VR? VR is a completely immersive technology with the user’s vision filled by a virtual environment. This makes it inherently immobile – the user would rather be in a safe environment and moving only a very limited distance to avoid bumping into walls or other objects, or falling over. Because AR overlays digital objects and information on the real world, the real benefits from AR are when the user is mobile. Perhaps they need additional information on an unfamiliar environment or are guided by AR navigation to a destination. This makes AR a perfect match for mobile networks.
Today, although dedicated AR headsets have arrived, most consumers experience AR on a smartphone. A combination of a live camera feed with an AR overlay shows the augmented world on the smartphone screen. Over 95% of high-end smartphones today can support this functionality. Dedicated devices, typically costing $3,000 for high-end headsets with transparent stereoscopic lenses, remain outside of consumer price points. However, they are delivering value in enterprise sectors such as healthcare, heavy industry, and logistics. The hands-free nature of such devices allows them to address many use cases which smartphone AR cannot, and which provide greater value for their use in a work environment.
