Magic Leap, a mysterious maker of augmented reality glasses, is reportedly considering strategic options that include selling itself. The startup is working with an advisor to explore options such as forming a partnership or selling a stake in the company ahead of a potential listing, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.
Unlike virtual reality, which promises to immerse goggle-wearing users in new and exciting digital worlds, AR overlays images and data atop the real world. The best-known example of AR today is Pokemon Go, in which Pokemon characters appear on players’ phone screens amid the streets or parks the players are exploring.
Founded in 2011, Google-funded Magic Leap has spent $2.3 billion creating its AR glasses, and after years of skepticism that the startup might be building the world’s best funded vaporware, it finally released its headset in the fall of 2018. The Magic Leap One glasses, which launched with a hefty price tag of $2,295, feature displays, audio and external camera sensors.
However, the company reportedly sold just 6,000 virtual reality headsets in the six months after launching the product — far behind CEO Rony Abovitz’s goal of selling 100,000 Magic Leap One devices in that period.
Magic Leap didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Google’s device line could end up having a particularly important moment in 2023. The company usually announces new Pixel products throughout the year. Google is expected to release its first foldable phone this year, however, which would directly compete with Samsung’s proven line of Galaxy Z Fold devices. Google also introduced its own ChatGPT rival, …
You’re staring at your windows. You need to measure for curtains, but you have no idea where you hid your measuring tape. Soon, you’ll be able to whip out your iPhone and sort it all out using AR Measure, an augmented-reality app that rolls out an animated tape measure on your screen.
The app comes from developer Laan Labs, which plans to release it to the public when iOS 11 launches this fall.
One of the big questions surrounding an app like this is just how accurately it can measure. Jason Laan of Laan Labs says the accuracy can vary, but it can get very close. “We see it as a way to get quick estimates — not a way to build a house,” he says.
Laan Labs posted a video demonstration of the app on Sunday. It’s a lot of fun to see a virtual ruler roll out next to a real one. The demo also shows how you can draw a line from one point to another and get a measurement.
Laan credits the developers who created ARKit, Apple’s platform for building augmented-reality software for iOS.
“ARKit uses a combination of visual information coming in from the camera, along with sensor readings from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass to estimate how the device is positioned,” Laan says. “Tracking is made a lot more accurate when the phone can see lots of ‘stuff’ from the camera. If you are trying to measure a large white wall, ARKit will have a tougher time estimating position.”
AR Measure is an interesting example of how augmented-reality technology can work its way into our everyday lives. It’s not just about catching Pokemon. It can also be about figuring out if that table will fit in your kitchen nook.
The Virtuali-Tee is an augmented-reality t-shirt that reveals exactly what’s going on inside your body. Specifically, when someone aims a phone or tablet at you, they’ll see an animated, x-ray-style image of your innards. Creepy? Maybe a little, but also seriously cool and very educational.
This is easier shown than explained, so take a look:
Curiscope
So that’s the augmented-reality version. You can tap on selected areas (the heart, the digestive system, etc.) to go further inside and learn more about the body.
In fact, when paired with a VR headset (anything from Google Cardboard to Mattel View-Master to Samsung Gear VR), the Virtuali-Tee app takes you on virtual tours of these areas.
Developer Curiscope is seeking around $100,000 to turn this concept into a reality. As of this writing, the Kickstarter campaign has already raised over $13,000, with nearly a month left to go.
Early backers can get the shirt (in choice of size and color) and app for around $25, £18, AU$35. After the campaign, Curiscope expects to sell the shirts for $40, £30, AU$60. Delivery is planned for August, though as with any crowdfunded project, that’s just an estimate.
What do you think? Is this something you’d back? Or do you prefer to leave innards to the imagination?
The head of Google’s Android and Chrome operating systems, Sundar Pichai, will sit on Magic Leap’s board.
James Martin/CNET
Google’s caught Facebook’s virtual-reality fever.
The search giant led a $542 million investment round in a startup called Magic Leap, which hopes to eventually replace computer and smartphone screens with virtual-reality interfaces. The company, founded in 2011 and based in Florida, makes a head-mounted device that acts like glasses. Turn the technology on, and it displays computer-generated images on top of what a wearer normally sees.
What Magic Leap offers that others don’t is a technology that can keep users from experiencing nausea, a common problem for virtual-reality headset makers.
For Google, Magic Leap represents another investment into 3D technology. In June, Google unveiled do-it-yourself cardboard kits for creating virtual-reality goggles out of smartphones. At the same time, it also demonstrated an initiative called Tango, which attempts to bring 3D mapping and sensing capabilities to smartphones and tablets.
Google also develops a head-mounted device called Glass, which displays information from a smartphone and various apps on a tiny computer screen affixed to a metal frame or glasses. In May, Google released the product to the general public.
Now Google is investing in Magic Leap as well. And its interest goes beyond giving the company money: Sundar Pichai, the Google executive in charge of the company’s Android mobile operating system and Chrome Web browser, will join Magic Leap’s board of directors.
“We are looking forward to Magic Leap’s next stage of growth, and to seeing how it will shape the future of visual computing,” Pichai said in a statement.
Google’s ultimate plans for Magic Leap are still unclear. Don Harrison, Google’s mergers and acquisitions chief, will join Magic Leap’s board as an observer. A source familiar with Google’s acquisition strategy, however, said the company has no plans to acquire Magic Leap.
Google declined to further comment on the deal. Magic Leap did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Other investors in the company’s funding round included chipmaker Qualcomm, film production company Legendary Entertainment, and well-known Silicon Valley venture firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
