Market Reality: Apple Launches AR App, Brands Blitz Super Bowl with AR Ads & AR Content Arrives for Zoom via Arvizio

After weeks of reports about their first augmented reality device, Apple actually shipped a real AR product this week in the form of a TV tie-in AR app.

Of course, the advertising industry is one of the foremost adopters of consumer-focused AR at the moment, and Super Bowl LV gave advertisers the opportunity to show off AR experiences that mirrored their broadcast ads.

Elsewhere, as Zoom and other video conferencing platforms have become prevalent in remote work environments due to the pandemic, Arvizio has found a way to add AR to the experience.

Oh, and about those reports on Apple's AR wearable development: another dropped this week as well, but it may not concern Apple's expected AR/VR hybrid headset.

Apple Publishes AR App to Promote Apple TV Plus Show

The realm of science fiction isn't all lasers and cute green toddlers, sometimes alternate science history is sci-fi, too, as exampled by the Apple TV Plus series For All Mankind.

Now, in a bid to promote the second season of the space-based series, Apple has launched a new augmented reality app that tells more of the backstory of the characters on the show.

Continue reading for more details on the app and how it promotes the For All Mankind streaming series and also serves as a showcase for the LiDAR sensor on iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Pro devices...

REALITY BITES: Long-time Apple hardware chief Dan Riccio is shifting to a new role overseeing development of a new product, reportedly (paywall) the mythical AR/VR headset expected to arrive in early 2022. While the project was already under Riccio's umbrella, the device now has his full time and attention. In other Apple HR news, the company currently has 86 openings for jobs in various roles of AR engineering, design, and development, including the recently-available AR and VR research engineer job.

Arvizio Adds AR Interactivity to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, & Other Video Platforms

As businesses flocked to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and other video conferencing platforms to bridge the gap, we wondered aloud -- why aren't more companies leaning even more heavily on augmented reality?

Arvizio may have the solution to that shortcoming with an update to its AR collaboration platform.

Read further to learn how Arvizio has added AR to those video conferencing products with its Immerse 3D app...

REALITY BITES: Former Magic Leap employees Tim Stutts and Feras Ahmed published an October 2020 talk they gave on the implications of user privacy in the context of the metaverse, the fabled shared digital copy of the world that is expected to emerge as an evolution of AR, and the responsibilities of user experience designers in designing ethical and transparent systems.

Verizon, Pepsi, Cheetos, & More Call on AR for Their Super Bowl Ads

The Super Bowl isn't just the most important NFL game of the year, it's also the biggest night for brands to bring their most creative advertisements to a vast television audience.

Over the past few years, augmented reality has shared the Super Bowl stage as well, with advertisers increasingly integrating the technology into their campaigns.

For Super Bowl LV, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs faced off on the field, big brands leaned on AR more than ever before. Continue reading to see which brands injected AR into their Super Bowl advertising efforts...

REALITY BITES: Making good on his pledge to donate half of the proceeds from 2020's virtual Pokemon GO Fest to African-American developers, Niantic CEO John Hanke unveiled the Black Developers Initiative on Thursday, an accelerator acting as an extension of its Beyond Reality Initiative. Niantic is currently accepting applications from Black game and AR developers, but it also unveiled its first beneficiary, W!CKED SAiNTS Studio.

Apple Reportedly Taps TSMC to Develop Micro OLEDs for Future Smartglasses

Like the layers of an onion, 2021 continues to peel back new hints of Apple's kinda-secretive augmented reality device development.

The latest layer gives us additional insight into the specific components that Apple intends to build into its AR product.

Read further to learn more about the latest development in the Apple AR saga and how it may not bear fruit until several generations of AR devices down the line...

Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This weekly Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. Check out previous editions of Market Reality for more news you may have missed.