Another year, another CES in the books! Team Geenee was on the ground last week in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. An annual gathering of top brands and innovators, CES is an opportunity to preview new technologies hitting the market to get a better understanding of how they might affect audience behavior in years to come.
The show floor was massive with major events and exhibits taking place all across the Vegas strip. While it was not possible to catch everything, we were personally excited to explore the latest on AR, VR and the Metaverse.
From advanced headworn devices to robust AR applications across various industries, there was a lot to take in. In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the coolest AR news & trends that you may have missed during the event, and explore how they are set to change the way we interact with technology in the near future.
Image Source: Meta
Headsets had everyone buzzing
The big news out of CES was not only the number of headworn displays, but the sheer variety of form-factors and price-points. HTC announced the Vive XR Elite, their all-in-one VR device with AR passthrough, to rival the Meta Quest Pro (but at a lower price point). While the high-end AR devices like Magic Leap are mostly geared toward enterprise use-cases at the moment, there were plenty of consumer-facing options as well, including one immediately available from TCL: a lightweight, very normal looking pair of glasses, dubbed “NXTWear S” that project a head-mounted virtual display of your smartphone, tablet or gaming console. Everyone seems to agree that AR headsets are imminent, but which consumer-facing solution will win the day? All eyes turn to Apple, as rumors fly that there’s an AR headset of their own available as early as this year.
WebAR is the way forward
There was no shortage of metaverse, gaming and augmented reality applications on the show floor. Given the huge influx of devices and software set to hit the market in the next few years, we believe WebAR is more important than ever. That’s augmented reality accessible through the Web browser, no app downloads required in order to experience. Advancements in WebAR technology through solutions like Geenee AR, will open up the door to what’s possible across platforms and devices.
Brow-Raising Beauty Solutions
One of our favorite announcements from the showroom floor was L’Oréal Brow Magic, a magical makeup-printing robot. The user journey begins with AR brow mapping technology, where the user can select their preferred brow look based on an AR filter, and in under 30 seconds, use a hand-held printing device to apply the desired look to their face. This is a revolutionary device for the beauty industry, as it illustrates the possibility of taking your favorite augmented reality social filter and literally bringing it into the physical world. Imagine the possibilities as this capability advances!
The Best of Eureka Park
While not the most high-budget builds, Eureka Park is still a must-see showcase of emerging startups, geared toward any brand or investor wondering what’s coming next. Some of our favorite AR-focused companies who exhibited at Eureka Park this year include:
- Copresence: an avatar conference app featuring high-quality, nearly realistic avatars
- Arbrea: an augmented reality plastic surgery simulator
- Aria Studios: An AI-powered interactive entertainment production studio
- Dance4Healing: A body- and emotion-tracking app for improving mental health through dancing
- Allimb: A virtual physical therapy advisor
As you can probably tell, 2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for Augmented Reality consumer technology, and we’ve got our eye on the future. For the latest news and industry content, as well as product updates and announcements, sign up for our newsletter, HERE.