Many teenagers are familiar with virtual reality headsets. But have they started using them as smartphones? The answer to that question is not yet.

26 percent of teenagers say that they have a virtual reality headset. This is a higher percentage than expected. However, only 5% of teens claim they regularly use it, according to the Piper Sandler research report “Taking Stock With Teens: Spring 2022”.

VR headsets have a low usage rate due to several factors. From high costs to consumers to limited applications, the price is still prohibitive. The latter should not be a hindrance to the rise of a VR enabled metaverse. It may well solve the adoption problem. Although there are many applications out, none of them have captured much attention.

Gen Z and the next generation who are primarily digitally savvy will see gaming as a great opportunity. It is already worth $200 billion annually. There are an estimated 3 billion gamers worldwide. It’s a reality. a target of Meta’s big tech rival MicrosoftActivision Blizzard is being acquired by a company called. Recent study of Gen Z gamers by Razorfish and Vice Media Group found that 20% of their entertainment/leisure budgets will be earmarked for in-game purchases over the next five years.

There are currently only three VR games available on Steam.

Both concerts and sports have great potential but there is no clear driver. Education, which includes immersive “field trips” for students to any part of the globe, is yet to see significant growth.

The metaverse is certainly the biggest application space for VR on the horizon, so perhaps the “Field of Dreams” approach — if you build it, they will come — can work. 

Facebook Parent is a sure thing. Meta PlatformsAs part of an effort to increase diversity, it is betting on the app as part its Facebook Family of Apps ad revenue, including Instagram and WhatsApp. These apps accounted close to $28billion for nearly 97.5% revenue during the last quarter.

CNBC interviewed Nicola Mendolsohn from Meta’s global vice president of business, last week, to discuss the topic.

But the revenue contribution for its Reality Labs division – the part of the company that’s designing products for the metaverse — was $695 million. Reality Labs, which is a major bet on the company’s future, was a significant money-sink. It posted a loss for its first quarter result of $2.96Billion, while it suffered a loss for the first quarter in 2021. According to executives, expenses may be lower than expected but this unit will still generate revenue. continue to be an area of expense growth. This company is committed to over $10 billion to build the metaverse.

According to the company, it will take a long time before investment yields “meaningful enough revenues growth” that profits can be achieved. “I think it’s going to be longer for Reality Labs than for a lot of the traditional software that we’ve built,” Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, said on the recent earnings call.

“We have made large investments in the development of the next platform. This will allow us to achieve our goals and provide a business that is as valuable and profitable as the top mobile platforms. This platform is expensive, I know. It is not something you have seen before.

Some experts believe there’s a possibility of a significant breakthrough in this environment of heavy spending.

There has been significant innovation in VR already, says Sarah Ostadabbas, assistant professor of electrical & computer engineering at Northeastern University, so much so that she thinks widespread adoption may indeed be “just one or two killer applications away.”

Her comments included that VR before Oculus was “basically ineffective” because of its latency and poor headtracking. 

This Monday Meta will open its first physical store and showroom for VR headset technology, where customers will be able to purchase the Quest 2 headset. The company is currently working on a high-end headset. Project Cambriato be available later in the year.

One argument can be made to support the claim that design is an area of growth with these tech advances, which is a territory typically owned by Apple.long rumored to be developing a headset).

“It’s been rumored for years that Apple will release industry-disrupting AR/VR hardware,” said David Lasala, team lead, interactive development & XR technology at New York University.

He says that the Meta Quest 2 (formerly Oculus Quest 2) is currently the best-selling active player. Valve Index is likely to be next. The Valve Index is another headset worth mentioning. Lynx Pico Neo. It is also worth noting: Pimax, Varjo, HTC ViveThere is still some Windows Mixed Reality activities.

Meta doesn’t have to be a primary hardware company. This allows for significant flexibility in the market, allowing the most innovative VR technologies to be utilized.

Ostadabbas indicated that he believed they wanted to build an OS platform. Google became scared after Meta and other social media networks blocked them, so they got on phones to be able to access these key information sources. Meta discovered in the same way that smartphone providers can harm their business model by changing one policy.

Meta billions have been lost in ad revenue because of recent privacy restrictions that Apple and Google placed on advertising targeting. It is believed that the ad targeting restrictions on Apple and Google’s smartphone operating systems have cost Meta billions in ad revenue. company’s CFO estimatedApple’s changes could have a devastating impact on its revenue of $10 billion.

Beware of hardware that is not suitable for your business, like Google Glass. It has limited commercial and industrial uses and can be used to make 3-D televisions.

Zuckerberg claimed that virtual reality and augmented reality will provide the best experiences, especially for Quest, but that it is possible to get into the metaverse using other platforms.

If the technology works for consumers, who cares about the hardware war? But, it’s not clear what the people will be doing in the metaverse. And, of course, that’s what the point is of this whole thing. Skeptics only see hype and rebranding. The one word that cuts through much of the hype is presence.

“Aside from the immersivity, one of the most interesting differences between the metaverse and the internet is presence — your avatar,” Ostadabbas said.

It may be silly to imagine yourself in the form of a purple Octopus in a meeting, but there’s something to the core concept. The internet provides a wealth of information. People can access vast amounts of information, and leave no trace. Until you comment, you are invisible. “Your avatar in the metaverse means that you have to be there for consumption. So even exploration can be active and interactive,” she explained.

Meta’s second promise, pulled from its Facebook days, is presence. It refers to community. While this term has seen much of its meaning lost by social media platforms, the promise that metaverse holds for community in its form without restrictions on real world geography, it still offers promise. The majority of community building in life can be tied to very limited possibilities. School on one end and work on the opposite. Ostadabbas stated that the ideal scenario is when someone finds a way to create a community in the metaverse. People’s lives will be improved by a stronger sense of belonging.

Meta’s central approach to social media is Horizon Worlds. The platform, which Meta calls a social platform, has announced that it will focus on building the experience and then growing the community.

At its best, this will allow people to discover themselves more profoundly than ever before, according to Lasala — grow and heal, make art and learn. Although they are still doubtful, there can also be larger claims. He said that he imagined half of the population working and meeting in virtual reality, rather than commuting. This could help to slow down the climate crisis. However, I haven’t done any deep diving into carbon emissions of silicone and server farms compared with vehicles so it might just be wishful thinking.

It is much easier to identify the worst case. Meta believes the current business model will be the path to tomorrow’s model. On the earnings call, Zuckerberg stated that it was a “new paradigm for computing” and that social connections are a key part of his business model. Our financial goal is to grow our operating income from our family of apps over the coming years while also increasing our profitability overall.

Ostadabbas suggested that this metaverse might be nothing but a “cynical cash grab to monitor people at a deeper level.” He said AR headsets would allow the construction of social graphs deep enough to record conversations and make them more visible.

These algorithms are whirling along creating a more controversial stratification to increase clicks and ad revenues. If this sounds like a familiar business model, it is. The internet is Alphabet and Facebook. Except this time, you’re an Oculus purple octopus. As Horizon is rolled out on all platforms, there will be some shorter cycles, Zuckerberg explained to Wall Street analysts.

Recent criticisms from the creators have led to an abrupt halt in business. plans to charge high feesFor virtual asset transactions

Mendelsohn noted that successful transitions are the foundation of the company’s past.

“I have been with the company for almost nine years. She spoke of the strong pivots we’ve done before, referring to the move from mobile PCs to smartphones and to Instagram Stories.

While she acknowledged that the full realization of the metaverse may take some time, she stated that it’s possible to do so in the future. However, Wendy’s clients such as Wendy’s are using video products and advertising products today and the continuum is still there. launched a world in Horizon Worlds with virtual restaurants last month.

Zuckerberg declared, “This is laying groundwork for the very exciting 2030s,”

—Trevor Laurence Jockims special to CNBC.com