From Apple and Microsoft to nReal and Niantic, Established Tech Giants and Risk-Taking New Comers are Pushing AR Innovation

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ABI Research’s Hot Tech Innovators report identifies new and notable AR form factor and use cases
01 May 2019

ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies, examined the current Augmented Reality market and identified a selection of the most exciting and potentially impactful innovations and the companies behind them.

“The past 12 months have brought about a quickening of announcements and improvements on existing products across the entire augmented reality market,” says Eric Abbruzzese, Research Director at ABI Research. “Activity among major technology firms like Apple and Microsoft is ongoing, as is grassroots innovation around new use cases, products, and experiences. Major hardware announcements have been joined by exciting new ventures in 5G, AI, retail, toys, gaming, and more, leading to a richer yet more complex ecosystem.”

Both consumer and enterprise ecosystems are seeing a progression. Enterprise-focused hardware players, such as RealWear and Microsoft, continue to carve out their potential value for corporate endeavors through high ROI use cases like remote expertise and training. These enterprise endeavors need backends to help manage devices and visualize collected data, which is where companies like Augmate and Virtualitics come in. New hardware entrants like North and nReal are chasing the ideal smart glasses form factor, which may not be specifically targeted at consumers, but does meet form factor expectations for the space. Others sit somewhere in between: Magic Leap is searching for their next headline with telecom partnerships, Mira is taking a mobile VR like approach to AR with a head-mounted phone housing, and Niantic (Pokemon Go developers) is expanding their IP into 5G-enabled location-based opportunities.

“Innovation is spread between companies small and large in AR currently, which is unique,” concludes Abbruzzese. “Some of the biggest names in tech are also the biggest names in AR. At the same time, grassroots efforts to improve existing devices, use cases, and content are some of the riskiest, yet most interesting endeavors for smaller companies. Pushing hardware before a market is mature or pushing new functionality to hardware that’s still rough around the edges is critical to moving a market forward, and AR has seen, and will continue to see, plenty of both.”                           

These findings are from ABI Research’s Hot Tech Innovators: Augmented and Mixed Reality report. This report is part of the company’s Augmented and Virtual Reality research service, which includes research, data, and Executive Foresights. Hot Tech Innovators reports focus on companies at the forefront of transformational innovation, particularly those that are younger and less well-known than the incumbents, at the technological forefront of their markets, developing new business models, destabilizing the current market and prime acquisition targets.

 

About ABI Research

ABI Research provides strategic guidance for visionaries needing market foresight on the most compelling transformative technologies, which reshape workforces, identify holes in a market, create new business models and drive new revenue streams. ABI’s own research visionaries take stances early on those technologies, publishing groundbreaking studies often years ahead of other technology advisory firms. ABI analysts deliver their conclusions and recommendations in easily and quickly absorbed formats to ensure proper context. Our analysts strategically guide visionaries to take action now and inspire their business to realize a bigger picture. For more information about subscribing to ABI’s Research Services as well as Industrial and Custom Solutions, visionaries can contact us at +1.516.624.2500 in the Americas, +44.203.326.0140 in Europe, +65.6592.0290 in Asia-Pacific or visit www.abiresearch.com.

 

 

About ABI Research

ABI Research is a global technology intelligence firm uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology solution providers and end-market companies. We serve as the bridge that seamlessly connects these two segments by providing exclusive research and expert guidance to drive successful technology implementations and deliver strategies proven to attract and retain customers.

ABI Research 是一家全球性的技术情报公司,拥有得天独厚的优势,充当终端市场公司和技术解决方案提供商之间的桥梁,通过提供独家研究和专业性指导,推动成功的技术实施和提供经证明可吸引和留住客户的战略,无缝连接这两大主体。

For more information about ABI Research’s services, contact us at +1.516.624.2500 in the Americas, +44.203.326.0140 in Europe, +65.6592.0290 in Asia-Pacific, or visit www.abiresearch.com.

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