Microsoft is reportedly gearing up to challenge Apple’s Vision Pro headset with a new hardware initiative in collaboration with Samsung. This move would position five of the top ten most valuable companies by market cap—Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia—as actively developing new metaverse technology.
According to a report from the South Korean outlet The Elec, Microsoft plans to order hundreds of thousands of OLED panels from Samsung for a device slated for mass production in 2026.
While the device is expected to be a headset for spatial computing rather than virtual reality, it is not specifically aimed at the metaverse. However, any display device, including computer monitors, can connect with the metaverse. Spatial computing devices offer a different degree of immersion.
The term “metaverse” is not a single entity any more than the internet is. Users of metaverse applications have the same options as those using other networked digital communications: screens of various sizes, from large TVs to small virtual reality headset displays.
Despite the tech media’s portrayal, the markets for both virtual reality and metaverse hardware are growing. Marketing hype and confusion about the metaverse’s true nature have led some to believe it is fading, but evidence suggests otherwise.
Apple is developing a successor to its Vision Pro, while Google, in partnership with Magic Leap, is working on a new mixed-reality headset. Meta, formerly Facebook, continues to invest billions in its metaverse technology. Nvidia benefits from this growth, as its GPUs are essential for the graphics and AI that bring digital worlds to life.
