Michelangelo ValtancoliAngel Investor, Various Startups · Investing + building at Various Startups

The short-sightedness of AR

3 May 2023 · 1 min

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In this monologue, the speaker argues that augmented reality (AR) glasses are unlikely to become essential or widely adopted. He contends that smartphones already fulfill navigation and information needs, making the idea of constantly wearing AR glasses for simple tasks like turn‑by‑turn directions unnecessary. He also questions the practicality of wearing such devices all day, suggesting that users would find them intrusive. Finally, he warns that AR glasses could evolve into pervasive advertising platforms, turning users’ visual field into a constant marketing channel, especially given existing heavy usage of platforms like Instagram.

Chapters

I don't actually think that VR is going to be that important. I think the phone is really good at what it does. You know, the Google Glass idea that you would use Google Maps with your AR glasses? You don't buy into that? No. You know, I can just look at my phone and like, I don't need to have this laid out on top of my visual peripheral. Do you buy into it? Do you really think you're going to be wearing glasses all day long because you need to know if you have to turn left or if you have to turn right? And by the way, you know, this is going to turn into an ad platform. You know, this is going to be turning into something that tries to grab your attention. So basically, you're telling me that every week you're spending, what, maybe 6 hours using Instagram? You're going to be wearing Instagram on your face every day, all day long, and the reason that you're gonna go through all this is such that you can know if you have to turn left or turn right.