There are lots of AR apps in the App Store and Google Play store. We all have powerful Android or iOS devices that are fully compatible with AR. We have ARKit and ARCore platforms which provide plenty of opportunities for developers. There are over a billion people like you, who want to use or try Augmented Reality. And yet, we can clearly see that AR has thus far remained a niche technology. What will help it become a part of daily life?

Modern AR devices include iOS/Android phones, glasses and headsets, and even contact lenses in prototype form. However, glasses and headsets are some distance from mass adoption, as they have notable weaknesses and technical issues. Also, for instance, Microsoft’s Hololens mixed reality headset is quite expensive for a device that can’t replace your phone, tablet or laptop. Glasses and headsets have great potential, because they are real computers that are with you all the time, allowing them to interact not just with apps but with the real world around you. But for now, who wants to wear a computer on their head? I like Snap’s approach to this problem. They’ve made Spectacles, which are not AR headsets in the fullest sense of the word, but critically they are already useful and look fine. They can help to record the world around you and then augment it.

Let’s imagine that we have fully working AR glasses and we’ve solved all the technical problems. Will we wear these glasses all day long? Most likely, the answer is still no. Of course there are innovators who will, but it’s likely to be about 2.5% of all AR users, a niche of a niche, as with any new technology. The reason is very simple — not all of us wear glasses. Even many of those who have bad eyesight still don’t. Some people prefer contact lenses or wearing medical glasses from time to time.

I think that we are still far away from the mass adoption of AR headsets. What’s more, we need options — different sorts of wearables that will bring AR to us. That is why I really like the idea of AR contact lenses. It seems even more like science fiction, but when we have such a device, I’m sure you will see many people using it.

The great thing is that we already have hero devices — and they’re right in your pocket! Yes, these are iPhones and Android devices. In 2020, your smartphone can really understand the environment around you and add content depending on your position, surrounding physical objects and many other characteristics. Over a billion devices right now are able to deliver Augmented Reality in high quality, with lots of graphics and mechanics. The bonus is that you don’t need to buy any additional appliances; every component you need is built in.

Sometimes you may hear the phrase “content is king”. And that’s true, if we have advanced smart glasses and we don’t have apps for them, then we simply won’t use such devices. But this could be a misconception — we need not just content, but great content. We may have plenty of apps but if they’re useless or simply not engaging, again we won’t need such a device.

The interesting thing is competition. You actually can find many AR apps for iOS or Android. However, the vast majority of them are basically non-AR apps which added some kind of AR functionality, e.g. just using your environment as a background. Well, do you need this kind of AR? I believe that most of you don’t. The reason is that AR in this case just makes the UX worse and more complicated. What’s more, such apps are competing with existing apps that don’t use AR, and nine times out of ten, the non-AR app wins due to its greater simplicity. Augmented reality is a different prospect altogether, and not a competitor for other apps. Differentiation requires fundamentally different mechanics. Keep in mind this when you decide to build an AR app.

The last factor we’ll consider is technology — meaning any frameworks, SDKs and libraries which directly influence development. That is almost the answer: technology is the key for development. We may have wonderful hardware and expect to have engaging content for it, but this can’t be done without the right tools. Developers must be satisfied with the features and the quality of their tools, and that unlocks great content for their users.

When we talk about augmented reality, designers or just visionaries show such great imagination. During the day, they may came up with hundreds of ideas and use cases and bring them all to developers. But almost always, the developers’ answer is simple: that idea is amazing, but it’s just not technically possible to implement yet. Most companies don’t have the resources to create a novel technology just to add a feature to their app, even if that feature is vital to the app’s experience. Furthermore, lacking that technology may mean that developers are reluctant to press on. And to be honest, that is the right decision: we shouldn’t commit to a compromised vision if leaves users unsatisfied and doesn’t create value for them. So if we know we need an augmented reality feature but also know that we cannot create it ourselves — what can we do?

This is the problem we are solving at ARnDAI. We are creating the technology to allow developers to create remote multiplayer apps in augmented reality. Many times we’ve heard from a variety of developers that the lack of social interactions in AR results in a lack of interest from users. Every single non-AR app can be extended with social mechanics and this will certainly increase engagement. Users now expect to have social elements to share their content, progress or simply have fun together. It’s also common for users to want to interact even when they’re collaborating remotely, in different physical locations.

Our tools allow developers to create such multiplayer modes easily and not think about the challenges of AR tech or networking. We are putting a lot of effort into helping developers build great content and create useful and even outstanding AR experiences.

We already have over a billion users with very powerful devices right in their pockets. We also have the set of tools necessary to provide great content. Now it’s the time to create!

Share with me your ideas about remote AR apps, I’ll be happy to help!

Our website: https://arnd.ai

Technology, hardware or content: Which will shape the AR market? was originally published in AR/VR Journey: Augmented & Virtual Reality Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.