In the race to the metaverse, Apple is significantly behind its tech contemporaries (augmented reality and virtual reality). In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook dislikes the word, and his headset is expected to be released at least a year from now. Of all, Apple’s goal isn’t simply about making a headset; privacy is their main priority.
Meanwhile, Facebook is all-in on augmented reality and virtual reality. Facebook avoided a barrage of persistent criticism about security and privacy by announcing a name change in October of last year: Facebook would now be known as Meta. This was an overt hint to the company’s intended expansion into the metaverse, according to CNBC.
They’re far from alone in their enthusiasm for virtual reality. Before being acquired by Facebook, Oculus piqued interest with its virtual reality headsets, while Google Glasses (remember those? ), first released in 2013, democratized what many considered to be prohibitively expensive VR hardware.
Meanwhile, Apple has remained silent – perhaps deliberately so. It’s odd that the leader of the world’s tech platoon, with a market value of more than $2 trillion, isn’t more overtly ambitious about metaverse exploration.
So why not take advantage of its leadership position and be the first to build AR/VR hardware and software? Because Apple’s $2 trillion market worth is based on privacy concerns rather than first-to-market technology.
There’s more to invention than merely developing “the thing,” as Cook explained in an interview with TIME earlier this year. “Privacy is a fundamental human right, in our opinion.” That’s where [innovation] begins.”
Privacy, it turns out, is a tricky Hydra. AR/VR gets challenging when privacy is prioritized. Apple has put a lot of effort into keeping apps safe, even if they aren’t AR/VR-focused. In the TIME interview, Cook says, “This year we came out with application tracking transparency.” Apple also introduced a “privacy “nutrition label” for the app store, in which each app must explain what data it collects and why it collects it. … It may appear easy, yet it is a significant shift.”
It certainly is. And, as we scream for virtual reality gear and augmented reality, Tim Cook is simply dabbling in the metaverse. In fact, he avoids using the word. And perhaps with good reason. Do we even have a good idea of what the metaverse might or should look like? Is it merely enticing tech candy, like the latest and greatest cellphones, that the concept is based on? We can’t wait to get our hands on it and sink our heads into it, despite our lack of knowledge of its complexity and data-sharing difficulties.
What is the takeaway here? You can’t develop a successful business without trust. And you can’t develop trust if you don’t prioritize safety, security, and privacy. And what if it means you won’t be the first to market with a new product? That’s OK. At the very least, you’ll get it correctly – and your consumers will thank you later.
