The super-mysterious augmented reality startup, Magic Leap, has repeatedly been making headlines for its upcoming innovation. But we’ve not been treated to any product releases until date. And this update is also not from the company itself, but instead from an anonymous tip.
Citing sources privy to the development, Business Insider reports that Magic Leap is working to complete development of its first prototype before an important board meeting next week. The said meeting will be helpful in defining the credibility of the augmented reality device as it is expected to run a demo for its board members.
Thus, the photo attached underneath shows the near complete version of the company’s next generation portable AR device. The company has declined to validate the leaked info but sources suggest that it’s an early January prototype of Magic Leap’s leap-frogging AR technology. The source further adds that the prototype has since bagged some improvements and is being referred to as “PEQ0” internally. But, it is still miles away from being market-ready, a complaint put forth by many.
SCOOP!!! This is the FIRST PUBLIC PHOTO of MAGIC LEAP https://t.co/6hPEMe6eCg pic.twitter.com/oWKBJvKmza
— Alternative Dave (@redletterdave) February 11, 2017
What you see in the image is most likely a very basic prototype of Magic Leap’s product and it is still far from being packed into a device that fits in your palm easily. Currently, the device is seen to include two modules, one the yellow backpack which sports the computing power of the prototype and other the headgear that’ll help augment reality. Also, the report adds that the battery pack is not included in the backpack and is being held by the engineer in the photo. This battery will power the complete setup.
There is currently no way of predicting how well this technology works, but The Information recently spilled the beans on the experience by saying that it was sub-par. The report mentioned that the prototype didn’t live up to expectations and the technology is years away from their competition. This was further augmented with reports that the video demos released by Magic Leap weren’t real and had been developed by special effects to create hype around the product.
This was further augmented with reports that the video demos released by Magic Leap weren’t real and had been developed by special effects to create hype around the product. Some have even added a cherry on top saying that its technology is no better than any other AR headgear being developed by others. But, CEO Rony Abovitz has clapped back saying that their product differs from Hololens or Meta AR and prefers to call it “mixed reality” rather than augmented reality.
Magic Leap, for those unaware, is a well-known and deep-pocketed augmented mixed reality startup that has received over $1.4 billion in funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Google, JPMorgan, Fidelity, and Alibaba. The company is being valued at $4.5 billion but we’re more excited to know more about this product. We’ve mailed Magic Leap for more info and will update you once we hear back from them.
