AR is not compelling enough for consumers yet, says Oculus

VR giant Oculus says that augmented reality has failed to capture the mass-market so far.

Speaking to MCV, CEO Brendan Iribe said that the reaction from consumers to AR tech such as Microsoft’s HoloLens has been ‘ok’, but that this could change in an instant.

It’s one thing to make marketing videos, it’s another to actually try the experience and say ‘I want to buy that’,” Iribe said.

Oculus Touch is an experience that’s ready for consumers – we’re not hyping that up with marketing videos, we’re showing consumers. Most people come out saying it’s something that they’d want to own, that it’s something they’d want to do a lot more of. They want experiences built around that kind of user experience. That’s ready today.

The reaction from most people leaving AR demos is not: ‘I want to buy that as a soon as I can’, it’s: ‘I can see the potential of where it is going – one day’. That day has not come yet.

"AR will be focused more on enterprise, professional use, where they don’t mind the cost, the form factor, and can work around the small field of view. It’s not compelling enough for mass-market consumers yet. That could change at any time. Oculus changed it with a Kickstarter. It could change at any time, but it’s not there yet.”