Magic Leap's Mythical Mixed Reality Hardware Spied In Leaked Photo
Magic Leap’s mythical mixed reality hardware was just recently spotted in a leaked photo. The photo comes just a week before an important board meeting that could make or break the mysterious company’s future.
First off, who is Magic Leap? The Florida-based company is purportedly developing head-mounted augmented reality (AR) retinal displays. It is unclear exactly how Magic Leap plans to make its mark in an ever-growing VR and AR market, but one researcher who studied the company’s patent suggested that Magic Leap is utilizing stacked silicon waveguides. The company unfortunately released several video clips that proved to be fake and offered little insight into its technology.
The leaked photo is of a prototype referred to as “PEQ”. The photo is from early January and sources say that there have been a number of improvements made since that time. CEO Rony Abovitz stated that the finished product will be a belt pack-style device and more closely resemble the design included in the patent filing. The company has been working tirelessly to shrink its technology into smaller form factors, and at the moment, the demo is supposedly in “decent shape”.
Rumor has it that as of January, however, Magic Leap’s glasses prototype was empty and non-functioning. It was also noted that the backpack containing the device’s battery and computing pack were bulky and did not match the original patent. Many are concerned that the company will be unable to get its act together before its upcoming board meeting.
The notoriously secretive company has raised over $1.4 billion USD in venture capital since its 2011 conception. Interested parties include Google, JP Morgan, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Fidelity and Alibaba. Even film studios such as Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment have contributed to the augmented reality pot of gold. Magic Leap is also being closely watched by rivals such as ODG, Meta, Microsoft, and Facebook. The transformation the product has undergone since the photos were leaked will determine whether Magic Leap, the best-capitalized augmented-reality startup, will truly be able to join their ranks.
First off, who is Magic Leap? The Florida-based company is purportedly developing head-mounted augmented reality (AR) retinal displays. It is unclear exactly how Magic Leap plans to make its mark in an ever-growing VR and AR market, but one researcher who studied the company’s patent suggested that Magic Leap is utilizing stacked silicon waveguides. The company unfortunately released several video clips that proved to be fake and offered little insight into its technology.
The leaked photo is of a prototype referred to as “PEQ”. The photo is from early January and sources say that there have been a number of improvements made since that time. CEO Rony Abovitz stated that the finished product will be a belt pack-style device and more closely resemble the design included in the patent filing. The company has been working tirelessly to shrink its technology into smaller form factors, and at the moment, the demo is supposedly in “decent shape”.
Rumor has it that as of January, however, Magic Leap’s glasses prototype was empty and non-functioning. It was also noted that the backpack containing the device’s battery and computing pack were bulky and did not match the original patent. Many are concerned that the company will be unable to get its act together before its upcoming board meeting.
The notoriously secretive company has raised over $1.4 billion USD in venture capital since its 2011 conception. Interested parties include Google, JP Morgan, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Fidelity and Alibaba. Even film studios such as Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment have contributed to the augmented reality pot of gold. Magic Leap is also being closely watched by rivals such as ODG, Meta, Microsoft, and Facebook. The transformation the product has undergone since the photos were leaked will determine whether Magic Leap, the best-capitalized augmented-reality startup, will truly be able to join their ranks.
