Tech
Apple may launch mixed reality device this year — but we’re not scared, HTC CEO says
Joan Cros | Nurphoto | Nurphoto via Getty Images
Speaking with CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, HTC CEO and co-founder Cher Wang said the Cupertino tech giant was likely to launch a mixed reality, or XR, product “very soon” — potentially as soon as this year. XR refers to technologies that blend the physical and digital worlds.
“I think the earliest [release date] may be middle or later this year,” Wang said.
The company will likely prioritize such a device over augmented reality glasses, she added.
Apple did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
It has reportedly indefinitely paused plans to launch AR glasses by 2025. The company has long been rumored to be working on its own virtual and augmented reality experiences. In January, Bloomberg reported that it is gearing up to release a mixed reality headset in the spring.
Apple often holds off on getting into a particular product trend or feature until long after other firms. For instance, the iPhone didn’t get a camera with two lenses until 2017, years after HTC introduced a dual camera with its HTC One M8 handset in 2014.
“Apple is always more cautious. I think the market is now big enough [that] they probably will enter,” Wang said.
But when Apple does eventually make its way into a new product category, it tends to “redefine the way that everyone thinks about an opportunity,” according to Leo Gebbie, principal analyst for connected devices at CCS Insight.
Neil Shah, research vice president of Counterpoint Research, told CNBC: “XR is the newest form of how we can interact differently with the world and can change the paradigm of personal computing.”
“Apple and the entire industry realizes the potential and hence want to enter and eventually lead this segment,” he added.
XR competition is fierce
Earlier this week, a Samsung executive said that the South Korean electronics giant is “working out” its mixed reality strategy. Microsoft has its own mixed reality headset, called HoloLens. On Monday, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi took the wraps off of a prototype set of augmented reality glasses.
That will mean more competition for HTC. In the second quarter of 2022, the company shipped over 100,000 XR devices, according to data from Counterpoint Research, up by 158% from 40,000 shipments in the same period a year prior. But its market share remains relatively small.
If anything, Wang thinks that moves from Apple, Meta, Samsung and others in the space will boost the overall adoption of mixed reality devices, which she sees as a boon to HTC’s business.
“It’s really proven that our direction is correct,” she said. “Competition is always good.”
Once a major player in the smartphone market, HTC has staked its future on the merging of virtual and physical worlds. In January, the company launched its Vive XR Elite device, a lightweight headset focused on gaming, fitness and productivity, at a $1,099 price point.
HTC sold a chunk of its smartphone business to Google in 2018 for $1.1 billion.
Betting on the ‘metaverse’
The bet long term is that these devices will be how we interact with a mass-scale virtual world known as the “metaverse.” HTC has its own so-called metaverse, named HTC Viverse, and the company talked up its ambitions in this area at the show this week.
“The metaverse is kind of growing in a state where so many social media companies and walled garden companies are trying to build it out themselves,” Shen Ye, HTC’s global head of product, told CNBC. “Our goal is to make sure it’s as open and interconnected as possible.”
Buzz around the metaverse has died down lately, as the initial hype surrounding Meta’s involvement has been wearing off. Worldwide shipments of VR headsets as well as augmented reality devices sales sank over 12% last year, according to IDC data.
Companies have instead steered toward artificial intelligence, the new in-vogue tech topic that has been catapulted to the top of industry insiders’ favorite trends by ChatGPT, a popular AI chatbot. At MWC, South Korean telecoms firm SKTelecom had a big sign that read “AI METAVERSE.”
Donning one of HTC’s XR devices, users can immerse themselves in virtual spaces or interact with 3D objects in the physical space surrounding them.
In one experience shown off at MWC, people were invited to try out their boxing skills. A grid of nine black circles appears, and you were scored on how quickly you could punch them as they lit up red one after the other in a random order.
Beyond the consumer space, HTC sees its technology offering applications in more commercial and industrial settings. The company is working with the United States Air Force and police departments to carry out virtual training experiences, Wang said.
WATCH: ChatGPT a ‘milestone’ for Qualcomm as it showcases A.I. smartphone capability, CEO says
Tech
‘Inundated with requests’: Digital currency firms look to Swiss banks after crypto-friendly lenders fail
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Some of these companies have turned to crypto-friendly Swiss banks, flooding them with requests for banking services, according to multiple industry insiders who spoke to CNBC.
related investing news
Typically, the crypto industry has found it difficult to access banking services from traditional lenders, who don’t want to touch anything that does not have a clear regulatory framework. This has included blockchain and crypto firms, who have instead had to turn to specialist banks.
But with two of the biggest lenders, along with SVB, now out of the picture, cryptocurrency firms have turned to Switzerland, which has sought to market itself as a crypto hub with solid regulation.
“We have been inundated with requests,” said an advisor at a private Swiss bank, who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the matter.
The advisor said on the Monday after Silvergate and Signature Bank’s winddown this month, the private lender had more requests in a single day than ever before.
“It is just nuts,” the advisor said.
U.S., non-Europe firms look to Switzerland
Dominic Castley, chief marketing officer at Sygnum, one of Switzerland’s biggest banks that is focused on servicing digital asset companies, said it is seeing an influx of enquiries.
“Over the past weeks as the current banking industry events have unfolded, we have seen a significant increase in onboarding enquiries from various international locations,” Castley said, adding that Sygnum’s location in both Switzerland and Singapore is attractive to companies.
Sygnum has a Swiss banking license and a capital markets services license in Singapore, bringing it under the purview of regulators.
One Switzerland-based advisor to financial technology companies, who also preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the situation, said that has been “a lot more inflow from U.S. customers” to Swiss banks.
An executive at a European trading firm, meanwhile, said their company had been seeing “non-Europe based entities” making enquiries for new banking relationships. The executive, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the topic, said these firms include crypto-focused hedge funds and venture capital firms.
Castley said interest is “mainly coming from investors, asset managers and blockchain projects looking to diversify their crypto investments with a trusted Swiss partner like Sygnum Bank.”
Switzerland’s other major lender that deals with the digital assets industry — SEBA Bank — did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Switzerland’s crypto-friendly stance
Part of why companies are seeking out Swiss banks is the country’s regulation which is welcoming to cryptocurrency firms in need of a stable operating environment.
The country has created what locals dub “Crypto Valley” in the region of Zug, just outside the Swiss capital Zurich, where start-ups and more established digital currency firms have set up shop.
In 2021, the government introduced a regulation on companies using so-called “distributed electronic register technology” or blockchain, which originated with the cryptocurrency bitcoin but has since evolved.
Thierry Arys Ruiz, CEO of Swiss-based blockchain firm AgAu.io, said Switzerland is “more stable” and there is “more certainty to what the rules are.”
The anonymous advisor at the private Swiss bank said that companies are coming to Switzerland to be in a “safer jurisdiction” for crypto regulation.
Filming from Washington, D.C., Chew emphasized the large scale of TikTok users, small and medium-sized businesses and its own employees based in the U.S. that rely on the company. The message may preview his appeal to lawmakers Thursday, where he will be faced with questions about the ability of its Chinese parent company ByteDance, and the Chinese government, to access U.S. user information collected by the app.
TikTok says it has worked to create a risk mitigation plan to ensure that U.S. data doesn’t get into the hands of a foreign adversary through its app. The company has said U.S. user data is already stored outside of China.
But many lawmakers and intelligence officials seem to remain unconvinced that the information can be safe while TikTok is owned by a Chinese company. TikTok said last week that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which is reviewing risks related to the app, is pushing for ByteDance to sell its stake or face a ban.
Chew disclosed in the video that TikTok has more than 150 million monthly active users, or MAUs, in the U.S., representing massive growth from August 2020, when it said for the first time that it has about 100 million MAUs in the country. That number includes 5 million businesses that use the app to reach their customers, with most of those being small or medium-sized businesses. He also said TikTok has 7,000 U.S.-based employees.
“This comes at a pivotal moment for us,” Chew said, referencing lawmakers’ threats of a TikTok ban. “This could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you.”
Chew then appealed to users directly to share in the comments what they want their representatives to know about why they love TikTok.
‘Inundated with requests’: Digital currency firms look to Swiss banks after crypto-friendly lenders fail
Juri Ueno Returns as Nodame for Nodame Cantabile Musical
Coinbase Petitions SEC on Staking
Walmart-owned Sam’s Club plans to open about 30 new stores over next five years
22/7 Project’s Reina Miyase Graduates From Franchise
NBUniversal expects Peacock losses to peak this year as streamer slowly adds subscribers
Watch: Bride Arrives At Wedding Venue In Madhya Pradesh Driving Tractor
In September 2022, ‘The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’ will be released for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
Dhaakad Day 1 Box Office Report: Kangana Ranaut’s film debuts poorly in front of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 by Kartik Aaryan.
-
Business2 months agoWalmart-owned Sam’s Club plans to open about 30 new stores over next five years
-
Anime & Manga2 months ago22/7 Project’s Reina Miyase Graduates From Franchise
-
Business2 months agoNBUniversal expects Peacock losses to peak this year as streamer slowly adds subscribers
-
Odisha News2 months agoKnow the 2023 Padma Shri awardees from Odisha
-
Politics2 months agoCongress leaders slam Punjab government for not granting R-Day remission to Navjot Singh Sidhu
-
Odisha News2 months agoHockey World Cup 2023: India thump listless Japan
-
Anime & Manga2 months agoCompile Heart Teases New Hyperdimension Neptunia Shooting Game
-
Fashion2 months agoAelis Couture Spring 2023
You must be logged in to post a comment Login
You must log in to post a comment.