AR headsets extend smartphones

What: Nreal, a Chinese hardware company, is launching a “light” AR headset that looks like a pair of sunglasses to support applications such as Spatial. Nreal connects to your smartphone and acts as a new form factor extension. The company is hopeful that the more lightweight headset will “speed up the adoption of remote work”.     

So What: Nreal is just one of many VR/AR hardware companies that are seeing an increase in demand and funding as COVID-19 grounds the workforce. As money is pouring into the hardware industry, the headsets themselves are becoming cheaper and more commercially available on the market. 

Deep Dive:
https://www.nreal.ai/
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/ar-vr-and-new-age-tech-companies-report-increase-in-demand-as-covid-19-grounds-workforce/articleshow/74871031.cms
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/a-major-ar-startup-stumbled-but-users-are-flocking-to-the-technology

This article is part of Emerging Futures of Remote Work – An Institute for the Future Signals Report for The Remote Lab