AR Driving Mobile Demand – Weekly Mashup 123

VR And AR Will Be Mobile’s Demand Driver, Not Its Replacement
TechCrunch

"With each of the six biggest global consumer technology companies now deeply invested and feverishly in development, VR/AR has become too big to fail. Facebook Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR (powered by Oculus), Google Cardboard and its Magic Leap investment (and perhaps even Google Glass’ second coming), Sony PlayStation VR and Microsoft HoloLens are public. And the eventual entry of Apple is presumed, given hiring headlines and Tim Cook’s pronouncement that VR is not a niche." Read More

Facebook Founds Team to Help People 'Connect and Share' in Virtual Reality
The Verge

"Facebook has formed an internal team to work on virtual reality, and it's pushing its own 360-degree video technology onto the Gear VR. The company announced today that the new group will research 'social VR,' including 'how people can connect and share using today's VR technology' and the long-term possibilities if VR develops as a computing platform." Read More

Astronaut Shows Off Microsoft HoloLens Augmented Reality in Space
Mashable

"You probably thought you'd already seen the geekiest moments from the International Space Station (ISS). But astronaut Scott Kelly just upped the ante by pulling off what we think is a first: augmented reality in space. We've had astronauts singing space-inspired rock songs, performing weightless experiments and even donning Star Trek uniforms from the confines of the ISS. But Kelly's AR use, via the Microsoft HoloLens, aboard the space station is truly taking geek cred to the next level." Read More

Uh-Oh, Apple — Samsung Has a Bona Fide Ecosystem Around Virtual Reality
Re/Code

"With virtual reality ... Samsung is off to the early lead. Alongside Sunday’s debut of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, the company is announcing the Gear 360 — a consumer camera for capturing virtual-reality content. That completes the VR circle, with its Gear VR headset, already the most accessible way to consumer virtual-reality content outside of Google’s ultra-cheap cardboard viewer, which is more for getting a taste of VR than long-term consumption." Read More