After just 2 days, I'm leaving #GDC18 pretty energized! So, I started thinking about what a non-dystopic AR future could look like (are there any?)
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It seems to me that the rise of AR could treat ~physical spaces~ like we do platforms like iOS/Android as well as Xbox/PS4/etc.
For decades, technology has fought to tear down limitations brought upon by geography. It brought us the internet, remote work, social networks, etc.
But what if travel became universally accessible and new technologies embraced navigating the ~real~ world (wide web) to experience it?
I could imagine "kitchen AR" apps that only work in the kitchen, or a "park AR app" that requires users to be outside in an open field.
As the tools we use become more and more cross-platform (React, WebVR, Unity, etc) the use cases could be the dividing line between apps.
AR apps could compete not for the space in your phone's home screen but the physical spaces you inhabit every day.
Brands could aim to "own" a space; Samsung could own your kitchen, while Apple "owns" your living room, and Uber "owns" your commute.
The physical spaces around us could also morph to adjust to this new AR ecosystem; TVs will dissapear and outdoor advertising will be hyper-targetted.
Maybe this leads to more single-use apps, instead of the one-app-that-does-everything model that juggernauts like Facebook can't seem to eacape.
Maybe apps could stop pretending they're a destination, with esoteric etiquettes, disconnected from the real world (you're silly on Snapchat, even if everything around you is not)
Instead, AR apps could rely on the etiquette of the physical space that's inhabited by the user at any given time. This could incentivize users to navigate the real world like they navigate the apps on their phone.
Feeling productive? Head out to the AR Library. Want to be entertained? Join your friends at the AR Lounge.
This may seem inefficient at first, but advancements in transportation (self driving cars, hyperloops) and the continued urbanization of societies could make this feasible.
Maybe not.
Maybe we'll recede back to moving our thumbs and eventually our neurons to experience the world.
But, what if we didn't?
Maybe we'll recede back to moving our thumbs and eventually our neurons to experience the world.
But, what if we didn't?
