A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) finds that the total number of MR (mixed reality) applications will reach 9 billion by 2022, rising from an estimated three billion in 2018, a growth rate of 212% over four years.
MR applications display overlaid digital objects that co-exist with the physical world alongside the ability to interact in real time. They display overlaid digital objects that co-exist with the physical world alongside the ability to interact in real time.
“MR content creators will concentrate on emulating the success of Niantic’s Pokémon Go,” says research author Sam Barker. “With these recent framework releases, app developers now have the tools needed to create the next big MR mobile application.”
In addition, Juniper forecasts that the number of social media applications offering MR services will exceed six billion by 2022, as platform providers seek new revenue streams. The research group also predicts that 98% of app revenues would be generated from advertising by 2022, as new models based on users’ location, such as geolocation filters, become the most successful.
Juniper predicts that the high data rates and ultra-low latency of 5G cellular networks will become pivotal, providing the underlying mobile connection needed for the provision of MR services in a mobile environment. What’s more, it found that digital voice assistants, such as Alexa and Google Assistant, would become the most prevalent user input method in the future. With the use of directional microphones or any form of linguistic programming, MR headsets will be able to detect a single user’s command, thus eliminating the possibility of command duplication across devices, according to Juniper.