After many years of hard work and mystery, the first version of the “mixed reality” glasses Magic Leap has been introduced to some lucky testers in the United States. What should we expect from this new product? A real revolution or a simple buzz? Will this headset really bring a better “mixed reality” experience compared to the Microsoft HoloLens ?

 

Many articles have appeared on the web lately. We prepared a summary of the first impressions on the Magic Leap.

 

For a total of $ 2295, you can get the Lightwear glasses, a mini-computer Lightwear and a controller. As a comparison, Microsoft HoloLens were sold at $ 3000 for the development edition. First impressions on the Magic Leap are not amazing, even if the headset offers the best experience in terms of augmented reality until now. While colors, high-resolution control and display technologies are probably not to be overlooked, the headset offers a very limited field of view (50 °) covering only a part of the real world, although it is clearly larger than the Hololens’ field of view. This means that what users see through the headset is not as wide as the space they are in, some large objects are even cut off unless you step back or turn your head.

 

Magic Leap and HoloLens both struggle to map black objects. However, a tester states that Magic Leap seems to fail more than its competitor who at least tries to map them. Another problem is that you can not take a screenshot of what you can see through the headset, the holograms become blurry once they have passed the device.

 

From a practical point of view, the helmet is considered comfortable and adaptable, just like any other current helmets, but they are not adapted to the people wearing glasses, obliging them to wear lenses or to deprived them.

 

Today we can find apps such as Tonandi or Abductor. Tonandi is an augmented reality music app and Abductor is a creator tool to scan a room. What is clear is that the Magic Leap One was initially launched for developers who want to create their first apps or experiences.

 

Tonandi

Tonandi

 

The immersion is apparently not as remarkable as with the best virtual reality helmets. Magic Leap is a product of augmented reality though, placing virtual objects in the real world rather than immersing people in a completely virtual world.

 

So, the headset could be an attractive pioneer for well-known high-tech companies desiring to develop their own apps. Magic Leap could eventually be used to develop solutions for pharmaceutical, manufacturing or architecture industries. Currently, the Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality headset is being adopted by Ford or Volvo to design or explore new cars. Will Magic Leap also succeed in integrating a B to B market? Coming soon…

 

All in all, we were able to read that the Magic Leap does not seem to be as magical as announced, even if the headset should not be neglected. Users were expecting a real revolution but it turns out they have experienced nothing new. Rony Abovitz, the founder of the company, confirmed in an interview that this is only a first edition and that progress is forthcoming, particularly to address the limited field of vision and the high price. We may thus expect the second edition to be more promising than the first.

 

Expert in innovative apps on any type of interface, Tapptic is also working on augmented reality, from smartphones or via headsets such as HoloLens on which we carry out successful industrial projects. We will be able to provide you with more information about the Magic Leap once we have the device in our hands.

 

Stay tuned.