The adoption of augmented reality is taking big leaps forward this week!
Verizon expands 5G Home Internet and offers an AR solution for an easy setup, augmented reality disappeared from the Gartner's Hype Cycle, and, yes, another AR game to brighten our weekends!
This news ticks a couple of boxes when talking about AR's mass-adoption: the consumer-friendly 5G gear, and making the user's life easier with a simple application.
Beginning October 1, Verizon launched 5G Home Internet to new cities, bringing the blazing-fast 5G Home Internet service to customers with newly designed hardware, including easy self-setup using AR.
5G Internet Gateway is more advanced, allowing customers to experience peak speeds of up to 1 Gbps. That means multiple devices running at the same time for all connectivity needs. The new hardware comes with an augmented reality functionality for easy setup.
"Verizon's new 5G Internet Gateway is a game-changer for our customers. With people spending more time at home during these challenging times, the expansion of 5G Home Internet to new markets with new and improved hardware will provide customers with the flexibility and reliability to enjoy more digital experiences and increased productivity from the comfort of their home," said Frank Boulben, Verizon's SVP Consumer Marketing and Products.
What the US does, the world follows. Home 5G networks will allow us to utilize AR to its full potential. Let's hope this is the accelerating step towards 5G home internet coming to all homes soon.
Gartner's Hype Cycle is a tool where emerging technologies and their state is being watched. Two years ago, augmented reality was one of the most exciting ones, predicted to mature in 5-10 years. However, last year AR was wiped off the curve, and this year didn't bring it back.
So, AR isn't considered as an emerging technology anymore, but as a mature one, ready to rumble. That position is reinforced with Gartner's latest report. The report predicts multi-experience platforms, including augmented reality, being used in at least one-third of enterprises by 2021.
Now that the technology and its potential are industry-proofed, executives can safely improve and elevate their businesses with AR. It's no longer the technology of the future. It's the technology of today.
Maybe this isn't so much news, but it's still fun! An AR beer pong!
The game is called Cup Pong AR, and it was just released on both Android and iOS. Cup Pong AR uses Unity's AR Foundation for the cross-platform AR features, and Google's Cloud Anchors to render the shared digital table. The game also has three modes: Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer, and Single Player.
Check it out for free on the App Store and Google Play and pong away!
That's all for this week. See you next time!