Magic Leap has entered a “multi-faceted, strategic technology partnership” with Google.
The companies say the partnership will combine Magic Leap’s “leadership in optics and manufacturing” with Google’s “technology platforms”.
Google was an initial investor in Magic Leap, leading a $542 million funding round back in 2014. Last year, Magic Leap and Meta were in negotiations for a contract manufacturing agreement for mainstream AR products. The partnership with Google suggests this fell through, though it’s possible the partnership is non-exclusive.
Samsung is also The Financial Times reported with Google powering the software, but Samsung’s device is expected to be a VR-style headset with passthrough cameras like Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3. Magic Leap, an AR headset manufacturer, has been majority-owned by Saudi Arabia for the past year.
If this is unfamiliar to you, Magic Leap was building a headset marketed as and sold in 2018 as the first transparent headset. The $2300 cost of the Magic Leap 1 and its limitations (even now) with transparent optics meant that it fell far short of expectations. In the end, Magic Leap sold only 6000 units during the first six months. It was only 6000 in six months. Magic Leap 2 was launched at $3300 last year, with
a larger field of vision, brighter screens, and dynamic segmented darkening.
Magic Leap 2’s state-of-the-art optical stack
Magic Leap 2 remains the best-in-class transparent AR headset on the market, and the company’s expertise in transparent AR is clearly what Google is looking to leverage.launchedThere isn’t much major competition in transparent optics AR though, as companies like Meta and Apple are taking the alternative approach of delivering AR via cameras on the front of VR-style opaque headsets instead, sometimes called mixed reality. Microsoft is the only major tech company that has invested in transparent optics. HoloLens 2, which was released almost four years ago, offers a much wider field of view and lower cost than waveguides. The Information reported enables a much wider field of view and lower cost than waveguides, but with the tradeoff that the view of the real world is lower quality.
Transparent AR optics will be needed to launch AR glasses though, which all the major tech companies eventually want to do.Magic Leap pivoted its strategy to enterpriseIn exchange for providing its AR optics expertise, Magic Leap could get access to Google’s services, including Chrome, Maps, the Play Store, its
computer vision tech, and leapfrogging HoloLens 2. Magic Leap could gain access to Google’s services, including Chrome, Maps and the Play Store in exchange for its expertise with AR optics.