Amazon is the latest tech giant to venture into the space of augmented reality (AR). The company has opened up several job listings for a “new-to-world smart-home product” that uses XR/AR technology, reported Protocol. XR, or extended reality, is a term that encompasses both virtual reality (VR) and AR.
While there aren’t many details available on what this product might be, details are relatively sparse on the job listings as well (some of which have already been closed as well). The listing for senior technical program manager, new products, stated that those chosen “will develop an advanced XR research concept into a magical and useful new-to-world consumer product.”
A listing for software engineer, XR/AR, XR/AR devices, which has already closed, read that the responsibilities include “conceiving and developing key software and architecture for a new-to-world smart-home product” and “developing code for early prototypes through mass production.”
Others in AR/XR business
Amazon is just the latest big tech name to join in the race to make AR/XR devices. Facebook-owner Meta Platforms already sells the Oculus Quest 2, one of the more popular VR headsets out in the market, and has even partnered with RayBan to sell smart glasses that it started selling in September 2021. The company now plans to launch its first AR headset by 2024.
Microsoft has also been selling its own popular VR headset, the HoloLens, though reports from February suggested that the company had scrapped its HoloLens 3 project over a lack of clear vision in the company.
At the same time, giants like Google, Apple and even Snapchat have reportedly been working on their own XR devices for years but still only expect to launch their devices in 2024, while Snapchat’s device was announced in May 2021 but is not available to the public yet.
