Metaverse 2023: predictions for the year ahead

Includes overview of metaverse fashion, Apple's entry into AR, & the rise of the metaverse workplace

Inside.com Part of   Network January 04, 2023

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2022 was just the beginning. In 2023, expect metaverse fashion to continue to explode in popularity, especially among young users looking to express themselves with fashion online. According to a recent Roblox survey of 1,000 Gen Z users ages 14-24, digital fashion is essential to these users' metaverse experience. While the metaverse is still nascent, these figures reveal young users' hunger to showcase their individuality through fashion, even in virtual worlds. For instance, 75% of respondents said they plan to purchase avatar fashions, while 24% of users have already spent between $25-$100 on some clothing item. 40% of respondents claim they are more interested in their avatar's fashion choices than their own in real life. In general, users reported being more likely to connect with fellow Roblox users whose avatars they admire. Roblox found that 40% of active monthly users update their avatar monthly, while 18% update their avatar daily, and the company found that half of its users purchase items from brands they cannot afford in real life. As we move into the new year, it's essential to keep these statistics in mind, as there's little doubt these trends will reverse or go static any time soon.  More:  Lest we forget, in September 2022, a virtual interpretation of a designer gown sold for $5,000 on Roblox. The designer item appeared on Roblox moments after Karlie Kloss modeled the Carolina Herrera gown at New York Fashion Week.  Roblox creator Lovespun recreated the dress and sold a limited number of the wearable for just $5 each.  Roblox resalers began hawking the dress for ~$1,883, with the most expensive reselling for $5,000.  In 2022, several well-known fashion houses entered the metaverse or solidified their commitment to growing their brand in the immersive web.  Boy Meets Girl and House of Blueberry partnered to bring the former's iconic digital fashion onto the Roblox metaverse.  Gucci's briefly opened its Sandbox-based metaverse experience called "Gucci's Land Vault," a play-to-earn metaverse that awarded visitors for completing games and events.  Ralph Lauren debuted a new clothing collection on Fornite and in stores. A few weeks ago, Decentraland confirmed that Metaverse Fashion Week 2023 would occur on March 28-31.  The event will occur across three metaverses: Decentraland, Spatial, and OVER.

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Apple is expected to announce formally and perhaps even debut its mixed-reality (MR) headset in 2023. When Apple eventually enters the extended reality (XR) industry, it will likely transform the field as we know it. The company's highly anticipated foray into the space could bring more attention to the burgeoning industry and pique a broader group of more affluent consumers' interest. If the company does showcase its MR headset in 2023, Apple could reframe how we talk about XR and the metaverse. Apple CEO Tim Cook is notoriously reticent about the term metaverse, telling reporters, "I'm really not sure the average person can tell you what the metaverse is." Regardless of how the company describes the immersive web, Apple is eager to dominate the space. In 2022, the company secured several important patents while analysts uncovered new details about the company's forthcoming hardware.  More:  May 2022 was a busy month for the computing company. Apple secured new patents, analysts found evidence of a new XR operating system, and Tim Cook allegedly tested the company's forthcoming AR/VR glasses.   Apple was granted a new patent for a VR headset tailored to traveling in autonomous vehicles. The patent may mean Apple is also developing its own autonomous vehicle.  That same month, Apple allegedly used an anonymizing shell corporation to secure a trademark for an XR operating system called "RealityOS." Later that May, rumors of Apple's forthcoming headset made headlines.  Bloomberg, for instance, argued that the glasses would work alongside a user's iPhone, marking the company's first new product since the 2015 Apple Watch. In June 2022, analysts began suggesting that Apple's rumored MR device may run on the company's latest M2 chipset. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently suggested that the company's forthcoming headset will utilize the next-gen chip because it would require less cooling and therefore allow for a slimmer form factor.  Gurman suggested that the M2 chip would ship with an 8-core GPU and 16GB RAM.  By July, analysts were all, but certain Apple was preparing to debut an XR headset.  In a Twitter post, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he believes the company will release multiple versions of its forthcoming MR headset over the next five years. According to Kuo, the first-generation MR headset will be expensive and higher-end, and the second-generation HMD will include two models, one of which will be less costly than the first.  Kuo outlined his predictions in a medium post, concluding that the second-gen, more affordable headset will launch in the first half of 2025. We'll likely learn more about Apple's forthcoming headset in 2023 and that Apple will begin transforming the industry just as the iPhone transformed smartphones.  Most recently, Tim Cook told reporters, "Life without AR (augmented reality) will soon be unthinkable."

Over the past year, companies and startups have bet big on the metaverse workplace, a trend that will continue into 2023. Meta is especially interested in focusing on bringing workers into the metaverse. Meta's Quest headsets already support robust business operations and home office environments. In April, Meta's Quest headset update allowed users to transform their home office into a "mountain study" retreat. The virtual home office environment included several new features, such as the ability to share content using the Bluetooth-enabled "Share to Headset" feature and the option to organize virtual office furniture. Meta believes that virtual offices will "drive greater equity in the workplace." The company's virtual reality "Workplace" gives workers the opportunity to interact with co-workers as customizable avatars within a completely digital environment. One Meta executive argued that the program will be essential to democratizing the workplace because it grants a "sense of presence" to people who are not physically in the office or near their co-workers.  More:  Meta's workplace is an alternative to Slack, the text-focused, co-working platform. In their conversation with Insider, the Meta executive argued that the metaverse "is not just about putting on a VR headset" but about bringing people together in a meaningful way "that feels much more real." The executive also noted the importance of using avatars to explore and present "self-expression" in the workplace. In December 2022, Meta surveyed 2,000 employees and 400 "business leaders" in the U.S. and U.K. about their views concerning the future of remote work and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR).  Meta's findings indicate that most employees and leaders believe AR/VR will positively transform remote work.  According to their interviews, just 19% of employees consider video conferencing "engaging," and only 15% believe it increases collaboration. 66% of employees believe the metaverse could increase collaboration by creating an office-like environment virtually. 60% of employees told Meta that by 2024, VR will become more commonplace at work. 76% of interviewees told pollsters they are "excited" about introducing VR/AR to their work-life.  74% of business leaders have already invested in AR, metaverse, or VR technologies, while 80% plan to increase spending in these sectors over the next two years.  64% of business leaders worry they are falling behind in investing in these technologies.

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Quick Hits:  This year, try a resolution that sticks — going to therapy with BetterHelp. Save 25% off your first month.* Snap and Chipolte have partnered to create a customer AR Lens for Snapchat. The Lens encourages users to get moving with “Chipotle-inspired exercises.”  Lynx will begin shipping its VR headsets in March 2023 after originally telling Kickstarter supporters they would receive their headsets in Feb. 2022.  RealWear debuted its enterprise-grade, augmented reality headset, the Navigator 520, at the Consumer Electronics Show 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. *This is a sponsored post.

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Courtney Rawlings is an Inside Research Analyst living in Los Angeles, California. She has returned to her hometown of LA after spending several years working at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is completing a Ph.D. in Art and Architectural History. While working toward her Ph.D., Courtney has developed an interest in the language and history of the tech industry, especially regarding metaverse technologies, streaming, and podcasting. In fact, she hosted her own podcast Low Culture Boil!  You can find her on Twitter: @ckayerawlings  Email: courtney@inside.com Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords.

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