Market Reality: AR Leaders Predict 2020, Nreal Fights Back, Elon Musk's Vision in AR, & Magic Leap's Boosters

As the year comes to a close, we've invited some of the leaders of the AR industry to take the time to look back at the progress the AR industry has made while looking forward to what's ahead in 2020. A report on the top apps of 2019 — and the decade — also offers some insights on the progress and direction of mobile AR.

One of the stories to watch for 2020 is the continuing legal battle between Magic Leap and Nreal. This week, the case took an interesting as the China-based startup went on offense.

Speaking of Magic Leap, Boosters is among a barrage of apps to arrive in Magic Leap World over the past month, and we had the opportunity to take it for a test flight. The AR headset also assisted Elon Musk's HyperloopTT team preview its innovative transportation technology via spatial computing.

Execs Prognosticate 2020 for the AR Industry

The year 2019 was filled with all the normal peaks and valleys of the tech business cycle, but this year was particularly important in a space as relatively young as the augmented reality industry.

We frequently offer our take on where the space is going, but we thought it would be valuable to pluck some of the top people working behind the scenes in the AR business to see exactly what they think about what happened this year, and what may be in store for 2020.

Read further as the leaders of PTC, Scope AR, Edgybees, North, and other AR companies reflect on 2019 and share their vision for 2020...

REALITY BITES: After creating a viral augmented reality moment during the Thursday Night Football broadcast of their game last week against the New York Jets, the Baltimore Ravens gave its fans a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the experience. Created in collaboration with fan experience agency The Famous Group, it took fifteen people to control the giant virtual raven at the center of the experience.

Nreal Founder Fires Back at Magic Leap as Lawsuit Drama Thickens

In a stunning end-of-year twist to the Magic Leap versus Nreal legal saga, the China-based startup is now filing a motion against Magic Leap.

Documents detailing the motion were filed on Monday with the US Northern District Court of California. The documents state that Chi Xu, the founder of Nreal, is now formally calling for the case to be dismissed.

Continue reading for more details and what's next in the legal saga...

REALITY BITES: GigXR has acquired the immersive learning division of Pearson Group. The deal, which reportedly cost GigXR $1 million, bulks up the startup's AR assets for learning and training solutions.

Be a Rocket Man with 'Boosters' on Magic Leap One

We're a few weeks away from the fireworks associated with New Year's celebrations, but that doesn't mean you can't start a little early — in augmented reality.

The team at Weta Workshop, recently released a small immersive game called Boosters that they created for a little office fun, so we decided to take it for a spin to see how it works and found a couple of cool surprises.

Keep reading for our impressions on Boosters as we take it on a stroll through New York City's Central Park...

REALITY BITES: Brain-control interfaces (BCIs) might represent the future of AR input devices, but one startup is ahead of the curve with the technology. On Wednesday, Neurable announced that it has raised $6 million in a Series A round to develop a BCI device designed for "everyday wear."

AR Apps Among the Most Downloaded of 2019

If there's any lingering uncertainty as to the mainstream viability of augmented reality, a list of the top mobile apps and games of 2019 serves to dispell those doubts.

Of the top 10 most downloaded apps of 2019 according to app analytics service App Annie, six include augmented reality features. That list includes the top two apps, Facebook Messenger and Facebook, with Instagram at number five and Snapchat at number eight.

Continue reading to find out which other AR apps rank among the top apps of 2019 and the decade...

REALITY BITES: This week, Unity added support for the XR Interaction Toolkit in a preview for Unity 2019.3. The toolkit is considered experimental for AR, but it enables developers to add object interactions, object placement, and UI interactions for AR experiences.

Magic Leap Gives HyperloopTT Team the Tools to Bring Elon Musk's Vision to AR

While Elon Musk is in Los Angeles showing off the future of personal transport via the Cybertruck, another, unaffiliated group is taking one of his most popular ideas to market, with augmented reality as a key part of the plan.

This week, the HyperloopTT team unveiled its detailed plans for its next-generation commuter rail system, using the Magic Leap One as a tool to show off how the system will work.

Read on to see how Magic Leap assisted the hyperloop team with selling the future of transportation...

Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This weekly Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. Check out previous editions of Market Reality for more news you may have missed.