China's Oppo debuts 'mixed reality' headset as Apple, Microsoft explore similar devices

Important Points

Microsoft, Apple and other technology giants are focusing on Augmented and Mixed Reality because of its potential.

Oppo, a Chinese electronics company, debuted its mixed reality headset Wednesday. This is an area that has been of great interest to U.S. tech companies Microsoft and Apple.

Oppo MR Glass Developer Edition allows developers to build apps and explore the possibilities of mixed reality. The headset runs Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2 Plus processor.

Mixed reality is a term that refers to both virtual and augmented realities (AR). Wearing a headset, people can see digital images and videos superimposed on the real world.

Oppo believes that mixed reality will be the next platform to replace smartphones.

CNBC reported that Xu Yi is the director of Oppo's XR Technology.

Oppo's AR glasses have been in development for several years. It released its latest version, the Oppo Air Glass 2, last year. The device is a pair of standard glasses.

The MR Glass Developer Edition is a larger headset with controllers that allow users to interact with what they see.

Xu acknowledges that a number of things need to be improved for mixed reality to "be a real or successful product," including technology and applications. .

"Everyone wants to do AR, but the technology may not be there yet. It could take several years," Xu said.

Oppo wants to encourage developers to develop the apps that will make mixed-reality popular. In the second half, the company will offer its headset to developers in China. The company said that it does not have plans to release the headset commercially.

Xu stated that mixed reality would eventually lead to full AR. This technology is still in its infancy, and it has not yet developed into a product for mass market. Xu imagines that an AR device will be worn by the user all day.

"AR will look like smartphones." Xu stated that the size of the smartphone market will be comparable one day to AR because it is idealized as something you can wear all day with all its functionalities.

A global focus on AR and mixed realities is a result of the potential. Microsoft's HoloLens is a mixed reality device. A senior executive from Samsung said to CNBC that the company was working on a roadmap for their own mixed reality devices. Chinese tech firm Xiaomi unveiled its own AR headset in 2018.

Apple is also said to have been working on its headset for quite some time. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple's parent company, explained in an interview with GQ earlier this year why people may want to use a mixed-reality headset in the near future.

Cook tells GQ