what is it and what are the differences?

You have probably seen the terms virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). But what do they actually mean? And what’s the difference? You read it in our virtual reality vs augmented reality comparison!

Virtual reality vs augmented reality: these are the differences

Apple has been working behind the scenes for years on smart glasses, which could be called Apple View or Apple Glass. Actually we are talking about several products. The company may already release an AR / VR headset later this year, with which you can experience both virtual reality and augmented reality. More traditional glasses would follow around 2025, which are only suitable for AR. At an even later stage, Apple is rumored to even want to release smart contact lenses.

All well and good, but what good is that? And what’s the difference between VR and AR? High time for some explanation!

Virtual reality

The term virtual reality has been around since the 1950s. However, it did not become popular until the 80’s and 90’s. A movie like Johnny Mnemonic, which happens to be in 2021, showed what would become possible with VR in the future. In short, you step into a different world. The headsets that Keanu Reeves wears in this movie are quite similar in appearance to the devices that actually exist now.

Headsets such as the HTC Vive and the Oculus Quest completely cut you off from normal reality. The screens in these devices fill your field of vision with a game, movie or other virtual universe. It looks like you are really sitting in the cockpit of a jet fighter and you can ‘just’ look around you.

Many modern VR sets also have a so-called motion trackingsystem, which tracks your movements fairly precisely. This allows you to actually walk around in virtual reality. Space is often still quite limited at the moment, but will only increase in the future.

Augmented reality

A few years ago you regularly saw groups of children running after invisible animals. Those were the heyday of the Pokémon Go madness. Through the camera of their smartphone, players see the ‘normal’ world, but on the screen it seems as if virtual creatures are walking around in it. The location of these Pokémon is constantly changing. If it is a rare specimen, you sometimes have to run fast to ‘catch’ it.

Augmented reality therefore projects virtual elements onto normal reality. In the future, Pokémon Go will likely look hopelessly outdated. It is of course much nicer if you can wear AR glasses that let the Pokémon float in full size before your eyes. Then you no longer have to stare at the small screen of your smartphone.

However, the possibilities of augmented reality go much further than just playing games. If you are in London, AR glasses could show reviews of the restaurant you are passing by. Doctors can envision X-rays while operating on a patient. And navigation becomes much easier when you get visual information about the route to follow.

Conclusion

The comparison of virtual reality vs augmented reality is actually not that complicated. With virtual reality you step into a different world. With augmented reality you add digital elements to the normal world. Virtual reality probably appeals more to the imagination for many people. Still, augmented reality could be of greater significance to our daily lives. The practical possibilities of AR glasses are almost endless.

If Apple does indeed release a combined AR / VR headset, it will likely get transparent lenses. This way you can just look through it when you are working with augmented reality. If you switch to VR, they become projection screens. Such a headset is probably too bulky to walk on the street (for a long time). For that we have to wait for the AR glasses. It probably won’t be much bigger than a normal frame.

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The month of April is on the rise iPhoned in the theme of augmented reality and virtual reality. We will tell you everything about the future of these techniques, but also about the possibilities that already exist.