Liệu quyền lực của Big Tech trong thị trường XR mới nổi có cản trở sự thành công của các công ty khởi nghiệp?

Liệu quyền lực của Big Tech trong thị trường XR mới nổi có cản trở sự thành công của các công ty khởi nghiệp?

Sự hòa trộn ranh giới giữa thế giới thực và thế giới ảo đã nằm trong tâm trí của các ông lớn công nghệ trong nhiều thập kỷ. Dự án Google Glass có thể đã đi trước thời đại, nhưng nó đã không thành công. Hiện nay, Google đang dốc toàn lực vào thực tế hỗn hợp với hệ điều hành Android XR được công bố vào cuối năm ngoái. Hệ điều hành dựa trên Android này có thể hỗ trợ các thiết bị đeo kiểu Meta Quest và sẽ hỗ trợ các công nghệ nhẹ hơn như kính thông minh trong thời gian tới. Sự tham gia mạnh mẽ của Google, cùng với các công ty công nghệ khổng lồ khác như Meta (trước đây là Facebook) và Apple, đang đặt ra câu hỏi về cơ hội tồn tại và phát triển của các công ty khởi nghiệp trong thị trường thực tế mở rộng (XR) đang nổi lên nhanh chóng. Việc các “gã khổng lồ” này sở hữu nguồn lực tài chính khổng lồ, nền tảng công nghệ tiên tiến và mạng lưới phân phối rộng khắp đặt các startup vào thế bất lợi cạnh tranh.

Khó khăn mà các startup gặp phải không chỉ nằm ở khía cạnh tài chính, mà còn ở việc tiếp cận các công nghệ cốt lõi, nguồn dữ liệu cần thiết cho việc phát triển ứng dụng và thiết bị XR. Hơn nữa, sự thống trị của các hệ điều hành và nền tảng do Big Tech kiểm soát có thể tạo ra rào cản đáng kể đối với sự tích hợp và tương thích của các sản phẩm do startup phát triển. Điều này dẫn đến tình trạng “khóa chặt” (lock-in) người dùng, khiến việc cạnh tranh trở nên khó khăn hơn.

Tuy nhiên, không phải tất cả đều bi quan. Một số startup vẫn đang tìm thấy những khoảng trống trong thị trường và đạt được thành công bằng cách tập trung vào các phân khúc thị trường cụ thể, phát triển các giải pháp độc đáo hoặc hợp tác với các công ty lớn. Sự phát triển nhanh chóng của công nghệ XR cũng mở ra nhiều cơ hội mới cho sự đổi mới và cạnh tranh. Tuy nhiên, cần có một sự cân bằng giữa sự phát triển của công nghệ và sự công bằng trong cạnh tranh để đảm bảo rằng thị trường XR không bị chi phối hoàn toàn bởi một vài “gã khổng lồ” công nghệ. Việc thúc đẩy sự cạnh tranh lành mạnh, tạo điều kiện thuận lợi cho các startup tiếp cận nguồn lực và hỗ trợ phát triển sẽ là chìa khóa để thị trường XR phát triển bền vững và đa dạng.

#BigTech #XR #ThựcTếMởRộng #Startup #CôngNghệ #CạnhTranh #Meta #Google #Apple #AndroidXR #ThịTrườngCôngNghệ

Blurring the line between the real and virtual worlds has been on tech giants’ minds for decades. The Google Glass project may have been ahead of its time, but it failed to take off. Now, the company is taking another wholehearted swing at mixed reality, with the Android XR operating system announced late last year. This Android-based OS can power headsets styled like the Meta Quest and is geared to support lighter tech like smart glasses in due course.

With big tech’s foundational software in place and a few independent players operating with custom solutions, any new entrant can create bespoke software best suited for their headsets and glasses or to match step with Google. Moreover, the reason Google waited so long before re-entering the space remains a mystery. To answer these questions, talk about the industry, and get a low-down from a start-up’s perspective, we sought an attendance with Himanshu Verma, one of the co-founders of Mustard Glasses.

The emerging brand aims to create smart glasses that are an accessory to life, featuring an AI assistant, speakers, cameras, and microphones, all paired with a customizable app ecosystem for a delightful user experience. The brand was also an exhibitor at CES 2025 in Las Vegas in the SolidWorks 3DS pavilion, a software used extensively for developing the hardware and PCBs. Here’s more from the horse’s mouth.

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                    An introduction to Mustard Glasses
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        A new entrant in the mixed reality space
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Starting with the origins, I asked Himansu where the idea of Mustard Glasses came from. He said, “I used to work at Indian audio brand Boat, where I was responsible for shipping nearly two million units to consumers, and there, I understood that consumer interaction was shifting from smartphones — a cause that resonated with me. Smartphones are useful and indispensable, but also overwhelming, so Mustard Glasses wants to offer an intuitive way to interact with these apps we love, without overwhelming us.

“We have created a platform with developer tools and a versatile AI assistant. So far, we have developed glasses without a display, which consumers would find more acceptable. We plan to add an augmented reality display this year, once the tech is widely accepted.”

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Considering that headset and mixed reality buyers didn’t warm up to the idea of the Apple Vision Pro a year after its launch, I sought clarity on the potential Himanshu saw in Mustard. “In the next five years, I’m thinking Mustard glasses should handle more tasks than phones can do now. It would make the next generation of devices smarter, and a lot of hardware in the past didn’t foster an ecosystem of developers for applications.”

Hardware capabilities are an important precursor to the software these glasses run. As a primer, Himanshu explained “Mustard Glasses are powered by a dual-core ARM processor and a Bluetooth SoC. The former runs Android, while the latter is programmed with Embedded C. Together, they handle operations like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Camera, speakers, and the mic. The companion app is built on Flutter, and we use Python for the web, but developer feedback we received suggests we strongly focus on native platforms. So, in the next two months, we plan to support Kotlin and Swift too.”

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                    Thoughts on the Google XR Unlocked event
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        Shedding light on the challenges hardware brands face
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Late last year, Google took the wraps off Android XR and announced that Samsung’s Project Moohan will be the first headset with the new OS. The Search titan also announced other hardware partners active in the segment. Talking about his initial reactions, Himanshu said, “It was a sigh of relief for me because I’ve been advocating that XR is going to become a huge enabler, with AI serving as an interaction layer, and Google validated our hypothesis.

“However, the one thing I dislike and worry about is that Google could go the Wear OS route with Android XR, despite being a champion of OS for developers. By that, I mean operating systems are heavily reliant on SoC partners, and if Google chooses to limit support or the scope for integrations on Android XR…” he trailed off. Switching to more positive thoughts, Himanshu outlined the average hardware start-up’s hopes of Google, saying, “The new player needs clarity on the specs needed to support Android XR; otherwise, they risk going in a tangential direction to the industry.”

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Himanshu clarified that Google’s presentation said anyone building apps for Android is also building for Android XR because of the shared libraries. However, “there are a lot of early innovations that don’t just stem from app development on the software front. New use cases come from pushing the envelope with hardware design for new peripherals, and that’s where Google needs to provide support. Once the tech is commoditized, it is easier for new entrants, but in the early stages (as XR is in now), the company needs to improve visibility of the compatibility criterion by at least 100x.”

The issue Himanshu highlights boils down to how Google is geared software-first, and often relies on partners for new products, like Samsung for XR and earlier, LG for the Nexus line, which paved the way for our favorite Pixel phones. Again, using Wear OS as an example, he mentioned how Google’s first-party partners like Samsung got updates early, and other brands like Fossil could only follow suit around a year later.

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He mentioned that Google hasn’t closed off the app ecosystem, but consumers have to put up with delays to enjoy their most-loved software bits on gadgets of their choice or cope and cough up a premium for first-party partner tech. The result is a plethora of possibilities for Android devices, including screen-less gadgets like the Rabbit R1, while Wear OS watches are a tiny subset of the smartwatch category. Worries about the same thing happening to Android XR are well-founded because history is seemingly repeating itself, with the South Korean major joining forces again.

Do partnerships give big players a competitive edge?

Why is Samsung almost always the first-mover?

Nobody would frown on hardware partners that enabled technological advancement. However, these partnerships give certain large corporations a competitive edge in the market. Google announced several hardware partners for XR on stage, but smaller brands like Himanshu’s are legitimately concerned.

“It’s like the chicken-egg problem for OEMs — you need good sales volumes to get early access to software goodies from Google, but to rake in those sales, you need that early access. This has been continuing because smartphones are still the gateway devices to new tech, including headsets and smart glasses, which sync with them. Any company controlling the OS dictates the user experience, and besides early access to the software for optimization, established partners like Samsung also have access to the technical specifications required to clear the threshold required by these software updates. This way, the brand also enjoys tier-1 support when conceptualizing a new peripheral like smart glasses.”

Compounded together, these early-stage partners get priority access to the new platform. In Android XR’s case, Himanshu worries that “anyone releasing products after these partners is perceived as a copycat by the consumer. Alternatively, you incur expenses and waste precious time developing an equivalent independently for the same software platform.”

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                    Control that extends beyond partnerships
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        Influencing the very standards the industry uses
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Jules Wang / AP

In our discussion, Himanshu dove deeper into how titans of the industry also have leverage over the standards everyone else follows and the governing bodies for said standards. What benefits come from such activities? It would give these companies the power to put out new products or establish new categories without tinkering much with an SoC that works, or current Bluetooth and Wi-Fi standards, reducing the engineering effort.

“Let’s take Google Fast Pair as an example. In my experience, Google prioritizes delivering such a feature to a Tier-1 partner at their behest, and the SoC partners are looped in to make it happen. Once the feature is on the market, the SoC partner offers the same feature to tier-2 and 3 Google partners, who would understandably want something like Fast Pair, too. However, brands not using the priority partner silicon need to wait for other SoC brands to strike a deal with Google, or do that hard work themselves, since Google controls the OS and, thus, device interactions.

We shouldn’t be concerned about standardization in the XR space at this juncture.

“While this system of operating is the norm for Google now, and perhaps a favorable monetization strategy too, the consumer sees some brands as pioneers, and others being late to implement the same conveniences.” With standards thus perceived as a hindrance, I sought Himanshu’s thoughts on whether Google and its partners are creating a lovable product first and focusing on democratizing it for other players or if standardization is an undercurrent already, but the development around XR isn’t too concerned about it yet. To my surprise, he sided with the latter.

“We shouldn’t be concerned about standardization in the XR space at this juncture, I think. Once those come in, the requisite certifications become a barrier of entry for an innovative new player looking to enter the market. After all, you don’t want to see VR catering to the same use cases it does today, even after three years.”

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                    A corrective and open course of action
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        Can big tech avoid the follies that foiled Google Glass?
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If Google reads this, I hope the company holds on to the idea of XR for at least five years.

“Google has to focus on transparency with devices in the XR space today — standards they follow, clearances required, the recommended hardware, etc. The partnership with OpenXR is an amazing step in the right direction for the company because its work is greatly detailed and well-documented. I have huge respect for how Google handled Android development overall, and we reap the benefits of that even today, but Wear OS was a nightmare that prevented several popular watch brands from ever even creating smartwatches.

“With total control of the Android XR OS today, Google shoulders a huge responsibility to ensure this endeavor goes in the right direction.” When the gravity of these circumstances dawned on us from a developer’s standpoint, I was legitimately concerned about Android XR’s longevity. There’s a nonzero chance Google will pull the plug like it did with Google Glass all those years ago, and I remain concerned that for the average smartphone user, mixed reality is still unjustifiably expensive. While that’s true for all first-generation tech until the economies of scale have an effect, it could accelerate Google’s tendency to shutter the project. Here’s what Himanshu had to say when I voiced these concerns.

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Currently, developers have the choice of sticking with the stability of Android for their mixed reality ambitions, or risking it with Android XR, which could leave them scrambling for a solution if shut down. “That’s a valid concern, and many players are waiting and watching today. We are doing just that at Mustard too, even though we may have an XR-based version we’ve started working on. If Google reads this, I hope the company holds on to the idea of XR for at least five years instead of just looking at the ROI or sheer volume of apps available in the ecosystem and devices shipped.

“If anyone expects a drastic shift in two-three years, it’s not going to happen. Stabilizing the collaboration with Samsung will take at least a year, followed by Tier-2 and 3 vendor partners. Consumer feedback will then follow before the industry collectively figures out sustainable use cases to drive sales volumes. Being transparent about expectations from app devs and hardware brands working on XR is the first step for the Search giant.

Ideally, any independent hardware developer, no matter how small, should enjoy the same level of support Google currently provides to brands like Samsung. Historical errors shouldn’t be repeated.”

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