In a recent interview, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel criticized Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse as “ambiguous and hypothetical.” According to Spiegel, “people really enjoy spending time together in reality.”
In a recent interview with the Guardian, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel had some choice words to say about Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse concept. Spiegel spoke to the Guardian as part of an announcement of his company’s new Pixy miniature drone designed to capture selfies. Spiegel explained why his company was doubling down on real-life experiences instead of a virtual metaverse.
“The reason why we don’t use that word is because it’s pretty ambiguous and hypothetical,” said Spiegel. “Just ask a room of people how to define it, and everyone’s definition is totally different.” Speaking to the Verge, Spiegel said that companies advertising metaverse products “are really talking about something that doesn’t exist yet.”
Spiegel stated that Snap was focusing on augmented reality rather than virtual reality, digital extensions to the real world. Spiegel noted that this is where he thinks the future is headed as “there are 250 million people engaging with AR every day in just the Snapchat application.”
Spiegel and Zuckerberg both seem to believe that AR glasses will be popular one day, with Zuckerberg calling them the “holy grail” device and Speigel stating that they will be key to overlaying computer elements in the world around you. Facebook is aiming to release its first AR glasses in 2024 but Snap already has AR glasses being tested at the moment.
Spiegel told the Verge: “Our fundamental thesis and our big bet is on the real world, and that people really enjoy spending time together in reality. And that computing can really enhance that, [and] make that more fun and contribute to shared experiences.”
He added: “But, ultimately, people are going to spend the vast majority of their time in the world because it’s really a wonderful place…And that’s why we talk with a lot of specificity about the products we have today, about the solutions that exist today, and about the way that people are using our products, rather than talking in hypotheticals.”
Read more at the Guardian here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com