When a startup company like Magic Leap continues to exacerbate people’s patience after teasing them for years with demos purporting to show a revolutionary new AR technology, a common refrain is emerging, which is that Magic Leap may be the “Theranos of Augmented Reality.”
In a video stream hosted on Twitch TV earlier this month, Magic Leap employees debuted the Magic Leap One device. The headset transforms the user into an augmented reality (AR) environment where an amphibian-looking critter throws rocks at you.
The Magic Leap One uses NVIDIA Tegra 2 processors, which have a dual-core CPU, an ultra-low power (ULP) GeForce GPU and 1080p video processors. It will run on Lumin, a 64-bit Linux-based OS that allows developers to divert critical memory assets where they’re most needed with ease.
Another important revelation during the Twitch cast was Magic Leap’s ability to track hands without the need of gloves or other input or tracking devices. By eliminating peripheral hardware, Magic Leap has demonstrated that its system is something unique, and it holds the promise of making AR and virtual reality technology much cheaper by eliminating extraneous and expensive tools.
But the technology on display on Wednesday wasn’t the only announcement that the Magic Leap team had in store for the tuned-up AR crowd.
Buoying Magic Leap’s technology demonstration was the announcement that AT&T will be the sole carrier of Magic Leap’s headset. AT&T also announced that they’ve invested in Magic Leap but would not disclose the amount.
Although no firm date has been set for the hardware launch, Magic Leap does promise that its product will be out sometime in 2018. Last we heard, the product was going to ship in summer of 2018.
Five months left. ... We’re waiting.