The News:

Consumers are eager for more advanced augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) experiences to be integrated within gaming, shopping, exercise, and other areas, particularly if technology from Apple is involved, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Amdocs.

The survey of 1,000 US consumers conducted by Dynata in April 2023 also discovered that there is a significant knowledge gap in their knowledge and understanding of AR and MR, with 35% of respondents saying they were only familiar with these technologies on social media, such as TikTok and Instagram, and 33% indicating they were familiar on social and for digital insights. Just under one-third (31%) of respondents say they were not at all familiar with AR or MR.

To read the insights from Amdocs’ The Era of Mixed Reality Report, click here.

Utilizing Mixed Reality to Deliver More Immersive Customer Experiences

Analyst Take:

Research conducted by Dynata and published by telecommunication service provider Amdocs found that US consumers had significant appetite for AR and MR experiences, but had a significant knowledge gap, in terms of being familiar with the technology and its uses. This represents a significant opportunity for telecommunications companies to not only educate their customers, but also develop partnerships with hardware manufacturers and application developers that can bring these immersive experiences to customers.

Defining AR and Mixed Media

AR and MR belong to the same family of technologies, which involve incorporating digital assets with real-world elements. AR keeps the real world central to the experience, and enhances it with other digital details, layering new strata of perception, thereby supplementing the user’s environment. Meanwhile, MR allows the user to interact with and manipulate both physical and virtual items and environments, using next generation sensing and imaging technologies.

Mixed reality permits users to see and immerse themselves in the world around them as they interact with a virtual environment using their own hands, without removing the MR headset. The technology offers the ability to have one hand in the real world, and the other in an imaginary place, breaking down basic concepts between real and imaginary. With MR, users can immerse themselves in a virtual video game, grab a physical item in the real world, and then use it to hit an imaginary character in the video game.

The real value with mixed reality is that it allows true interaction between the digital and physical world, which can be leveraged across a variety of business applications, including training, handling remote operations, and customer support and success functions.

Opportunities for Education

One of the key roles that telecommunications providers can play is providing education to their business and consumer customers on the types of AR and MR applications and hardware that are currently available, the future development roadmap for these technologies, and specific guidance on the type of devices and internet connectivity that are required to maximize these digital experiences.

As the survey demonstrates, consumer knowledge about the technology is relatively low, and there are a variety of technical elements that must be met, in terms of head-mounted device (HMD) specifications (latency, degrees of freedom, field of view, frames per second), as well as computer-based specifications (CPU, GPU, and memory) that directly impact the user experience. Telecommunications providers can serve as trusted advisors to customers who may be confused about mixed reality, how it works, and how it can be deployed not only for gaming, but in other business-focused areas.

Partnering to Drive Engagement and Revenue

Microsoft offers its Windows Mixed Reality platform that uses fully immersive headsets offered by Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. The Meta Quest 3 is projected to ship sometime in the fall of 2023, bringing MR to the mass market. Samsung also announced in February 2023 that it will work with Google and Qualcomm on an upcoming mixed reality platform. For its part, Apple announced its Vision Pro MR headset for release in 2023, and other hardware and software vendors continue to enter the market.

For telecoms, there are distinct partnership opportunities to sell and support these systems and devices, not only from a B2C perspective, but also through B2B channels where additional support, training, maintenance, and integration services are often required to incorporate mixed reality technology into existing training, service, or operational technology stacks.

Customer Support and Success

From an internal customer success perspective, MR headsets may be used to help customer handle physical configuration steps, such as helping customers connect devices within their homes, offices, or industrial settings, by letting them walk through the physical space to address configuration or placement issues with devices such as routers. Similarly, customers that have MR-connected haptic gloves may be able to virtually interact with digital twins of consumer devices, such as phones, laptops, or tablets, without needing to physically visit a retail location.