Apple is going to make being a cyborg awesome
Last week, Watcher Guru released an article about a recent hiring push by Apple that uses veiled language to describe a very metaverse-esque job description. Language like a “3D mixed-reality world”, that begs the question, is Apple stepping into the metaverse? The answer being; of course they are they’d be stupid not to! I know, I know, that’s a strong opinion, but let’s take a look at why I hold it.
Right now, human beings are in the process of becoming cyborgs. Where we used to rely on our will, wit, and opposable thumbs to solve problems, we now have a within 6 feet of reach at all times access to the world’s most powerful technology and informational resources. It’s not much different than if we strapped the damned things onto our bodies like a Teen Titans character, and among the silicon valley innovators, there’s one dominant player we can hold mostly responsible for connecting us to this experience… Apple.
Cyborg, from Teen Titans.
No company has a greater hold on the connection we have to our daily devices. We work on our Macbooks, we socialize on our iPhones, we pretend we didn’t waste $800 with our Apple watches, and we strut down the street listening to True Crime Podcasts with our Airpods in. We are ‘Apple Cyborgs’ enjoying a connected experience and transferrable digital identity across said devices.
But what if we could take it a step further? Don’t robots in the movies get to upload their consciousness to different systems and represent themselves across various online platforms and experiences? Don’t they also have a HUD they can access for information on the surrounding context? I want that. And Apple is making it… I hope.
An Apple metaverse won’t likely be a virtual world or 3D game. It will most likely use blockchain technology to allow for Apple devices to identify and portray our digital persona in a physical experience. What does this mean? Let’s look at an example of how this could affect fashion.
Take a leap into the future with me and presume that at some point we really will have access to A/R glasses that look cool enough for us to wear them around all the time. Now, imagine you’re walking down the street in your sexy glasses that are connected to the blockchain and there’s a man walking towards you wearing a plain white tee. But you won’t see the plain white tee in this mixed-reality experience, because the man owns an exclusive ‘Angel Wing’ NFT accessory, so what you see through your A/R glasses is an ordinary man walking down the street with majestic 3D angel wings hanging off his back.
Does that really sound so crazy? Our phones can already detect an Apple device nearby. All that needs to happen after that is for Apple to verify which NFT someone owns using the blockchain and to augment your view so it appears in your A/R glasses. They don’t have to be an Apple NFT either. They could be a new set the man purchased off the Balenciaga website or one he made himself. That’s where it gets really interesting. Because blockchain technology allows for transferable identity by acting as a public ledger of digital ownership anyone can access, how you show up in this ‘phygital’ (physical + digital) future is not beholden to any one platform or company. But seeing as Apple is already connected to every part of how we access our lives, they’re in a unique position to offer the infrastructure needed for this type of experience.
Beyond fashion, the technology described above could augment access to physical locations, online experiences, and much more. This is the potential I see for the Apple metaverse. So I really hope they’re thinking different than an avatar collection!