Apple Not Among Founding Metaverse Standards Forum Members

[MacRumors]

Apple is not among the founding members of a new "metaverse" standards body that includes Meta, Microsoft, Sony, Epic Games, Nvidia, Adobe, and others (via Reuters).

Announced in a press release, "the Metaverse Standards Forum brings together companies and standards organizations to foster alignment on requirements and priorities for metaverse interoperability standards, and accelerate their development and deployment through pragmatic, action-based projects." The organization seeks to enable communication between a wide range of organizations and companies to give the metaverse "real-world interoperability" and help different visions of the metaverse work with each other.

Over 35 founding members include 0xSenses, Academy Software Foundation, Adobe, Alibaba, Autodesk, Avataar, Blackshark.ai, CalConnect, Cesium, Daly Realism, Disguise, the Enosema Foundation, Epic Games, the Express Language Foundation, Huawei, IKEA, John Peddie Research, Khronos, Lamina1, Maxon, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAR Cloud, the Open Geospatial Consortium, Otoy, Perey Research and Consulting, Qualcomm Technologies, Ribose, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Spatial Web Foundation, Unity, VerseMaker, Wayfair, the Web3D Consortium, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and the XR Association.

Apple is noticeably missing from the list of members, despite its heavy investment and ongoing work on multiple devices in the augmented-reality and virtual-reality space. Apple has been heavily involved in creating standards in the past, such as HTML5 for the web. It created Thunderbolt with Intel and the "USDZ" file format for three-dimensional content with Pixar and Adobe. Most recently, Apple touted its involvement in developing Matter at WWDC 2022, a new open standard for smart home accessories.

Gaming companies Roblox and Niantic, and crypto-based metaverse platforms like The Sandbox and Decentraland, are also absent from the Metaverse Standards Forum. The forum is open to any organization at no cost, so Apple and others could join in the future.

Article Link: Apple Not Among Founding Metaverse Standards Forum Members

 

[lostPod]

weird. they could just make an apple store that people could pay money in online lol

 

[FactVsOpinion]

So is Google/Alphabet

 

[seanmills1020]

This will create an oculus rift within the tech world.

 

[Onelifenofear]

Well. I suspect it's purely as they have not announced a headset / device yet. And Joining would mean they are saying they have one in the pipeline. As we know apple are super secretive about this stuff.

 

[cababah]

In an effort to prove that it is not corrupt, Meta has hand-picked members to form its “anti-corruption” committee. Nothing odd here…

 

[Total Respray]

I completely understand (and support) Apple not wanting to be involved in anything Meta/Facebook is pushing.

 

[LinusR]

I find this whole metaverse idea pretty creepy to be honest. Spending time in front of a screen is one thing (which was equally feared at the time — “will the children ever go outside again??”), but actually blocking all your senses, and your sense of your surroundings, completely seems pretty scary. Not to mention anything about the idea of “hanging out” in such a space… I’d much rather see someone’s face on a screen than their “avatar”…

 

[StellarVixen]

“will the children ever go outside again??”

In a sense, their fears proved justified.

 

[0194839]

Apple and Facebook sitting at the same table. Yeah, maybe in an alternate universe. Lol.

 

[Armada2]

When Epic and Meta are in the room.. no thanks

 

[leman]

Zuckerberg's vision of the "metaverse" is a terrifying dystopia. I am happy Apple does not want to participate in that crap.

 

[wonderings]

Does anyone expect Apple to release something with open standards if/when they get into the VR/AR market? I certainly don't. Apple will do it their way and only their way.

 

[TightLines]

Apple knows a gimmick and a passing fad when it sees one… so why invest the time and resources into a more advanced version of what appears to be another “SIMS” type of application that will be sold as prescription based service? One where the shysters are already trying to sell virtual real estate, and the mainstream press is seemingly gearing this up to be another opportunity for them to sell their next greater fool recruiting services?

 

[smythey]

The fact that Sony, Meta and MS all felt it was in their best interests to join but not Apple is interesting.

Have Apple ever said the word "metaverse" in any public statement? Maybe they think the whole concept is horsesh**, which at this point, is an understandable position to take.

 

[ssmed]

Apple knows a gimmick and a passing fad when it sees one… so why invest the time and resources into a more advanced version of what appears to be another “SIMS” type of application that will be sold as prescription based service? One where the shysters are already trying to sell virtual real estate, and the mainstream press is seemingly gearing this up to be another opportunity for them to sell their next greater fool recruiting services?

Perhaps using Apple (insert tech of choice) stuff in a real world interacting with people, environments and everything else good and bad is a better life target.

 

[ruka.snow]

A standards body for VRChat and Second Life clone??? Glad it isn’t my money being invested in this.

 

[alpi123]

Appleverse incoming

 

[and 1989 others]

While running the risk of sounding like a crazy old man drinking moonshine on his porch, i'll say it anyway.

Nothing good is going to come from this here Metaverse.

 

[Burai]

I can't wait for the countless articles and documentaries dissecting how Silicon Valley got so blindly wrapped up in an idea that had so little measurable consumer excitement.

 

[theob05]

Putting on a helmet from Meta on your head is the same as a person with healthy legs will sit in a wheelchair.

 

[ricom2ger]

There is a special place in hell for metaverse.

 

[TightLines]

In the meantime, while people are waiting for the meta verse to be created and built… perhaps everyone can go and purchase some other forms of alternate reality - like crypto? That is working out so well for all those who saw the future and value, eh?

 

[contacos]

I still don’t get what that even means. I understand my elderly parents now. Without knowing, you are suddenly out of the loop with technology 😅

I guess it’s like putting on a helmet and then u walk around in a virtual reality. Sort of like instead of sending „text bubbles“ to other people, it’s going to be „face to face“? Is the technology even there yet? I expect it to look like those badly rendered Memojis or whatever on Nintendo Switch Online.

I would be interested once those virtual settings look as pretty as a Pixar movie. Imagine visiting the place of „Luca“ or Pandora of Avatar. Not Super Mario World N64

 

[wonderings]

Perhaps using Apple (insert tech of choice) stuff in a real world interacting with people, environments and everything else good and bad is a better life target.

or how about interacting with people without tech is a better life target. Why you need Apple or anyone else for that is beyond me. It is obvious people are addicted to their tech device of choice, Apple even started monitoring it for you and gives you stats weekly. I doubt anyone really cares how many hours are spent behind the screen staring blankly at a social media account, scrolling through posts and pictures while feeling like you are connecting with other people.