As the XR shark tank deepens, new vendors and solution providers are entering the space with fresh perspectives and solutions. However, as this web becomes more complex, hyped audiences should retain eyes towards veteran firms building upon a legacy of XR innovation and implementation.
Varjo is cementing its legacy within the growing XR market by, most recently, noting its multi-year commitment to XR headsets and enterprise deployments.
Varjo noted in a recent roadmap that it plans to support its XR-4 Series headset for training and simulation use cases until 2030. The move is to provide clients with a reliable hardware promise that will not become outdated based on repeated device iterations.
Varjo is targetting markets, including multi-year defence programs, as potential client bases for its multi-year vision. Interestingly, the focus comes following Microsoft’s departure from the HoloLens 2 IVAS contract. At the same time, Varjo has no direct relation to the IVAS project, and the firm is already experienced in deploying headsets for pilot training. However, the presence of defence contacts and their impact on the XR device marketplace are essential points of support for the industry at large.
Supporting the XR-4 Leading into 2030
According to the headset vendor, Varjo is targeting use cases that require long-term hardware reliability. Each year, vendors release new iterative headsets. This can prove problematic for enterprise customers who wish to integrate an XR device, as iterative hardware releases can potentially interrupt these efforts if a previous device integration becomes obsolete or unsupported due to a new hardware release.
Hence, Varjo appears to be championing its XR-4 series device for an extended period, as the move provides long-term reliability for one piece of XR hardware.
Although if market hardware expectations rise unexpectedly, one could assume that XR-4 may become outdated by the end of the decade, those observations are merely speculative. With such a long-term vision, Varjo is likely approaching the roadmap while acknowledging future hardware expectations.
Notably, Varjo Base Pro—costing $2,500 per year—is a new software license tier for enterprise XR-4 customers that expands the device’s abilities to keep the headset series up to date with growing expectations.
Varjo Base Pro also contains:
- AI-enhanced integrations
- Dynamic object segmentation
- Enhanced passthrough resolution,
- Specialized environment simulation
- At-scale multi-device deployment tools
- Advanced security certifications
- Varjo-brand Chroma Key tools
- Advanced masking
- Custom tracking solutions
- Eye tracking
Varjo also offers a free version of the Base product; however, the free application does not include the Pro variant’s additional tools for high-security deployments.
Moreover, to support its 2030 roadmap, Varjo is launching professional services to assist customers with professional headset deployments.
Varjo: Reacting to Growing Marketplace
Varjo is an experienced and trusted headset vendor in a growing market. The first half of 2020 was transformative for the market, and the decade’s second half will prove similar.
Where that leaves veteran and fresh market leaders will become apparent as these firms react to the busy XR marketplace. However, what the move does show is that vendors are listening to what businesses want: reliable headsets. With the HoloLens gone, a gap is ready to be filled with a new market-wide confidence that enterprise clients can securely invest in XR and avoid a dead-end.
Varjo’s 2030 roadmap could be a move in the right direction for an industry that shifts yearly.
