Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality: Civil War between The Twins

Due to the twin technologies’ rising prevalence in diversified industries and fields including game, navigation, entertainment and even education, both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality consistently gain more mainstream recognition and attention. AR and VR related searches on the internet score top rank in various keywords platforms and cater to many articles and pages delivering news, updates reviews, and even comparisons to AR and VR related. Some are taking each side as an independent entity and the others are comparing them to each other. Thus, the comparison between AR and VR, or let’s say Augmented Reality vs Virtual Reality, has become one of the hottest topic discussed in tech industries.

Augmented Reality VS Virtual Reality
Discussing which side is superior to the other between these uprising technologies would only lead us to a long, endless argument . Instead, it would be wiser if we acknowledge both technologies as still in their infancy each with their own distinctive potentials and shortcomings.When it comes to Augmented Reality vs Virtual Reality, people would come up with their preferred features over the other or even embrace both prevalences. Therefore, let us see how both AR and VR would fare when they are compared specifically on certain factors with their respective features and drawbacks. As each side’s definition has been discussed on previous sessions, let us see the comparison between two uprising, potential technologies on distinguished fields.

Augmented Reality VS Virtual Reality Round 1: Investments and Shares
To measure which side has has the edge over the other, one of the easiest ways to see is to determine which side is more welcome and embraced by the users and the business community in general. One of many ways to determine that is to calculate how well the products of both AR and VR are performing on the market. To narrow things down, let the verdict comes from exact data of their investments and sales.

According to the latest record from the data chart, Augmented Reality scored more investment budget than Virtual Reality. This indicates that AR development has yielded more trust from business communities and has the potential to distribute more products on the market. According to this data comparison, we are able to at least foresee which technology we will encounter more on the market. But does Augmented Reality VS Virtual Reality truly end there?

Augmented Reality VS Virtual Reality Round 2: Content and Feature
Logically, a product will be marketable if it has a lot to offer, agree? Thus, manufacturer and developer’s task is to provide users with products which can be as beneficial as possible. AR and VR are technologies whose functions are applicable on numerous usages, thus, their respective uses and applications are the main highlight for this round.

As has been mentioned on previous session, Augmented Reality technology shows up as a promising technology by handling various fields in distinguished features. Some of them come from significantly different fields like education and military, or gaming and engineering. This demonstrates how AR can potentially be developed and usable in any activities which attract enterprise and public sector.

Meanwhile, Virtual Reality technology is dominated by deals involving some of the most well-known and established game console companies which has generated major buzz regarding VR technology recently. In addition, VR consumer also mainly comes from visually enhanced media such as 360 degree images and videos, and live or documented performance. It is obvious that VR technology is mainly consumed by entertainment enthusiasts.

Augmented Reality VS Virtual Reality Final Round: Distribution
After observing two of many significant elements in determining the winner of Augmented Reality vs Virtual Reality battle, the last judgment comes from how far these technologies are demanded after being invested and developed. Do they generate demand consistently?

Since the battling technologies consist on various forms of products, this round seems to be a tight and fierce battle for each technology has its own excellencies on certain elements. Firstly, let see who is leading on hardware shipments abroad.

According to data table above, VR hardware shipment is leading on making itself easy to find everywhere in foreign market. This triumph also will likely to remain until years ahead since the agreement on hardware shipments have been signed up to 2020, according to the data. This suggests that VR hardware advancement is showing decent development. Virtual Reality Headset is considered as the mark of VR technology voyage to become a mainstream technology. With the releases of integrated VR gaming from well-known manufacturers, VR headset takes center stage on advancing entertainment sector, specifically in gaming industries.

Not to be outshined, AR technology strikes back by scoring more download numbers over VR. The battle of distribution does not yet end with hardware shipment. By gaining millions of downloads, the development of AR software indicates that the battle continues. With AR leading in software outspread, digital products also comes up as a strong and significant market. Along with its interactive and flexible features, Augmented Reality technology might possibly be applicable in more varied sectors. Marked by AR application in many sectors, AR serves as a big hit for digital industry.

The Verdict
On the first round, Augmented Reality leads on the investment battle which is significant to foresee how far these technologies will spread their wings. On the second round, Augmented Reality proves that its features are more flexible in mixing technology with daily life. And finally, on the final round both AR and VR is an indicator of how far these technologies have been flying.

But then again, this is not a battle which the the victor vanquishes the defeated, nor the winner earn the number-one trophy. This is not a contest which is intended to glorify the winner nor embarrass the falling. Instead, this is a measure which approaches potential and drawbacks from each of the twin technologies for the sake of their development and advancement to become mainstream technologies. This is a contest which highlights and underlines what should be fixed, revised, and kept. So, the verdict is up to everyone who involves themselves in AR and VR development. Fancy a winner, then?