Immersive Technologies
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Growing big tech competition for the XR stack

The XR stack is the set of technologies, components, platforms, and applications that is needed to offer XR/immersive experiences. A key development is the competition between big tech companies (Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Google) – which is a repeating pattern – to create complete and leading XR stacks with associated ecosystems.

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Control over head-mounted display hardware, operating systems, (AI-based) XR engines, middleware, and the adoption of virtual assistants is central to gaining a competitive edge in the XR market.

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Big tech companies are progressing substantially on their XR stack control as they look at their portfolios of technologies, products, services, and partnerships. On the contrary, these same big tech companies are also participating in standardisation bodies and open XR initiatives.

Maturity

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Show the other PLAN trends
Changing dynamics in Responsible AI From large to small language models AR and smart glasses become more prominent Increasing AI-enhanced user experience Growing big tech competition for the XR stack Increased application of FAIR principles to enable digital ecosystems in Europe Growing relevance of TRUST principles for data repositories to secure data More decentralisation of data ownership enabled by SSI solutions Emergence of organisational wallets Push for transparent supply chains with digital product passports Bringing computing resources closer to the ‘edge’ Growing need for automated cloud and edge resource management Growing emphasis on neuromorphic (brain-inspired) computing Integrating photonics for accelerated information processing The battle for airwaves AI/Ops, digital twinning and the emergence of the LLM in network operations Power usage and ecological footprint From ad hoc experiments to applications Towards Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing (FTQC) Cyber-physical technology calls for resilient minds A growing urge for chip sovereignty in Europe

Drivers

Impact

education

Education

  • XR stack competition will affect the degree of privacy and data control within XR platforms and applications for educational purposes. Platform lock-in dictates long-term portability and interoperability of (costly) content, and therefore, careful procurement is needed.
Research

Research

  • Access to lower levels of software within XR-related platforms and applications for certain research activities will likely be restricted within closed stack systems. This is particularly relevant to consumer-grade price point products available in the market.
Operations

Operations

  • The strategic choice of an XR ecosystem will significantly influence vendor dependence in areas such as interoperability, privacy and control, and ongoing maintenance costs.
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