The largest company in the world is finally jumping on the ‘metaverse’ bandwagon

• Apple’s price saw an 8% jump after the company’s CEO revealed that the tech giant is “investing accordingly” in the space.
• During the company’s first quarter earnings call, Tim Cook mentioned that Apple’s ARKit can help design applications that would help users access the ‘metaverse’.
• Apple reportedly also has an augmented reality (AR) headset in the works, scheduled to launch this year.

Facebook renamed itself to Meta, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $69 billion and has already launched its augmented reality glasses called HoloLens, while Google has Project Iris. Apple, the world’s largest company according to market value, has only now announced its plans for the metaverse — and it doesn’t sound especially groundbreaking.

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, said that the company sees potential in “the space” and is “investing accordingly”. When pressed on the topic, the Apple head referred to the company’s work in augmented reality (AR), according to AppleInsider. Cook believes that Apple’s AR developer platform, ARKit, could help design applications that would, in turn, help users gain access to the metaverse.

Apple’s AR headset is rumoured to launch in 2022 but fans may have to wait a little longer for its release. Bloomberg reported that the headset is facing some hardware and software hiccups which may delay its debut.

Why is the ‘metaverse’ such a big deal?
Morgan Staney noted that the term ‘metaverse’ was mentioned 73 times, a multi-fold increase over the previous year, during earnings calls for the months of April to June. Despite the increase in usage of the buzzword, the precise definition of the ‘metaverse’ remains elusive.

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs pegs the ‘metaverse’ to be an opportunity worth $8 trillion. Mark Zuckerberg owned Meta, formerly known as Meta, has plans to hire around 10,000 more employees to build Meta and its related products.

In India, Kavin Bharti Mittal-owned Hike plans to turn its Rush Gaming Universe into a play-to-earn platform. The startup recently announced its partnership with Polygon to build for web3. Polygon will also be investing an undisclosed amount in Hike.

Decentraland, The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Theta Networks and Enjib Coin have seen massive growth over the past one year ever since the spotlight has been on the ‘metaverse’ — especially after Facebook’s change of name.

Decentraland, for instance, hit an all-time-high of $5.90 in November during the crypto bull run. While not at those highs, the MANA token is currently trading at over $2 — an over 300% jump in value as compared to January 2021.

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