​I’ve long believed that tablets would replace laptop computers as the dominant form factor in the future. But for the first time, I’m seeing a major tech company agree with me. Check out this statement from Google which was reported by 9to5Google on Jan 27. 

​I’ve been meaning to write about Apple’s solution to the whole South Korea Appstore problem lately but I’ve been so busy with home remodeling on the weekends that it’s taken me a while to respond. In short, I’ve been absolutely delighted with how Apple solved their problem. 

Ok, so I misinterpreted what I heard Mark Gurman had reported regarding Apple's rejection of the "meta verse". At first, I thought that Apple was rejecting the idea that people would want full time access to screens in front of their eyes. But that's not what Mark was saying.

Mark is saying that Apple is rejecting the idea of people wanting to be disconnected from the real world full time. That I do agree with. People have to live their lives and go about their business. But they still want convenient access to information. After all, that's why everyone carries a phone in their pocket. 

There eventually needs to be a combination of AR and VR in the same device. And there's a perfect parallel to this with what Apple has done in the audio world. Technology in the AirPods has evolved to where people can switch back and forth between noise cancellation and transparency. You can choose to either isolate yourself or simply augment what you hear all around you. 

Augmented reality is like transparency and virtual reality is like noise cancellation. Everyone thinks of AR/VR as two separate or even competing technologies, but just like in earphones, they are complementary. They go together to make the tool even more useful. 

People don't buy special headphones just for transparency and others just for noise cancellation. They want an audio tool which allows them to do either one depending on the situation. If it wasn't for battery life, people would wear AirPods all day long. We're almost there for our ears. And we're headed in that direction for our eyes. 

There were leaks today that suggested that Apple is against any kind of "meta verse" for their rumored headset. First, it's way too early to say what will or won't be in scope. And second, Apple will go where the market takes it.

This is the same company which thought the 3.5" iPhone was the perfect size or wouldn't ever add a stylus to the iPad. Why did they change course? Because they didn't want to lose market share.

If someone else gives the market what they want, people will either go elsewhere or Apple will change course. It's as simple as that. 

​There are many objections to the Metaverse which are valid but there is one line of reasoning which doesn’t make sense. Elon Musk made a particularly idiotic comment recently in an interview with the Babylon Bee. He said that he doesn’t think that people will want screens strapped to their face all day. Said the CEO who probably spends over 80% of his waking hours on Twitter.