Although the US market seems to indicate that mixed-reality glasses do not end up setting, the company owner of TikTok, ByteDance, does not agree. After several market launches such as the Vision Pro and Reality Pro from Apple, the HoloLens from Microsoft or the Google Glass from Meta, ByteDance intends to launch its own glasses, with the intention of competing with all these brands. Through their startup Pico they intend to develop a product inspired by the Meta’s Ray-Ban and its recent Oakley NHTS.
According to The Information, the company would be working on specialized augmented reality chips and a lightweight and wearable eyewear design. Pico’s status in the development process is unknown, so a submission date cannot be estimated Moreover, China also faces the problem of possible prohibition of TikTok application in the United States, So we will have to wait for time to see the outcome of this venture.
ByteDance
ByteDance is a Chinese-based technology company, based in Beijing, dedicated to communication and the internet. Many and famous applications have been developed and launched on the market, such as TikTok, Capcut, or the news portal Toutiao. In the last year he is facing the ultimatum imposed by the United States. After announcing its intention to ban the use of the TikTok application in the US territory, it launched an ultimatum to the Chinese company, through which it would only allow the use of its application if the company passed into American hands.
Virtual reality headset
Despite being one of the most futuristic products and desired by those who love technology, augmented reality glasses have not received the support that was expected from them in the markets. The brands have not yet managed to find the key, either from a technological or design point of view. There are several brands that have launched their glasses on the market, such as Microsoft with their HoloLens, Meta with the google Glass or Apple with the Vision Pro and Reality Pro. The latter two, Meta and Apple, are the undisputed leaders in the industry, and ByteDance is eager to compete with them.
ByteDance & Pico
Meta’s latest designs, the Ray-Ban and Oakley NHTS, have been the inspiration for ByteDance, with their design with less body but keeping the hardware pure. Thus, ByteDance has launched its own Starup, Pico, to develop its own virtual reality glasses. The idea of Pico could resemble or be inspired by the Bigscreen Beyond 2, where the computational load of the glasses is carried separately, connected to a wired system. The startup has bet on developing hardware too.
The Information published that the Chinese company would be developing chips specialized in augmented reality, wanting to simulate the R1 used by the brand Apple. According to this medium, the chips will be able to process the data of the sensors, speeding up the performance and above all, minimizing the latency between the movements and what is represented in augmented reality.
What is the problem between ByteDance and the United States?
The development of these models of glasses is not an easy path. In addition, The Information states that the company has not given more details on what stage of development the project is at, so we could talk about just an idea or a prototype already developed. This also makes it difficult to estimate a market launch date, although this may not be as relevant, at least for the US market. The relations between ByteDance and the United States were clouded a few years ago, when the administration of former president Biden wanted to ban the use of the famous TikTok application on US territory.
With the change in the legislature and the return to power of Republican President Trump, the ban deadlines were lengthened more and more. The ultimatum imposed by Biden has been respected, but not the dates. This is why the Chinese company ByteDance is forced to sell itself and pass into US hands, if its intention is to remain available in the United States. President Trump’s latest statements on the matter stated that there was already a buyer and that sales operations were progressing. What about using TikTok in the US? Will they have an opportunity to introduce their new augmented reality glasses to the US market?