Introduction to Mixed Reality
Back when the Meta Quest 3 launched, there was one mixed reality feature that stood out: Augments. Over a 12 months and a half later, Augments still haven’t arrived, however the Apple Vision Pro is swooping in to finally live as much as Meta’s mixed reality promise. Meta’s Augments were presupposed to be persistent virtual decorations that you could possibly place in your real-world room, which you could possibly see while using your Meta Quest 3 for mixed reality.
What are Augments?
Some Augments were just meant to be pretty – perhaps a trophy you won in a game or a decoration you liked the look of – while others were also functional, reminiscent of a clock or a portal you may walk through to quickly boot up one in every of your favorite apps. Despite promising that Augments can be coming within the not-too-distant future, they still haven’t arrived.
The Delay in Augments
About a 12 months ago, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth revealed on Instagram that back in January 2024, Meta had decided Augments weren’t “adequate,” and so the team had gone “back to the drafting board.” Bosworth didn’t give us any release schedule for Augments, and a 12 months on from the last time Meta discussed them, they’re still yet to materialize.
Apple’s Spatial Widgets
Apple just showcased its next generation of software at WWDC 2025, including visionOS 26, and it announced spatial widgets: mainly Augments for the Apple Vision Pro. In its presentation, it showed us clips of users decorating their real-world space with elaborate virtual clocks, customized calendars, and their favorite spatial photos. And each time a user reenters mixed reality of their Vision Pro headset, those widgets might be waiting for them exactly where they left them.
The Future of Mixed Reality
As mixed reality and augmented reality begin to turn into the dominant type of XR, the thought of decorative and functional virtual elements makes a number of sense – especially persistent decorations which you’ll be able to all the time find where you place them, similar to real-world decorations. More than making sense, it seems like they’ll actually be a part of the long run. That’s the case even for something so simple as a calendar. Physically, calendars in your wall make it a lot easier to trace upcoming events, but it might be a pain to update them. Apple’s virtual calendar provides the very best of each the digital and physical worlds – and the identical is true of spatial photo frames, and other widgets.
Conclusion
I feel there’s a great likelihood that Meta’s Augments might be dormant for some time longer – perhaps until its AR glasses proper (the buyer Meta Orion AR glasses) launch. But Apple’s widget announcement has only reaffirmed that these styles of features look (and are) awesome, and I’m still hoping Augments are coming sooner somewhat than later. Perhaps this visionOS 26 update will light a fireplace under Meta and make that dream come true sooner somewhat than later.
