Magic Leap Planning Increased Investments in Developers and the Ecosystem in 2020
Magic Leap is intensifying its promotion of apps and developers in 2020.Virtual reality or augmented reality hardware sells well on the back of a robust ecosystem of software and apps.
In blog post, the company stated that it believes developers form the “foundation of Spatial Computing”. The mixed reality company is looking to empower developers to create and grow their careers or businesses in the Magic Leap ecosystem.
To that end, Magic Leap is working on offering more access to its developers across the world with greater access to hardware, enterprise customers, funding and support.
The first of its formalized programs is known as Access Hardware. It is a new hardware distribution program that aims to get Magic Leap’s hardware into the developers’ hands. There will also be LEAP Developer Days which will be a two-day hands-on workshop event for select developers that will be held at Magic Leap’s HQ in Plantation, Florida.
Later in the year, the mixed reality company is also planning to announce new details on how it will provide developers with access to funding through the “next evolution” of its grant program. The company is also planning to launch new programs aimed at supporting enterprise-focused agencies and developers to connect with their clients.
Access Hardware
The initiative is aimed at putting Magic Leap augmented reality headsets into the hands of developers who wish to publish apps for the Magic Leap ecosystem. Apart from making it easier for the developers to acquire its devices, the initiative will also offer developers support from a dedicated developer relations team. Once an app is ready, developers will also get support in publishing on the Magic Leap store. Magic Leap has said that under the initiative, developers’ apps will be “prioritized for publishing”.
Magic Leap says that the decision to “democratize” the process of giving developers easier access to hardware was inspired by similar projects in the past where it provided hardware support for certain projects such as “Out There”.
With the relatively low uptake for its hardware, Magic Leap must be sitting on a mountain of unsold mixed reality glasses. It’s only logical for the company to build a stronger hardware distribution program to its developers in order to put more of the glasses into use.
The initiative will be open to anyone who has the “potential to publish a Magic Leap app”.
Interested developers can apply to be part of the Access Hardware initiative. Magic Leap will be looking at factors such as technical experience, the feasibility of the project as well as the overall quality of the submission.
Magic Leap says it has a particular interest in ideas for the enterprise market so these will most certainly be prioritized. This is an indication that Magic Leap is beginning to adapt to the market conditions. Recently, the company unveiled a B2B package for its business customers.
Apply for Magic Leap Access Hardware program here.
LEAP Developer Days
This is the second part of Magic Leap’s initiative to grow its developer community and ecosystem.
On May 19-20 and 21-22 this year, the mixed reality company will host two groups of Magic Leap developers at its Florida headquarters. They will get a behind-the-scenes access to assist them in accelerating their development efforts and their business growth.
During their time at the Magic Leap HQ, they will meet the members of the company’s developer relations, studios as well as the go-to-market teams. They will also get an opportunity to interact with the designers and engineers who are developing the core Magic Leap hardware and platform.
During the developer days, Magic Leap will also dive into the development best practices, reveal some of the experiences of its teams as they developed the 1st party applications and also share insights on the surging enterprise market opportunities for spatial apps. Visitors will also get a sneak-peek into Magic Leap’s upcoming developer-focused features along with technology.
Developers will get a direct access into Magic Leap’s creative, technical and business leads as well as hands-on workshops.
The applications for LEAP Developer Days will be opened later this month.
Access Enterprise Customers
Magic Leap plans on rolling out programs that will enable B2B agencies and individual developers developing enterprise solutions to sell directly to business customers. The Access Enterprise programs will focus on assisting developers sell their solutions to businesses or to tap into their creative talents to build the next custom application or brand experience.
Access Funding and Support
Magic Leap launched the Magic Leap One Creator Edition in August 2018 and since then, the company has disbursed $10 million to 33 developers across the globe. These include startups such as Obsess, Spatial and Anima Res. This funding campaign had been successful and Magic Leap will be extending it in 2020 to support more developers in its ecosystem.
https://virtualrealitytimes.com/2020/02/13/magic-leap-planning-increased-investments-in-developers-and-the-ecosystem-in-2020/https://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Magic-Leap-One-Augmented-Reality-Headset-600x399.pnghttps://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Magic-Leap-One-Augmented-Reality-Headset-150x90.pngAugmented RealityTechnologyMagic Leap is intensifying its promotion of apps and developers in 2020.Virtual reality or augmented reality hardware sells well on the back of a robust ecosystem of software and apps. In blog post, the company stated that it believes developers form the “foundation of Spatial Computing”. The mixed reality company...Sam OchanjiSam Ochanji[email protected]EditorVirtual Reality Times - Metaverse & VR