Apple scraps AR glasses, plus more from Meta, Amazon and Google

Multiple tech shifts: Major technology companies are making strategic pivots and launches in AI, mixed reality, and gaming sectors, with some scaling back while others accelerate their investments.

Apple’s strategic retreat:

• Apple has discontinued development of its AR glasses while maintaining focus on the $3,500 Vision Pro
• The company appears to be falling behind in AI development, particularly with Siri lagging behind competitors
• Enterprise mixed reality has become Apple’s primary focus in the wearables space

Amazon’s AI assistant evolution:

• Amazon is preparing a significant upgrade to Alexa, its first major enhancement in over 10 years
• The new version will feature multi-turn dialogues, memory of user preferences, and autonomous agent capabilities
• The service will initially be free for Prime members with planned future pricing of $5-10 monthly
• A showcase event is scheduled for February 26

Meta’s Reality Labs challenges:

• The division posted $1B in Q4 revenue but suffered a $4.4B loss in the same period
• Total AR/VR losses reached $17.7B over the last 12 months
• Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses achieved 1 million sales but required $100M in marketing
• CTO Andrew Bosworth declared 2025 a “make or break year” for Reality Labs

Google’s workforce adjustments:

• The company is offering voluntary buyouts to hardware and platform employees
• The affected “Platform and Devices” unit includes over 25,000 full-time employees
• Areas impacted include Android, Chrome, Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest teams
• The move signals Google’s increasing focus on AI integration

AI startup developments:

• Olas secured $13.8M to launch Pearl, a blockchain-based AI agent marketplace
• Riffusion introduced a free AI music generation platform called Fuzz
• Zynga launched an AI-powered global treasure hunt using Google Maps in Game of Thrones: Legends

Industry implications: The tech sector appears to be undergoing a significant transformation, with traditional hardware and software roles being reconsidered as AI capabilities expand, while companies struggle to find profitable business models in the mixed reality space. This shift suggests a broader industry trend toward AI integration and away from standalone AR/VR initiatives, though success in either arena remains challenging to achieve.