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When "Ready Player One" came out, many teenagers' dreams of gaming in virtual worlds seemed closer to reality, at least on the big screen. Today, we are implementing the technologies that make that vision practical: data centers, edge computing, digital twins, the Internet of Things, blockchain, and cybersecurity. These technologies are the foundation for the Metaverse. If you want to learn more about what the Metaverse actually is, read this blog post.

This new digital world will enhance our physical world with augmented reality and offer equipment that lets you feel, touch, see, and hear as if you were living inside a virtual reality world. In short, the Metaverse will transform nearly every aspect of our lives: work, entertainment, social interaction, and relationships.

That gap is exactly where some interesting hardware trends are starting to emerge. Below are three that deserve attention now, while the foundation is still being built.

We are still feeling the effects of logistics issues and component shortages. Many companies are rethinking how they acquire hardware altogether, and some providers are starting to offer hardware as a service. Instead of a large upfront capital investment, hardware becomes an operational expense.

This shift is already happening. What can we expect once the Metaverse matures? It will likely double down on software and apps, while hardware quietly provides the foundation for everyday operations. Since hardware will sit outside the spotlight, perceived value will come from the ability to connect and use applications, not from the device itself. Hardware will not need to be exciting. It will need to do exactly what users need, which is the definition of a commodity.

Are you an Apple person, or have you stuck with Android? That ongoing debate makes one thing clear: hardware and software work together to build an ecosystem. Once you buy into a smartphone platform, you are likely to buy your other devices, home or corporate, from that same environment. Software companies that offer hardware agnostic solutions are leaning into that pattern, and it is likely to keep developing.

What do we mean by hardware agnostic software? Software designed to run on as many different devices as possible: smartphones, tablets, laptops, all-in-one computers (AIOs), and more.

• The hardware agnostic approach: If perceived value in the Metaverse comes mostly from the apps rather than the hardware, your priority becomes offering software that is fully compatible with as many devices as possible. Users choose whatever hardware fits their own needs.
• The integrated environment approach: For highly technical or specialized applications, a software company may prefer to own the full environment, hardware and software together, to guarantee a positive user experience and truly blur the line between the digital and physical worlds.

If you take the integrated approach, your company needs to stay relevant on both the hardware and software fronts, using that combined environment as a key differentiator. It is also worth evaluating whether a hardware as a service model fits your customers' ROI expectations and lifecycle management needs, which can open additional business opportunities for your company.

Automation, lights-out facilities, and remote monitoring are technology trends that depend on edge computing, data centers, the Internet of Things, and the cloud. As a result, nearly every device needs to stay connected to a network or the internet. We are still working through connectivity and integration challenges to fully leverage IoT and edge computing across many applications. You can read more in this blog post.

Today, hardware manufacturers typically offer most connectivity features as optional add-ons for specific applications: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, SIM slots, RFID, and barcode readers. In the Metaverse, companies looking to eliminate the barrier between the physical and virtual worlds will need all of these features as standard, not optional, to create a genuinely positive user experience.

• Internet access to reach apps and software in the first place.
• Bluetooth connectivity to support interaction between users inside the virtual world.
• SIM, RFID, and barcode reading to let users interact in the physical world and send that information into the digital one.

Taken together, we can expect hardware in the Metaverse to treat these connectivity features as the norm rather than the exception.

In a world where software dictates priorities and needs, hardware will still be the foundation for experiencing the Metaverse. After all, hardware remains the physical connection to the digital world. As discussed here, there are at least two viable approaches, hardware as a service and hardware agnostic design, to keep hardware devices relevant for users now and in the years ahead.

For more information on the Metaverse and how Contec is approaching the hardware side of it, visit this page.