04-23-2017, 05:43 AM
It's easy and obvious to say that Facebook's push into AR and cameras now is a reaction to Snapchat, the rival social networking service with its signature filters and AR effects. And that is probably true. But the much larger motivation behind Facebook's investments in virtual and augmented reality is simple: to not miss out on the next big wave of technology that comes after smartphones. That's why Facebook paid billions for Oculus, is working on its own AR hardware and brain-controlled sensors, and is opening up its AR camera effects to developers now. If Facebook can build the AR equivalent of Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones, it has a shot at controlling the platform on which every other company will have to build AR hardware.
Why Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to kill the smartphone with AR - Business Insider