While today's virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) systems continue to fall short of expectations, one mysterious startup has been circling the waters, poised to bring to life the mind-blowing VR/AR experience many of us have been anticipating since we were kids.
That company, Magic Leap, released a demo video last year that came as close to meeting those expectations as any had ever done. Since then, millions of dollars have been invested in the Florida-based startup, but we've yet to get word on a release date for an actual system, and most of those who've tried out what Magic Leap does have ready for use have been required to sign confidentiality agreements.
Writer Reed Albergotti has been one of the few exceptions, and yesterday, The Information published an article that he penned alleging that Magic Leap has "oversold" its system, using different tech for the demo than what will be used in the final product. Magic Leap's CEO Rony Abovitz then turned to Twitter to respond — sort of.
Over the course of about 20 hours, he tweeted over two dozen messages about everything from the difficulty of working at a startup to the games that will be played at the Magic Leap launch without ever directly calling out Reed Albergotti or the article. He does, however, refer to "grumpy mouse tech blogger writers" and being a "Veruca Salt," a reference to the greedy, spoiled character in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Check out the tweets for yourself below, and get hyped, because if Abovitz is to be believed, "What's coming next for [Magic Leap] is the best part."
Tech startups are hard and intense - but it takes a different breed of awesome to strap yourself into a rocket
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 8, 2016
Magic Leap is one of only a handful of genuine 'holy shit I can't believe I'm seeing this' moments I've had as an adult. Previous was iPhone
— Benedict Evans (@BenedictEvans) December 9, 2016
For our launch: everyone - skeptics and friends alike - will be able to try Magic Leap for themselves
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
Ice-cream included 🙂
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
And - you will get to play Dr. Grodbort's Invaders (developed by our friends at Weta Workshop) - it rocks
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
Proper spelling: Dr. Grordborts Invaders. Us Yanks just call it Dr. G ?
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
To a few of the grumpy mouse tech blogger writers: you too will get to play the real thing when we ship
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
And you will also get ice-cream.
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
Being a Veruca Salt does not get you very far with Magic Leap
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
Charlie Bucket (and Veruca Salt the band) - always welcome ???
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
@rabovitz As a local school in Plant City, I would love to volunteer to introduce and test @magicleap within an educational environment!
— Kim Pond (@YodaPond) December 9, 2016
What early test rigs looked like at Magic Leap pic.twitter.com/uya2iTyhyx
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
We have always used test rigs, breadboards, bench testing - to gather requirements and specifications
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
In our factory now: we are making mini-production test runs of our first system: small, sleek, cool
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
"He buys two bars, and after unwrapping the second chocolate bar, Charlie finds the fifth golden ticket"
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
Stay tuned - what's coming next for @magicleap is the best part
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
Believe. ? pic.twitter.com/wXZqrL8fZn
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) December 9, 2016
I believe and definitely staying tuned @rabovitz @magicleap #moebiusstyle #mixedreality https://t.co/JWaNK0nti0
— Navah Berg (@Navahk) December 9, 2016
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