The Magic Leap 2
Sometimes cool tech makes you look like a cyber monk...
Last week, I got to try out the Magic Leap 2, and besides feeling like I stepped out of a sci-fi movie, it made me think about how it stacks up against devices like the Vision Pro.
Here’s what stood out to me:
👓 Looking through lenses vs passthrough:
The Magic Leap 2 lets you look directly through its lenses, and honestly, it’s such a refreshing experience compared to passthrough video. Passthrough is getting incredibly good, but looking at the world directly feels more natural and grounded, perfect for scenarios where blending real and virtual elements is key.
📡 Access to sensors:
This is not a mass-market device and as such it can be less strict about user privacy. It’s built for enterprise users who need deep access to the sensors, especially the cameras. One cool use case? A vet remotely guided someone in fixing a bird’s wing. Great to see how tech like this can help ideas - and birds - take flight 🐦
🎒 Lightweight design:
At just 260 grams, it’s incredibly light and very comfortable to wear. The tradeoff? While fitting perfectly into the kangaroo pocket of my hoodie, the compute puck got pretty hot (it has a fan!) and adds bulk. It’s a fair compromise to keep the headset light. That said, I hope future iterations can shrink the puck and reduce the heat while maintaining its power. While the wired connection between the headset and the puck works ok, it can be a safety hazard - especially when considering enterprise use cases.
🛠️ Built on Unity:
As someone who works with Unity a lot, I loved that most of the Magic Leap 2’s core apps are built on a platform I know and trust. Developing for XR can still feel quite fiddly sometimes, so it’s great to see Magic Leap incentivized to optimize the Unity development process. They use Unity themselves, so they’re invested in making it seamless for everyone.
While the device is really impressive, I do wish it had a larger field of view. It’s good for now, but expanding that in future versions would take the experience to the next level.
At the end of the day, neither the Magic Leap 2 nor headsets like the Vision Pro are a one-size-fits-all solution. They’re designed for different audiences, and that’s what makes this space so exciting. There’s no single “right” answer yet, and we’re all figuring it out together.
Big thanks to Thoufeeq Ahamed at Magic Leap for letting me test it out! He's a great person to talk to for your XR enterprise needs.
