AR vs VR Explained | The Difference Between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

The future of entertainment is broad and wild, but among the new fads and technologies hailed as the harbingers of digital progress, two stand out, namely virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). This gave rise to the AR vs VR sentiments among gamers and potential consumers, most of whom are a little too busy with their lives or are out of the loop to consider one over the other.

So we’re here to clarify which of the two technologies is more likely to lead the near future of entertainment as well as the distinct difference between the two. In fact, you likely don’t even need to choose between AR vs VR.

What Is Augmented Reality (AR)?

You’ve probably already tried AR, especially if you’re fond of games like Pokémon GO. 

Augmented reality is your smartphone laying over some 3D elements to the image you see through the lens. This process augments the reality you see through a camera or another ocular device.

Simply put, AR is CGI placed on top of real-time real-world imagery. 

It’s not limited to just smartphones and cameras as we stated. There are goggles and glasses dedicated to AR. Moreover, AR isn’t just for introducing cute and cuddly Pokémon to your perception of the world, it can be for other important things as well such as measurements and other visual information.

With AR and AR glasses or goggles, you could even overlay a graphical user interface (GUI) to your view, essentially turning real life into a video game depending on what you want the GUI to display. This can be ammunition count, health, etc. 

Hence, the use of AR can extend way beyond entertainment. Doctors and surgeons can use it for visual information, construction workers can use it for geometry, and even military personnel can use it for combat.

What Is Virtual Reality (VR)?

Virtual reality is an entirely different platform or technology compared to augmented reality. 

Instead of just overlaying CGI or digital information on a real-world image, VR creates fully-realized 3D environments that you can view through goggles or headsets which are the most convenient way of relaying VR to the user.

Glasses might become an alternative to VR headsets in the future, but for now, the technology is not quite there yet.

With VR, you can create entirely different fictional worlds similar to today’s video games, except they’re more interactive since you’re not just viewing the VR render through a screen. You’re viewing the whole VR world as though your eyes were there, making the perspective broader and more immersive since it’s as though you’re seeing the 3D world first-hand rather than a monitor feeding you information.

That’s why some of the most popular applications for VR consist of social media worlds and digital 3D social hubs where people can hang out and digest the whole scenery like they’re part of it. To that end, it’s considerably more advanced compared to augmented reality and it uses more resources and hardware power.

VR headsets and VR tools, for that matter, cost more. You’ll need a fairly powerful gaming PC in order to render a VR world and pass the requirements for a VR game or application.

Some of the most common VR interfaces are Oculus Rift and HTC Vive with more competing brands on the way. Still, despite the potential, VR has never really seen the growth it deserved partly because it’s still expensive and because it hasn’t really offered anything new to entertainment.

Regardless, VR’s potential is still there and it also has the same or similar uses as AR outside of entertainment.

Which Technology Will Lead the Future of Entertainment?

It’s hard to say at this rate, of course. Both technologies once showed immense promise during their introduction but in the midst of economic setbacks and a lack of popular demand from the masses, both AR vs VR have experienced their own lulls in development and progress.

Of the two reality-altering technologies, however, VR has a higher limit as it can create new digital worlds that the beholder can interact with.

VR goggles are actually impressive as replacements for the typical monitor or TV today and more often than not, it’s what a lot of sci-fi artists and visionaries have envisioned as stereotypes of their futuristic worlds. 

With the right physical stimuli, VR goggles and VR technology might even replace the real world if we’re to base our experiences or reality purely on external stimuli and what our organs can see, hear, and feel. But that’s not going to be happening for a long time at our current rate.

Meanwhile, AR is steadily becoming a staple in areas outside of entertainment since it has more practical uses and applications. That doesn’t mean AR isn’t popular in entertainment– several video games now exist featuring AR since quite frankly, AR is easier to implement and build around than VR.

For now, we can expect a bright and steady future for either technology; both are predicted to have an increase in market size in the next few years, especially with trendsetters like Apple introducing devices like the Vision Pro (its own brand of VR/AR headset).