Hardware is the key to metaverse adoption—software is the key to retention

The capabilities and limitations of hardware have always defined the possibilities of new computing technologies. The first IBM personal computers offered the computing power of a room-sized mainframe computer from decades past but only had a 4.77MHz processor and 640KB of memory, which Bill Gates reportedly said “ought to be enough for anyone.”

Little did Gates know that today’s PCs would run multicore processors that clock speeds up to 4.5GHz and memory starting at 16GB. Gaming PCs, which cost between $2,500 and $6,000, up the ante even further by using graphics cards that can power detailed and immersive VR experiences.

For the VR-focused metaverse to succeed on the same scale as PCs and smartphones, it will require massive adoption of its key hardware components: VR headsets and controllers.

This will be determined by factors like price, ease of use, and value provided by apps and experiences in the ecosystem. VR hardware has been notoriously expensive and cumbersome.