Magic Leap has announced that their newest augmented reality headset, the Magic Leap One, now supports Spotify, one of the biggest streaming services in the world. This business partnership is going to give users the ability to bring the world around them to life like never before, and interact with the bands and their music in ways that you would never think is possible. The future is now when it comes to technology, and this is only a small step when we look at the capabilities of the technology we have fully immersed ourselves in.
Through this new app that has been introduced into the Magic Leap World (the name they call the environment in which you spend time with the Magic Leap One), users will be able to select and access their music from their premium account. You will be controlling this music from your smartphone, tablet, or even desktop, but it will be playing and will be selected through the lens of the Magic Leap One.
As you upload more music onto your headset, you will be able to pin music to specific locations in your home. You can listen to Kanye every time you walk into the kitchen, start your favorite radio station when you walk into the garage, and always start your favorite podcast whenever you are in your office. This is done by the spatial mapping done in your real space by the powerful sensors on the AR headset. And also, because this musical content won’t be going anywhere unless you move it, you have the ability to turn your home into a musical kingdom that is one of the top attractions in the world.
Spotify isn’t only the first music streaming service that is coming to the Magic Leap headset, but it is also the first app or experience to work with the companies BMS (Background Music Service). This means you will be able to run the app in the background while still playing the music, even when you are inside of other apps and experiences in your headset. Unless the other app you are getting into doesn’t allow it, this app will continue to play your selected music.
On top of all of these great features, you can still control the music from your phone while you are in other apps on the headset, making you always in control of the audio you are hearing.
New Developer Tools
Just like Spotify is doing, developers of other apps will now have the chance to integrate the BMS to their apps. Whether it be another streaming service that is looking to make inroads with the AR community, or an app that is trying to bring more audio to your virtual and augmented experiences, they ill be able to access this new feature that is being brought to them by Magic Leap and their development team.
Beyond Music
As for the future of what Magic Leap is planning to do with their audio, they said this in their official company article. “We see a time in the not too distant future when spatial computing will extend into the wider world of podcasts, audiobooks and storytelling. Just this year, eager festival-goers at Siggraph Computer Animation Festival were invited to put on a Magic Leap One headset and discover the story of Frankenstein through the eyes of a young Mary Shelley. And in 2018, we announced a new partnership with the RSC, working together to build unforgettable theatrical experiences using spatial computing, including a ‘tabletop theatre’ performance of the Seven Ages of Man speech from As You Like It.”
This is going to continue to be an exciting time in the virtual and augmented worlds, regardless of which companies are taking the lead. For more VR and AR community updates, make sure to check back at VRGear.com.
