Amazon Working on an AR Device, Suggests New Job Listings

Amazon is gearing up to enter the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) space, suggests new job listings posted on the company’s recruitment website. As per the new listing on Amazon Jobs, the e-commerce giant is looking to hire a number of people including designers, product managers, researchers and technologists for an unannounced AR/VR product. The listing hints that Amazon is working on a device that will be a “new-to-world smart-home product” that uses Extended Reality (XR) technology. Tech giants including Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google are already continuing their endeavours in this space.

A report by Protocol spotted the new job listings by Amazon. As per the report, Amazon is hiring for a “new-to-world smart-home product” that uses an advanced XR research concept. Another job listing describes the initiative related to XR/AR devices that include “developing code for early prototypes through mass production.”

Further, the company is looking to hire a UX designer to work on “the core system interface along with end-user applications spanning from multi-modal interfaces to 3D AR entertainment experiences,”. Preferred qualifications for the role include 3D design experience in motion design, animation and AR/VR, games among other things. A separate listing is available for senior product manager and the preferred qualifications include experience making deeply technical products, like AI/ML, robotics, and games. All these listings hint at a new AR device by Amazon. If the development turns out to be true, Amazon will join tech giants like Facebook, Apple, and Google which are reportedly all working on augmented reality devices.

Meta, formerly Facebook, is pushing toward AR and VR focused Metaverse. Codenamed Project Nazare, the first generation of Meta AR glasses are expected to arrive in 2024. Similarly, iPhone maker Apple is eyeing to release its AR/VR headset next year. Search giant Google is also reportedly working on an AR headset that could be launched in 2024. The headset, a part of the company’s ‘Project Iris’, is said to feature an in-house processor from Google.