The research firm Gartner has forecasted that a quarter of all people will be spending “at least” an hour a day in the metaverse by 2026.
In a press release, the firm claimed that people would be soon using the metaverse “for work, shopping, education, social [purposes] and or entertainment.” The company also predicted that the corporate metaverse bandwagon, already moving with increasing alacrity, will only continue to gather pace in the near future, adding that by 2026, “30% of the organizations in the world will have products and services ready for metaverse.”
But the researcher added that a period of convergence would inevitably follow, with the need for interoperability driving progress.
Marty Resnick, Gartner’s research vice president, was quoted as remarking that metaverse “activities are currently being conducted in separate environments.” But, he opined, “eventually, they will take place in a single environment – the metaverse – with multiple destinations across technologies and experiences.”
And Gartner underlined the role crypto and blockchain protocols would play in this metaverse-related progress, explaining:
“Because no single vendor will own the metaverse, Gartner expects it to have a virtual economy enabled by digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The metaverse will impact every business that consumers interact with every day.”
One company delving deeper into the metaverse is Samsung, which is doubling down on its Decentraland collaboration via virtual store first unveiled at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Samsung added compatibility for the game’s marketplace back in 2020. And as reported in January, the electronics giant first showcased new products at a Decentraland store named 837X at CES.
Now the company is ready to take its metaverse activities to the next level by unveiling its newest smartphone at the store, at the same time as it livestreams the event via its website and its Facebook, Twitch, and TikTok channels.
The company is widely expected to unveil its newest flagship Galaxy smartphone, likely the Galaxy S22, at the event to be held tomorrow.
Per its website, the firm has more plans in store for its X837 store, explaining that “upcoming events exclusive to the Samsung metaverse community” could take place at the virtual space.
On the same page, the company advised users to “link” their MetaMask crypto wallets “for a safe and easy way to collect NFTs,” teasing: “Stay tuned for more virtual experiences and rewards in 2022.”
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