A Spatial Reckoning: Why One Industry Veteran Walked Away

About this episode

Kharis O’Connell shares his candid insights on the state of spatial computing after leaving the industry.

Apple Podcast Link Spotify Podcast Link It’s time for some straight talk. No hype, no press release optimism, no corporate spin. Just two guys with some scar tissue—and a lot of history—talking about what’s really happening in the world of spatial computing/XR. In this episode, I sit down with Kharis O’Connell—former design leader at AR headset startup: Meta (the original Meta) , Google, and Amazon. Kharis has been in the XR arena since before the game began. From early experiments with Nokia's Point & Find in 2007 to helping define zero-learning-curve design principles at (OG) Meta , he’s seen the promise, the collapse, and the recycled hype cycles firsthand. But this isn’t just a walk down memory lane. It’s a reckoning. Kharis recently left the XR industry. He’s no longer building AR glasses or pitching immersive futures to execs in Silicon Valley boardrooms. And that’s what makes this conversation special. He’s honest. Candid. Unfiltered. It’s the kind of clarity you only get once you’re no longer trying to raise funding or ship a prototype. Reasons to listen: * If you’re in the spatial computing space and having doubts * If you’ve ever wondered why AR hasn’t had its iPhone…

People in this episode

Host: Evan Helda

Guest: Kharis O’Connell

Topics covered

• spatial computing
• XR
• AR
• design principles
• industry insights

Keywords

• spatial computing
• AR
• XR
• Meta
• design principles
• Google
• Amazon
• industry veteran

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Meta, Google, Amazon, Nokia

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