Apple Vision Pro AR Headset Impresses, But Monetization Questions Linger
With a hefty price tag, don't expect Apple’s new augmented reality headset to become a mass market product anytime soon.
June 6, 2023
![Apple VIsion Pro AR Feature Apple VIsion Pro AR Feature](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/bltce8d9a7ffb7cbe87/6523f7c3eed70cf9a5a72b0d/Apple-VIsion-Pro-AR-Feature.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Apple
“It’s the first Apple product you look through and not at,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said on stage at the WWDC. “You can see, here and interact with digital content, just like it’s in your physical space. And you control Vision Pro using the most natural and intuitive tools, your eyes, hands and voice.”
Apple Vision Pro is built on its own platform called VisionOS that will support existing developer tools and application programming frameworks.
“Apple Vision Pro will have a brand-new app store where users can discover and download all the apps built for VisionOS, as well as compatible iPad and iPhone apps,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s VP of worldwide developer relations.
Alan Dye, Apple’s VP of human interface design, said EyeSight addresses Apple’s critical design goal for Vision Pro that a user never feels isolated from the people around them when using it, by showing their eyes.
“You can see them, and they can see you,” Dye said. “Not only does EyeSight reveal your eyes, it provides important queue to others what you’re focused on.”
Even when someone is immersed in an application or experience, if someone is nearby, they will appear in their view, he noted.
Within FaceTime, users can share apps with others and use them for tasks such as reviewing a presentation, sharing photos and videos or watching a movie together. FaceTime on Vision Pro works seamlessly with other Apple devices like iPhone, iPad, and Mac so everyone can join in,” said Allessandra McGinnis, senior product manager for augmented reality at Apple.
Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart, who is also at WWDC, shared that Vision Pro is “essentially everything that Microsoft promised with HoloLens that can be accomplished with none of that headset’s image opacity and field of view limitations. These experiences may actually be driven by Microsoft itself; Microsoft has already been announced as an Apple Vision Pro partner, so I expect Microsoft Dynamics and Microsoft Azure to be on the platform, not just Teams and Microsoft 365 Office apps.”
While Greengart was impressed with the Vision Pro, he acknowledged some dealbreaker for many, especially given the price.
“It’s still a relatively heavy thing hanging off the front of your face that is tethered to a wall outlet or a two-hour battery,” he noted. “Based on my limited experience, it was hard to know just how uncomfortable it will be for more than an hour or two at a time, but I definitely felt it.”
O’Connell shared a similar concern.
“As with previous AR and VR headsets, the initial demo with Vision Pro is super impressive — and for those who haven’t tried previous iterations from other vendors, the experience will initially be even more mind-blowing. After the roughly 25-minute demo was over, however, I was perfectly content with it being done,” he said.
While Greengart was impressed with the Vision Pro, he acknowledged some dealbreaker for many, especially given the price.
“It’s still a relatively heavy thing hanging off the front of your face that is tethered to a wall outlet or a two-hour battery,” he noted. “Based on my limited experience, it was hard to know just how uncomfortable it will be for more than an hour or two at a time, but I definitely felt it.”
O’Connell shared a similar concern.
“As with previous AR and VR headsets, the initial demo with Vision Pro is super impressive — and for those who haven’t tried previous iterations from other vendors, the experience will initially be even more mind-blowing. After the roughly 25-minute demo was over, however, I was perfectly content with it being done,” he said.
Despite introducing three new Macs and revealing new features coming to its four operating systems this fall, the new Apple Vision Pro augmented reality (AR) headset and platform overshadowed the near-term deliverables.
Apple unveiled the new AR headset on Monday kicking off its weeklong Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC) at its Cupertino, California, campus. But the staggering $3,499 starting price and the fact it won’t ship until next year took the wind out of the sails of any partners or investors expecting an announcement with more near-term potential.
For its part, Apple Vision Pro marks its first new computing device and platform since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2014. Apple is not the first to launch an AR headset. Meta, Microsoft and Lenovo are among those that offer headsets. Apple’s own view of AR is that it’s creating a market that brings spatial computing to the forefront.
“The same way that Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing,” Apple CEO said in his WWDC keynote. “This marks the beginning of a journey that will bring a new dimension to powerful personal technology.”
Apple Vision Pro Sticker Shock
Nevertheless, enthusiasm was muted when Apple revealed it will ship early next year, and the $3,499 starting price, significantly higher than Meta’s popular Meta Quest 2 Virtual Reality headset or even the Lenovo ThinkReality VRX, which shipped last week and starts at $1,299.
Indeed, those who attended the launch were impressed with Apple Vision Pro. Among them was industry analyst Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research. O’Donnell said he spent 25 minutes with it.
Techanalysis’ Bob O’Donnell
“Vision Pro’s extremely high-resolution display along with its natural user interface let you see and manipulate digital content of all types in the space in front of you,” O’Donnell wrote. “Practically speaking, that means it functions like a virtual monitor onto which you can place everything from traditional iOS apps to applications running on your Mac to immersive photos, videos and more.”
BakerAvenue Wealth management chief strategist King Lip wasn’t as impressed. Lip told CNBC: “If I look at prior product launches — the AirPods or the iWatch [Apple Watch], those were clear innovation for the masses where earnings growth and revenue soared on those devices. But with a device priced at $3,500, as great as it is, I’m not certain that this is innovation for the masses, but rather more perhaps a novelty toy for the privileged.”
More on the design of the Apple Vision Pro appears in the slideshow above.
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