Apple scaling back Vision Pro production plans
Production difficulties and the complex design of Apple's $3,499 Vision Pro mixed reality headset have reportedly caused Apple to scale back its internal sales target of 1 million units sold in 2024 as it is worried it won't be able to make enough of its newest device.
This seems like sometuing that wouldnt work so well anyway.
It looks great and if it was more affordable i think alot of people would be interested but its going to be hard to get a large number of early adopters with the 3.5k price tag.
This will be a rich boy toy for a long time before it sells on a large scale a few versions down the line.
1 million isnt that many people but i dunno if its features are enough to justify the cost to 1 million people.
$3500 in today’s money is not far off from what early computers cost. It’s actually less.
The Mac SE retailed for $2900 in 1987. This is equivalent to over $7000 in today’s money.
“A rich boys toy that will never amount to anything” would have been a grossly bad prediction back in 1987.
Just sayin.
I see your point but i dont know if i equate this new apple device to a computer. Its certainly got alot of amazing features but compared to a computer it doesnt hold up functionally.
You could argue that eventually it will surpass a computer in functionality and become more mainstream but thats kind of my point. Right now its not there, but after they have developed it for 10-15 years you might see mass adoption of this type of device over PCs.
I also didnt say it would never amount to anything. Using your statement i would point out that computers were not found in everyones home until the end of the 90s and beyond. So i stand by my suggestion that it will be something rich people have for many yeara beforw becoming mainstream.
"But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." ― Carl Sagan
Just because a large expensive rich toy turned into a staple does not imply that all rich toys turn into the same thing.
I feel like something like this truly won't go mainstream until two things happen:
Once that happens I think they'll explode in popularity. If they can make them look closer to just reading glasses or something with a 5 hr battery life at a bare minimum, everyone will want them. Obviously it would help a lot if they weren't $3,500 too lmao
The glasses thing will not happen for a long time, the are just too many limitations with the form factor.
On the other hand, Bigscreen's HMD looks and feels way better than the toasters we're accustomed to strapping to our faces. For that alone, I considered switching from the Index.
What we can hope is that Apple will somewhat normalize VR gear usage and push it further mainstream. They're really good at this and the VR industry could use some more competition. Now, only if they wouldn't patent every screw in that thing...
It might be a chicken and egg type of problem, but for me it is more about content.
Right now it is mostly just games, but i actually don't think that is enough to go mainstream. At least on the consumer side i think it needs more diverse content, like maybe live events like concerts and sport events, tours of special places and maybe even regular house viewings.
Actuallly thinking about it, the main issue might be that the content for VR needs to be specifically made. Smartphones for example could take advantage of already existing use cases (websites, mail, text/voice messages and so on). And additionally had more intersections with existing technology.
From discussion I've heard by my gen z friends I'm pretty sure apple could sell almost anything and people will buy it and claim it's the best thing ever. Airpods are treated as jewelery at this point. I will say their phones are decent products but they're way too locked down for me to ever own one. Great for my parents etc who want something simple
Thinking of Apple kit as Jewelry makes so much sense.
I have a pair of £40 Bluetooth earbuds and recently asked a group of co-workers why they owned Airpods.
They all admitted the sound quality was worse but it has a nifty find my airpod function. Which put me off buying Airpods.
Thinking of them as £200 earrings explains alot. The reason you buy them isn't for a practical purpose but to be seen in them or look pretty (which is entirely subjective).
I'm an early VR/AR adopter. I love that shit and use it all the time. This may be an unpopular opinion in the community but I still don't think it's ready for mass adoption. It's not the price it's that there's no reason to use it. It's all fluff. We bought cell phones because we needed it to call people, then get emails and now full internet. What do we NEED AR/VR for?
I wouldn't be surprised if this get suspended and eventually withdrawn like the AirPower, it's not a very attractive product regardless of the price.
The LCD panel on the front showing your face is tacky and battery wasting, it has a surprisingly limited movement space, the battery setup is too awkward for still only covering 2hrs like the Meta (Oculus) Quest which has been on the market for years.
I think this product is like the Cybertruck, where we were all looking around the room to see if anyone else thought it was cool before making our opinion, it just looks lame.
I don't believe we will see another breakout product from Apple, but they will remain on top like Sony has with their consoles due to already having market dominance.
Wait it's a panel? I thought it was some weird seethrough glass but I guess I didn't think very hard about how that would work.
The way they advertised it made it look like see-through glass.
As a person who doesn't buy Apple ecosystem hardware, I don't know what niche this product is filling for me.
I don't already use VR, so what is this product doing to draw me in to VR? On top of that, what does Apple VR offer that other VR services do not?
There is no way Apple will not release the Vision. They would have been working on this for the better part of a decade, and have reportedly invested billions into it. Even if the first version flops, the Apple machine will continue making Vision for multiple generations.
This thing will get released. I’ve read at least one review where the reviewer actually tested the thing and confirmed that it worked as advertised. No way they shelf it at this point. My understanding is AirPower was vapor when they announced it and never quite got it working right.
No chance Apple gives up on this. It was bad PR enough when they had to give up on the airpower but this headset is a whole different story. It's not just some accessory it's a brand new product category and is supposed to be the current CEO's legacy. There's IMHO no way they will just say "oops my bad" and not launch it.
It depends what you mean by “breakout product”. Like if you’re looking for revolutionary changes like iPhones, iPods, etc. how many other companies are expected to make generational technology changes?
I mean, the Apple Silicone hardware is pretty effing good.
Eh I think it looks pretty cool, only reason I won’t be getting one is purely cost related.
It really needed to be a peripheral device at 1/5 the price. World isn't ready for laptop-goggles.
$3500 To run regular boring Mac apps with a stupid set of goggles on your head that doesn’t bring much else. Sure, sign me up! NOT
Smartest move of this project yet
Can anybody explain to me why it is so hard to make a proper transparent display instead of these monstrosities? We already have LCDs, polarizers, faraday rotators, optic fibre multiplexing, piezoelectric materials...what's the catch?
I'll be the first to admit that my technical experience in this field is limited, but I have been following the tech for some time.
Transparent display tech has come a long way since its inception, but from either a transparency standpoint or as a high fidelity interface for VR I can't see how it's a viable option. Given the choice I would much rather have a crystal clear UI with simulated AR than compromise display quality with adjustable transparency.
Why Apple chose to develop the googly-eyes outward-facing display is beyond me though. Maybe it looks better in person than in their promos.
They really need forced scarcity for this product. These are too weird, expensive and futuristic looking to be sitting on the shelf for the first year or it’s a failure. However many they produce needs to sell out to build hype.
no way, a $3,500 product that does the same thing your phone or computer can isn't selling well?! no way!
You've just attacked Apple's entire business model.
You only forgot to mention the part where they take from open source and don't give anything back.
For $3500 a pop I think I know why…
I think there'll be some real amazing uses for AR/VR products in the hands on tech fields, you can show another colleague exactly what you're looking at.
This is just another stepping stone to this being a thing. 🤷🏻♀️
I wonder why 🤔
I say make a cheaper version that just connects to the iPhone or a Mac the way the Pro connects to a battery pack.
I agree, the core technology here should be the display, everything else is already figured out and can be externally connected.
The original intention was for there to be a second, wireless compute device. Jony Ive ended up vetoing that before he left Apple. I would’ve loved to see what the headset would’ve been in that form.
Pre-ordered. You think $3500 is too expensive meanwhile you spent $1k on your phone and have a $2k laptop and $1k tv this replaces both
/me peers at my $300 Samsung S10e bought 3 years ago, my $1200 Asus ROG Strix laptop, and my $400 TCL 4k TV and wonders if your quoted prices are inflated merely to justify your own pre-order. Not sure where your buying stuff but you should really shop around, those prices are horrendous...
