Google Glass had a better see-through solution than the Apple Vision Pro
Whatever use cases they try to push for social settings, I think Google Glass was still the better solution. Nobody uses their Vision Pro outside, and it's way too expensive as just another VR headset to use at home.
They are different products. Glass was a portable AR product. Vision Pro is a computer replacement. It sounds odd but you are not intended to use a Vision Pro out and about, it’s intended to replace or substantially augment your home computer
Companies are still trying to figure out how to make VR/AR mainstream beyond entertainment and niche use. They desperately want it to be the next cell phone, but we had good reason to want to carry around access to virtually all information and it was in a good form factor.
I agree with you - Google Glass had the right idea for the form factor. The problem is it's a solution looking for a problem to solve.
I would buy an Apple Vision Pro if it were in the Google Glass form factor.
I want things like walking directions virtually overlayed on the street, or reminders to visibly pop up when relevant, or just a neater interface than my phone for things like checking my calendar or recent messages.
I think part of the issue is the Google Glass form factor came with some unfortunate limitations. The full VR headset approach allows the image to look however Apple wants. With the Google Glass things can only be lightly overlayed on a small portion of the visual field.
I'd like a real life adblocker, which unfortunately runs against everyone's business model.
The other reason why especially facebook is pushing VR so hard is that they need their own platform to continue to have a business. Right now, their personalized, ad-based business model is severely threatened, because both Android and iOS have shut down 3rd party tracking and continue to do so. So facebook is kind of fucked and needs a hardware platform they control. That's why they spend so much money on it. I'm pretty sure it's not because Zuck is a moron living in an 80's sci-fi world, although that's of course the more fun story to tell.
I'm not sure about apple's motivation here, to be honest. Just creating something to kick facebook out would probably not be enough of a motivation to spend so much money and developing their own thing. Maybe to keep the hype and stock price up? They don't have a lot of other interesting things to show at the moment. No "AI" crap like the others have and flashy innovation basically halted with smartphones/laptops etc.
IRL ad blocker would be something I'd wear a Google Glass-type device for. It does feel a little like an episode of black mirror though, filtering things from life.
As a long time gamer, I have so many different use cases just for a heads up display that I don't understand how it's still niche aside from the fact the hardware isn't there for the form factor desired.
If you could do all the AR/MR stuff devices do now, but as a pair of lightweight wraparound sunglasses instead of a goofy goggle with or without a screen that shows your eyes to people, and was also more affordable... It would probably actually take off.
Yes and no. Yes in that putting the useless googly eyes display on the front of the Apple Vision headset is a questionable decision that adds cost, weight, and complexity. No in that Google glass was a crap product.