Virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and now Apple’s spatial computing — each has a different meaning. But this proliferation of terms for the same core concept is a sign of a product category that’s regularly remaking itself in an effort to “catch on” — because so far, it hasn’t.
Augmented reality (adding digital elements to a live view) has resonated with various vertical use cases like architecture, education, retail, and industrial design. Virtual reality (a fully immersive virtual experience) has had some successes with gaming and entertainment. For consumer-oriented products, the most recent experience has followed a mixed-reality model (in which AR and VR co-exist), best exemplified by Meta Oculus Quest 3 and now Apple Vision Pro. (The Vision Pro lets the user adjust the intensity between a more immersive experience and a digital representation of the real world known as the pass-through image, which is captured by the headset’s cameras.)
Apple likes to compare the Vision Pro’s chances for mainstream success to the iPhone and iPad, which defined existing product categories and established broad markets. But Vision Pro is a niche product that is at this point optimized for entertainment. As a new computing platform, it’s still in its infancy. That was true initially for the Apple Watch, too; after a decade, it’s at last reached maturity and is living up to many of its original expectations.
Vision Pro appears to be well designed, but from a functionality perspective it’s more evolutionary than revolutionary. It makes some of the same design trade-offs as the Meta Oculus Quest 3: it can run for just two hours on battery and the headset feels heavy to wear. Apple’s decision to tether the battery pack to take some of the weight off your neck is probably the right choice, but it could limit mobility.
And then there’s the price.
Meta’s Oculus Quest line, despite being reasonably priced at around $500, has not been a hit. And even with Apple’s reputation, it’s difficult to imagine Vision Pro’s lofty $3,500 base price becoming a successful mainstream consumer product. Options and accessories are also pricey. Want a storage case for your Vision Pro? That’s $200 from Apple. The belt clip for the battery pack is another $50. The case and clip should be in the box at this price point. You could easily drop another $1,200, or more, on things like memory, AppleCare+, a spare battery, lenses, and the like.
Other pressures, new headwinds
Vision Pro also faces headwinds due to a lack of app support for the headset from Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, and potentially others, including Meta and Google, according to Bloomberg.
An ideal use for Vision Pro would be playing movies while traveling on an airplane or other forms of transportation. But there’s a problem: Netflix, the biggest name in streaming movies, only lets you download and play back movies offline using its app; you can’t do this from a web…
2024-01-30 08:41:04
Source from www.computerworld.com