Apple's Vision Pro is great, but no one wants it

A customer tries on the Apple Vision Pro headset during a product launch at an Apple Store in New York City. [+] New York City, February 2, 2024. Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP.

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After much anticipation and fanfare, in February 2024, Apple announced its contribution to the mixed reality headset market. Vision Pro is undoubtedly a remarkable technological achievement. Apple believed that the product would give the company a leading position in spatial computing, the merging of the physical and digital worlds. However, the market has not embraced Vision Pro, and recent news from Apple suggests that they are revising their roadmap. What happened to Apple's dream of mass adoption of spatial computing? What can we learn from it?

At first, it was nothing but a surprising experience.

After spending 30 minutes in a demo of the Vision Pro at an Apple Store, it's clear that it's a computing and engineering marvel. The specs are insane: two 23MP OLED displays, 12 cameras, five sensors, six microphones, and an M2 chip. Amazing!

Apple has packed a lot into such a small space, and the sensory experiences exceed expectations: in the demo, for example, the user is transported to the rehearsal room of Alicia Keys and her band, experiencing the sensations and sounds of magic; that alone makes the 30-minute demo worth watching.

Using Vision Pro as a computer, users can open multiple virtual screens of their favorite applications that float in front of the user's eyes and can easily zoom in and out on each one. Interactions include special hand gestures like pinch and drag, and many actions incorporate eye movements.

Navigating the device is engaging and has the familiar feel of Apple's user interface, and the performance of each action is natural and responsive.

CATANIA, ITALY – JUNE 21: Ophthalmologist Professor Andrea Russo wearing Apple Vision Pro… [+] A patient undergoes oculoplastic surgery with the assistance of a specialized team at the Polyclinic “G. Rodrico San Marco” University Hospital in Catania, Italy, on June 21, 2024. (Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images)

Getty Images Is there a market for spatial computing right now?

Apple predicted that this rich, immersive virtual experience would represent the next generation of computing platforms, and with a reputation for design and user-friendly utility, they knew they could quickly establish themselves as a leader. Despite an incredible record of product success, Apple missed the mark with this high-profile release. What did they do wrong?

The Apple Vision Pro wasn't the first in its category — not by much: The earliest head-mounted displays for computing and virtual reality (VR) — also known as VR headsets — date back to the 1960s.

More recently, Sony released the PlayStation VR headset in 2016, while Meta brought the Oculus Go to market in 2018. While primarily targeting the gaming market, both Sony and Meta have had moderate success, selling 5 million and 20 million units respectively to date. Recently, sales have slowed significantly, with Sony halting production to reduce current inventory.

Meta Platforms Inc. Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality (VR) headset. Photo: Zed Jameson/Bloomberg

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Microsoft entered VR with the highly praised HoloLens, finding limited success in enterprise environments but ultimately ending its mixed reality efforts in 2023.

Despite their deep resources and marketing muscle, leaders like Sony, Meta and Microsoft have discovered that the market for VR headsets, while not small, is narrow and niche.

Did Apple and its cubicles full of analysts have access to market data that other companies didn't?

Apple appears to have bet that its innovative products and wide range of uses could create a mass market for spatial computing, and with products like the iPod, iPad, and iPhone, which have shipped billions of units in total, Apple has a great reputation for building huge market demand.

But Apple expects to sell around 450,000 Vision Pros this year, well short of its first-year goal of 800,000. Compare that to the 73 million Apple iPads sold in the first year.

The most noticeable thing on day one was the price of the Vision Pro: Starting at $3,500, it surpassed, for example, the Metas headset, which retailed for around $500. Of course, you can't do a perfect one-to-one feature comparison, but Apple's price point wasn't even in that range.

Small market size and high prices weren't the only headwinds Apple faced.

Innovative technology alone is not enough for market success

Apple was betting that by offering a wide range of compelling use cases, many people would adopt spatial computing for their daily work, learning and entertainment needs. To make this happen, a significant behavioral change was required. Evidence from other vendors did not support this, and neither did Apple.

Shortly after getting over the novelty of the purchase, many users began wondering what to do with the device. The situation was made worse by the lack of apps and media specifically for the Vision Pro. It's no surprise that Apple experienced a flood of returns and more than a few units ended up on sites like eBay.

The usual excitement surrounding any new Apple product quickly faded, with social media mentions and Google searches plummeting in just a few weeks.

Another issue that was difficult to overcome was the form factor: while wearing a computer headset to play games or do a short workout might be acceptable, wearing a headset for hours on end to surf the web or watch movies was unconvincing. Many users reported that the headset did not offer a compelling upgrade over a traditional setup.

Another issue is that the Vision Pro is heavy at 1.4 pounds, which is quite a lot to wrap around your head for extended periods of time without discomfort. There have also been reports of health issues, including motion sickness, dark circles around the eyes, headaches, and eye strain with extended use. Many of these issues are common complaints about VR headset modalities.

Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality Infographic: User-Device Interaction,… [+] Environment and Objects

What's next for getty Spatial Computing and Vision Pro?

There's a lot to love about Apple's first-generation Vision Pro, and to be fair, it does have a lot of enthusiastic users. Anyone using the device for the first time will quickly find that the experience is a major step forward.

However, the poor sales performance of Apple and other vendors makes it clear that the mass market opportunity for spatial computing currently does not yet exist.

Superior technology alone is not enough for market success.

Although Apple reportedly has no plans for a successor to this model of the Vision Pro, it isn't giving up on spatial computing, and a lower-cost version with reduced features is expected to arrive within a year or two, by which time the market may be ready and compelling uses may be more apparent.

For spatial computing to be successful in the mass market, it needs to solve a problem and create an experience that is affordable and in a form factor that is as unobtrusive as wearing regular glasses.

But the grand prize will go to the company that finally creates an immersive experience that doesn't require headgear.

How about a holodeck?

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanreichental/2024/06/29/apples-vision-pro-is-amazing-but-no-one-wants-it/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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