Apple Looking to Make Its AR/VR Headsets More Immersive With Sharper Displays

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

1. Meta is selling each Quest headset at a substantial loss.
2. Apple's headset is rumored to cost $2,000+ according to the original article.
3. Even at $399, and selling at a substantial loss, Quest VR is nowhere near a mass market product. 15 million is nothing compared to 1.35 billion phones sold in 2020, for example.
4. Meta is losing $10 billion/year trying to make it a mass market device.

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I guess by that logic the PlayStation 5 isn't a mass market product since it's sold 20 million so far?

 

[senttoschool]

I guess by that logic the PlayStation 5 isn't a mass market product since it's sold 20 million so far?

Depends on what standards.

 

[lazyrighteye]

I agree a device like this, for it to get developer traction and general adoption, can’t be north of 2K + taxes, unless it is geared towards businesses, i.e. a Hololens ($3K) competitor.

Apple's target is consumers. Thus, my guess: it'll start at $1599.

 

[IllinoisCorn]

Will buy immediately.

 

[8CoreWhore]

IOW, skip Gen 1.

 

[BeatCrazy]

We also have Homepods, Airpods Max, Apple TV as counterexamples of Apple products that failed in the mass market.

Would Apple define each of those as failures? Just because a physical product doesn't reach the sale volume of AirPods doesn't mean it's not successful. I'd argue the Apple TV has ubiquity and adoption that would be hard to beat, considering the price point.

 

[CarAnalogy]

First iphone, airpods, mac , ipad , apple watch didnt failed...they made Apple a lot of money
neeh, just 2-3 years from the first gen release...the others will get the idea like they did with the airpods
so in 2025 we will have mass market for these (mass market for this type and price for a product of course)

To be fair the first public generation of just about everything on that list seems like a prototype in retrospect.

First Apple Watch especially almost missed the mark.

Not that that’s a bad thing, can’t just work on it forever, got to release something.

But yeah I do think that by the second or third revision it will have serious traction, and actually live up to the ideal by the fifth or sixth gen. If all the other products on that list are anything to go by.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

i don't think it can be aimed towards businesses. absolutely needs to be consumer focused.

that **** is going to be expensive. i'm not sure how Apple is going to sell this. maybe after a few years they'll release a Pro/Ultra/Max version and then an SE/Mini version. it's going to take years for this to take off.

Is SE the VR monocle? Basically Borg stuff...

...with tubes running down to the battery packs we are wearing to power it with "same great battery life"?

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Depends on what standards.

So by your standards a standalone VR headset that's sold over 15 million recorded so far isn't mass market when the next gen gaming consoles that are highly sought after have sold the same amount.

And this is just the Quest 2. This isn't even counting other VR headsets like the Pico Neo, or the Valve Index, or the PlayStation VR.

 

[Freida]

Why? The pixel density is one thing but the screens will not be too big. If anything, it could be around 1inch2 per eye so you are really not driving that many pixels

No chance. You need something far more powerful than an iPhone SoC.

 

[Freida]

i dont think it matters if it's AR or VR. maybe more so VR but still... to fit that GPU power into a headset you're gonna need some powerful efficient tech in there. probably need M3/M4 plus some battery tech improvements.

see my post above

 

[Cameront9]

All these leaks of what they're doing for the second version brings to mind the Osborne effect.

 

[jz0309]

And both will be found in your iPhone.

So you think it will be a companion of the iPhone vs standalone?

 

[iPhoneFan5349]

First generation is going to fail so hard.

We're at least 10 years away from a mass market VR headset.

Apple stock analysts who think the VR headset is going to contribute to Apple's bottom line in the next few years are dreaming.

Yeah. That’s what they said about the iPhone, computer guys weren’t just going to come in a revolutionize the market.

I’ll give you this though, there’s no way they can do it with Cook at the helm. He’s not Steve Jobs

 

[iPhoneFan5349]

1. Meta is selling each Quest headset at a substantial loss.
2. Apple's headset is rumored to cost $2,000+ according to the original article.
3. Even at $399, and selling at a substantial loss, Quest VR is nowhere near a mass market product. 15 million is nothing compared to 1.35 billion phones sold in 2020, for example.
4. Meta is losing $10 billion/year trying to make it a mass market device.

View attachment 2082835

Dude. They are selling phones for $1,000 dollars and they managed to make it mass market. I’m pretty sure they can easily sell things thing for the same price or even 500 more and steal appeal to the mass market. This isn’t going to be a toy you know? Everything less than $2,000 is mass market nowadays. As long as the product is worth it.

 

[anthogag]

“Pro Reality” could be better.

Can they have the Grand Theft Auto preview with this Apple VR/AR goggles, they’re working on a new GTA…

 

[Realityck]

Apple is looking to make its future generation AR/VR headsets more immersive by increasing the sharpness and quality of the displays used in the products, according to a report from The Elec.

How can they discuss future generation of AV/VR headsets, when there are no present generation of AV/VR headsets from Apple?

Like we are going to improve our vaporware with newer better vaporware.

 

[AlexESP]

We also have Homepods, Airpods Max, Apple TV as counterexamples of Apple products that failed in the mass market.

AirPods Max have failed? There’s absolutely nothing that points to that, but okey

 

[MidwestMacGuy]

I think the word "Immersive" should win the award for the most overused word of this decade.

 

[AlexESP]

This is a big issue with VR, you need a really high resolution if you want to have something like a virtual workstation covering your whole field of view, not just games which can tolerate lower resolutions.

But if anyone can do it, it's Apple with their power-efficient GPUs.

I don’t think it’s going to be a virtual space by emulating screen and keyboard, I'm pretty sure. It’s just not the best tool. I think it’s very similar to the iPad: some people thought it would launch with macOS, but in retrospect it’s very clear Apple wouldn’t do that.

 

[macdisciple]

First generation is going to fail so hard.

We're at least 10 years away from a mass market VR headset.

Apple stock analysts who think the VR headset is going to contribute to Apple's bottom line in the next few years are dreaming.

Maybe. I understand little about AR but it seems to me success will depend on the quality of the apps and how people value their utility. Seems like there could be niche markets from the get-go in education and training -- especially when learners are remote and must demonstrate skills without being on site.

 

[senttoschool]

Dude. They are selling phones for $1,000 dollars and they managed to make it mass market. I’m pretty sure they can easily sell things thing for the same price or even 500 more and steal appeal to the mass market. This isn’t going to be a toy you know? Everything less than $2,000 is mass market nowadays. As long as the product is worth it.

Your last sentence is key. You argued against yourself.

 

[Veeper]

This discussion reads like a pre-release 3D TV discussion. No one is asking whether it’s a good idea or something that will actually find a large enough niche to survive.

(RIP, terrible 3D TV)

 

[Jarman74]

If the rumor is they'll cost $2,000, that means they're actually going to cost $1,000. These prices rumors are Apple's way of making people feel like they got a good deal. They did it with the original iPad, and most recently with the Apple Watch Ultra.

Not sure about that. The iPad led the way as tablets were pretty much nonexistent in 2010, while the Apple Watch Ultra (which came out of the blue) had to be priced competitively in a market dominated by Garmin.

This new gizmo is supposed to break new ground in a year when people are expected to cut most nonessential spending due to challenging economic conditions, so I expect it to be priced very fairly regardless of any "strategic" rumor which will be floating around in the next few months.

 

[Veeper]

15 million Quest headsets have been sold.

I wonder if it parallels treadmills for how many are sold and “currently holding up dust”…