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Apple Now Selling $300 Developer Strap for Vision Pro

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Through its Developer website, Apple is offering a $300 "Developer Strap" for the Vision Pro, which provides a USB-C connection between the headset and a Mac.

apple-developer-strap.jpg

Apple says that the Developer Strap is helpful for "accelerating the development of graphics-intensive apps and games." It is designed to provide the same audio experience as the standard Right Audio Strap, so it can be used for both development and testing.

As noted by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, the Developer Strap is only available to developers who are logged in to a paid U.S. Apple Developer account.

Earlier today, we shared images of the Developer Strap in Apple's documentation. Apple will use the accessory for diagnostics in Apple retail locations.

Article Link: Apple Now Selling $300 Developer Strap for Vision Pro
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/02/02/apple-selling-vision-pro-developer-strap/
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grantishere said:
Should be cheaper
Click to expand...
How much cheaper? What does this cost Apple to design, have manufactured, and to support?

It's a specialized tool with a most likely small demand (not just because of the cost), which means Apple has little incentive to charge less for it: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...nostics-mode-revealed-in-more-detail.2418210/

It's unlikely most developers would need it. The higher price also potentially puts up a barrier to people who might be tempted to buy it without understanding what it's for.

An edit for people thinking I'm supporting the price. I'm not. All I'm doing is offering one potential explanation out of many for why it might be priced the way it is. Besides, what if Apple was losing money on it at this price (Apple isn't)? Would it still be priced too high? Those are just hypothetical questions for people spouting off knee-jerk reactions that it’s priced too high without taking time to reflect.
 
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till said:
I would assume that this lets you attach a debugger and stuff like that, but I'm confused about why they call out "graphics-intensive apps and games" in particular.
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Loading over large assets multiple times is much faster over a wire than over WiFi. I think this is also capable of allow the Mac to capture a mirror of the vision display using MV-HEVC at full resolution.
 
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neuropsychguy said:
How much cheaper? What does this cost Apple to design, have manufactured, and to support?
Click to expand...
Not directly to your point, but this doesn't have to be a profit center for Apple.

Blasphemous I know, but given the restricted availability and the fact that more development helps Apple, it's not unreasonable for it to be sold at a loss (relative to bill of materials/R&D).
 
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I'm kinda shocked how long it took them to tell us that it existed, given it was shown in videos so long ago
 
Scipster said:
Can this be used to establish a direct link to Steam VR?
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Not by itself. You’d still need an app like Steam Link or Virtual Desktop to do anything with data going over it, if those apps could connect over this at all. Then you’d need to deal with the lack of controllers. Then you need to get past Apple to approve it while they insist on distancing themselves from other VR platforms wherever they can.
 
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