Apple Vision Pro Customer Interest Dying Down at Some Retail Stores

[Surf Monkey]

I think part of the disinterest is just that current VR headsets are huge. Who wants to wear that monstrosity on their heads (and then that battery pack hanging off it?) Yuck.

If you can reduce VR headsets to the size of a pair of glasses, like those Meta Wayfairers for example, that size will get people excited.

The Vision system can’t and won’t ever be able to fit in sunglasses like the Ray-Ban Meta. No way, no how. The limitations on a system like that are very obvious. And as many have already pointed out, even if it was glasses, who exactly wants that? What unique and indispensable function would it have that makes the trade offs worth it?

 

[Surf Monkey]

That's where I see as VR being useful. Something you can take out the house and interact with the environment around you. For example, while driving, you see information about the road ahead of you (speed limit, warning of objects in the roadway, etc). Tony Stark Ironman helmet kind of stuff.

No possible way that a device you wear on your face is EVER approved for use behind the wheel of a vehicle.

 

[Surf Monkey]

That's why contact lenses are also being talked about, with one company already very close, although it remains to be seen what applications and uses will be built in. But even if they got this to be the size of regular sunglasses I would think the adoption rate would be much higher than 5-10%, personally I feel it would be closer to 60-90% seeing how smartphones have taken over. Though with that said there would need to be some factors, such as light changing lenses so you can wear them outside and indoors, the ability to completely replace your phone, and obviously killer app/apps, but I would think that even basic stuff like video phone calls and having a huge screen would be enough.

Your eyes are basically your brain sticking out of the front of your face. The idea that putting electronics directly on them is a good thing? Wow. No. Not only is it completely unrealistic but the chances of such a thing ever passing regulatory approval are slim to none.

 

[Royksöpp]

But this was supposed to be Tim's "iPhone moment"

He already had his “iPhone moment”. It was called the Apple Watch. It’s not a bad product to have your name associated with. The Vision Pro on the other hand….

 

[pugxiwawa]

Apple really scrapped Apple Car for this.

 

[lovehateapple]

I am still interested in buying an AVP. However, I recently went in to my local apple store to find out if I could watch a couple of 360° videos I shot with my Insta360 One X camera that are posted on YouTube. They told me they're not allowed to deviate from the scripted demo and in order to watch them I would have to buy an AVP. They said I could always return it within two weeks if I didn't like it. I guess I will have to wait until I can find out for sure how good Insta360 One X videos look on the AVP.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Well… this is surprising news

….



Ok


No it’s not
🤣

 

[Rogifan]

I don’t think Vision Pro will become a successful product but everyone saying it’s overpriced…what are you basing that on? Isn’t it more likely it’s over-engineered causing it to be more expensive? Does it really need EyeSight? There’s no way to make Vision Pro unobtrusive/non-isolating so what is EyeSight for besides driving up the cost of the device?

 

[vantelimus]

Mehh, I blame it on the greed of Apple execs. What everyone has been asking for is a lightweight companion AR device, that can augment your daily life. Kinda like Google Glass

Instead Apple decided to go down the portable TV path, figuring that they could make a lot more money by making immersive content such as TV Shows, Movies & Sports. What they failed to take into account was that when I can buy a 65 inch TV for like $300, why would I spend $3000 to attach it to my face?

If everyone wanted an AR device “Kinda like Google Glass”, then Google Glass would not have been the abject failure that it was.

 

[The_Auryn]

I'm waiting for the Vision Pro 10 to be released in 2034. One day people will look back at today's design and laugh (as funny as Mel Gibson using that huge cell phone in Lethal Weapon).

 

[Jensend]

Jobs comes back to Apple, releases iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and changes the world forever. Cook takes over and releases Apple Watch and Vision Pro and... *crickets*.

Don't forget the very successful transition to Apple Silicon. And services have been greatly expanded.
And now that Apple has computers for every screen size from watches to televisions, where do you expect them to expand? Which revolutionary computer form factor would Jobs have produced that Cook missed?

 

[vantelimus]

A significant barrier to more frequent use, he says, is a setup that involves attaching batteries, booting up, and navigating a complex interface, which makes traditional devices like laptops and smartphones more appealing for regular tasks.

This is the type of comment one would expect from a 90-year-old. Where is this complex interface? I’ve seen a post from someone about how their three-year-old picked up the interface almost immediately. Apparently, he can use an iPhone but finds a largely identical interface on the AVP too complex?

Why is he disassembling his AVP and putting it away after each use? He doesn’t do that with his laptop or smartphone. He shouldn’t do it with his AVP. Mine sits on my desk. It is ALWAYS connected to the battery. The battery gets connected to power about as often as my phone does so it never runs out. It only reboots when a new OS is installed.

Gurman’s opinion comes from the fact that he doesn’t really use the AVP. It is a device he reviews for his work. He puts it away after each use because it could be days or weeks before he needs to check something about it while writing another opinion piece.

Gurman also blames the Vision Pro's lack of a "killer app" and compelling content for further diminishing the headset's appeal. He notes that it feels better suited to solitary activities – say, on a long flight or while working from home – rather than for use in social situations or around co-workers.

AR, VR, and 3D are the killer apps. It is fair to note that there is not enough content for a mainstream market. Apple could and should subsidize the creation of more. But it doesn’t necessarily make sense for Apple to make a huge investment in this right now. They are not trying to push the AVP into mainstream adoption. This is an early-adopter device. By the time they come out with one targeted at the mainstream, there will be plenty of content available and Apple will have negotiated contracts for more 3D sports.

Oh, and the comment about better suited to solitary activities means what? In which social activity is he precluded from participating while using the AVP that is facilitated when he has his face buried in his laptop or smartphone? Honestly, this sounds similar to the Luddite criticism that was leveled against smartphones, iPods, computers, Sony Walkman, video games, television, and radio.

 

[Odan]

I'm on the fence about buying one when it's released in Europe, however the discomfort reports are concerning. I don't use the iPad more than 2-3 hours a day realistically so I was looking at it as a fancy iPad for consuming media. Apparently it's no good at YouTube and from what I read in the infuse forums, their app is nowhere near ready. Infuse is great on the iPad and plays everything well from the NAS, just like the Apple TV. If you cannot watch decent video or movies, I don't see the point... to be fair the competition isn't great at this either. Maybe it's just too soon for most people... The PS VR2 looks good for PS5 games like Gran Truism 7 but it would be great if one VR headset could do it all. Or at least if I could use a Vision Pro with steam eventually... give us more use cases and it will be more appealing. Maybe I should wait for gen 2 if the apps are just not there yet?

 

[krell100]

I'm sure these types of devices will be popular among the general public when the tech allows them to be hidden within standard glasses, so in 20-30 years perhaps.

 

[GrayFlannel]

…contact lenses are also being talked about, with one company already very close…

That sounds hard to believe. What do you mean by very close?

 

[spazzcat]

I don’t think Vision Pro will become a successful product but everyone saying it’s overpriced…what are you basing that on? Isn’t it more likely it’s over-engineered causing it to be more expensive? Does it really need EyeSight? There’s no way to make Vision Pro unobtrusive/non-isolating so what is EyeSight for besides driving up the cost of the device?

They base it on they can't afford one.

 

[sunny5]

Even developers are NOT interested in Vision Pro which is a fatal failure. Like I said before, AR/VR markets is still far for consumers and that's why literally all consumer AR/VR devices failed.

Apple clearly made a bad decision.

 

[ILoveCalvinCool]

Google glasses all over again. Eventually these companies will realize that most people don't want to wear a computer on their head.

 

[Jensend]

In fact, some crazy people actually put little pieces of plastic ON THEIR FREAKIN' EYEBALLS just to avoid wearing them.

Contact lenses give me better vision than glasses. For me, there is pretty much no downside for contacts. If glasses gave me better vision I would probably wear them instead.
I don't mind wearing sunglasses.

 

[frownface]

This doesn't bode well for the AVP, and the waning of interest from people who actually bought them is a caustic factor that'll lead to the demise of the product.

Inital hype was high. Ideally, those users who bought early would drum up more hype because they'd brag that they couldn't live life without it. In reality they're starting to get bored and people on the fence will see that and it deters them from dropping 3.5k+ on it.

 

[macfacts]

At 3K what did everyone expect! Only so many who would throw money on such a device . . .

Wait a year or two and it will be less than $1k

You're rounding down, there's only 5 states with no sales tax. It's 4k.

 

[FattiesGoneWild]

Very welcoming news indeed. I gave it 6 months at most for complete failure and well on the way it seems. Maybe even sooner….

 

[Jensend]

I meant if they dropped the price - unit sales would increase but usage would remain low. Taking the price out of the equation. Anyway, just a thought.

More unit sales means more potential customers, which means more developers creating apps, which means more reason to use the device.

The more people who use a general computing device, the better potential it has for each person who uses it. It's hard for a niche computer platform to survive because even if there are many people who could get use out of the unique hardware capabilities, it doesn't matter if there isn't software that takes full advantage of those capabilities. I can easily imagine better versions of many of my favorite VR apps, but most of those apps won't be improved because of the small user base.

That's also much of the reason I don't like comparisons to things like the failed Mac G4 Cube. The Cube ran the same software as other Macs, so it benefited from the much larger ecosystem, so any failures were fully on the hardware itself. With the Vision Pro, the situation isn't so simple.

 

[rgwebb]

Apple made some poor decision a decade or more a little more to invest heavily in VR/AR and autonomous vehicles. To be fair, everyone thought it was right around the bend but it is clearly not there on either front.

Maybe some innovative new concepts will come out of the automation work...

 

[fatTribble]

I am still interested in buying an AVP. However, I recently went in to my local apple store to find out if I could watch a couple of 360° videos I shot with my Insta360 One X camera that are posted on YouTube. They told me they're not allowed to deviate from the scripted demo and in order to watch them I would have to buy an AVP. They said I could always return it within two weeks if I didn't like it. I guess I will have to wait until I can find out for sure how good Insta360 One X videos look on the AVP.

I believe Apple is working to allow your own content to be viewed on the demo. I think it was for spatial videos but maybe they could do your own Insta360 videos too?