Not for nothing, but it's worth pointing out that Apple was an absolute trailblazer for successful and legal music and video distribution and then very quickly lost their edge when streaming became dominant not that long after.
"It's not the thing. It's the thing that gets you to the thing." - Some Fictional TV Character
I can tell you that my vision was never for one company to dominate so much of the consumer landscape. I really wanted to see a future in which independent artists thrived. The reality became quite the opposite. That's where I was wrong. That said, Apple never had it in mind to dominate the music market. That was just a vehicle to sell the hardware that people play their music on, and not just to sell iPods but to give people a reason to buy iMacs (remember, back then they didn't work independently of iTunes).
AppleTV is another example... AppleTV+ subscription revenue is immaterial to their bottom line, but it helps them sell a product class that gives them a greater footprint, and a greater ecosystem with which to make switching costs prohibitive.
That's the thing that matters to Apple, and it's where I think the e commerce thing is headed. Just as cable's fragility (and some novel court decisions) opened the door for motion picture studios to launch their own boutique apps, the fragility of brick and mortar, malls, etc., opens a door for manufacturers to create boutique "experiences" (I hate that word, but I'm sure that's what they'll call them) with different tiers for different levels of clientele.
I do however think it's ridiculous to measure the success of a product by what it could potentially be if only we had technology that isn't yet feasible.
Nowhere have I called the product a success. I'm simply expressing an opinion that, if I wanted to dox myself I could show you the context, I've been talking about for at least eight years. Honestly, my view was that Google and Apple would have to partner, combining Google's competencies in search, ML/AI, with Apple's UI/UX and hardware expertise, to make it a reality. I'd even explored a version of the idea with the GM of Filmstruck, Jenn Dorian. But at the time, licensing was a big obstacle. We were trying to build the thing, and Apple already has been quite successful at making things that get you to the things. I do think it's extremely relevant what the long game is here, because the short one is not "Apple Vision SE".
"People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware" - Alan Kay
