Apple's Mixed Reality Headset to Feature iOS-Like Interface, Advanced Hand Tracking, and Will Work as Second Display for Mac

[JamesHolden]

Today’s $329 iPad is much better than the original $499 iPad in every way. It is only a compromise when compared to today’s better iPads. A cheaper consumer headset will eventually be better in every way than the first Reality Pro.

You’re missing the point. I won’t argue that todays tech is way better. Apple established a $449 starting price for iPad. That’s the same starting price for today’s 10th gen. The previous gen dropped to $329. One day, when we’re ten generations in on the headset, I’m sure they’ll follow a similar pricing model.

The point is simple. It’s not about today’s tech being better or inflation adjusted pricing. It’s about establishing a products baseline pricing. The headset isn’t going to drop significantly in price for years. It will get better, sure, and be a better value, but it won’t get (a lot) cheaper. My point is directed at the people who claim this first version will be very expensive and then we’ll see a huge price drop in future versions. Not. Going. To. Happen.

 

[Jensend]

You’re missing the point. I won’t argue that todays tech is way better. Apple established a $449 starting price for iPad. That’s the same starting price for today’s 10th gen. The previous gen dropped to $329. One day, when we’re ten generations in on the headset, I’m sure they’ll follow a similar pricing model.

The point is simple. It’s not about today’s tech being better or inflation adjusted pricing. It’s about establishing a products baseline pricing. The headset isn’t going to drop significantly in price for years. It will get better, sure, and be a better value, but it won’t get (a lot) cheaper. My point is directed at the people who claim this first version will be very expensive and then we’ll see a huge price drop in future versions. Not. Going. To. Happen.

We're both just speculating. I pointed to a couple of products that have gone down in cost.
Another is the MacBook Air. It was introduced in 2008 for $1799. By 2011 it was $1199.
So it looks like they go down in price by about a third.

I predict that if this new headset is released at $3000, there will be a new Apple headset available within 5 years for less than $2000 that is at least as good as the first one, overall.
$1000 or less doesn't seem likely unless it's a model that is worse than the original in some way... maybe they could make a lower resolution version that's good enough for fitness, games, and movies, but doesn't work as well at replacing a desktop monitor.

 

[NEPOBABY]

Someone has made a cyber gobstopper so that we don’t need to listen to VR fans.

 

[schrodinger_cat]

Hopefully, we’ll be able to use it as a display for gaming consoles.

 

[Realityck]

Apple Will Put Its Reputation on the Line With New Mixed-Reality Headset

Apple’s next big bet — mixed-reality headsets — won’t be anything like its previous hits. Also: An in-depth preview of the device, which is due this year, and an Apple retail expansion in Asia.

www.bloomberg.com

Main points below

AR/VR headsets, in contrast, are still a nascent field. Consumers will need some coaxing just to get them to consider such a product.

And, more alarmingly, I don’t believe Apple has identified a truly “killer app” for the device yet. The company is hoping that immersive video watching, tight integration with other Apple products and advanced VR-based FaceTime calls will reel in consumers, but I’m skeptical that the approach will be enough.

The original iPhone didn’t have that problem. In that case, Apple revamped the experience for a device that everyone already carried. With the first iPad, the world was clearly ready for tablets, and the devices could serve as either a laptop replacement or a casual entertainment machine.
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But the story of the new headset will go far differently, even according to Apple’s own plans. It’s only expecting to produce about 1 million units in the first year. That means the product, at least initially, will be one of Apple’s lowest-volume categories.

The headset also doesn’t offer a clear advantage over Apple’s existing products. When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, he argued it was superior to a Mac or iPhone at web browsing, watching video and viewing photos. The Apple Watch, meanwhile, worked better than the iPhone as an activity tracker.

The initial Apple headset probably won’t be better than the iPhone or iPad at anything other than video watching and FaceTime, and I don’t think there are many consumers willing to pay $3,000 for that. That’s five times the cost of the original iPhone, which some people thought was overpriced back in 2007.

While I believe Apple will market the Reality Pro as a product for consumers, it probably should be positioned as a developer prototype — something designed to prepare software makers for the future, when cheaper and more practical products arrive.

The pitfalls are clear. Existing devices — such as Microsoft Corp.’s HoloLens and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Quest Pro — have been slow to catch on. The HoloLens, which costs $3,500 and up, is largely a failure. And recent cuts at Microsoft suggest it’s less of a priority for the software giant. The $1,500 Quest Pro has similarly stalled out.

Perhaps the most alarming data point for the current VR market came last year when it was revealed that more than half of $400 Quest headsets — the most popular model — aren’t in use six months after purchase.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I love how they write:

And, more alarmingly, I don’t believe Apple has identified a truly “killer app” for the device yet.

Followed with:

The original iPhone didn’t have that problem.

I know they’re trying to build some “I know what I’m typing sounds a LOT like what people typed about the iPhone, but, hear me out!” kind of story, but this wasn’t an effective attempt.

The original iPhone did have the same problem, RIGHT up to the point where it was announced. Before that moment, Apple hadn’t identified a “killer app” for the iPhone, they hadn’t even acknowledged it’s existence!

And, if we’re really honest, their “killer app” (as there wasn’t even an app store) the writer references was one or all of the following… it plays music. It makes calls. Hey, it’s got Safari. Even AFTER the “killer apps” was defined, it still didn’t click with many and the first year was kinnnda rocky. But, let’s sweep that there under the rug, I gots myself a narrative t’build!

I imagine most articles are and will be like this one, because it’s perfectly clicky-baity (heck, I’m responding to it now! LOL) “Ok, so, you see, Apple did this thing and this thing and this thing, right?But it was inevitable that those were going to be successful, I mean come on! They sold themselves!” Hindsight is 20/20. There’s nothing in this article that’s not in scores of other “things that Apple definitely won’t be able to do and here’s why” stories. Stories that may end up quoted right beside “I like our strategy” or “No, they will NOT release their own CPU’s, here’s why”!

I also liked the bit of revisionist history to build in “inevitability” where it didn’t exist.

The Apple Watch, meanwhile, worked better than the iPhone as an activity tracker.

That wasn’t clear until year two when Apple found that people appreciated that tracking more than anything else about it.… then Apple leaned into it. Even though the hardware couldn’t QUITE make it all day tracking, it became a go to feature because that’s what people did AFTER they had it. That, according to this article, is fine for the Apple Watch, but the same “it will become what people most want it to be” can’t be applied to anything else Apple releases.

 

[roeiz]

seems to good to be true for my main use as a big screen at bed...
will i have 3rd party apps for streaming?

 

[classic1931]

will wifi 6E be required in order to use the headset with an iPhone or MacBook?

 

[Jensend]

will wifi 6E be required in order to use the headset with an iPhone or MacBook?

If you want to render the whole 3D scene in an external computer, you'll want a fast, low lag connection.
If you are just using Airplay or Sidecar, where you are sending a computer desktop to a virtual monitor within AR/VR, you don't need any more wireless speed than you'd need to Airplay to traditional displays.

 

[macos9rules]

I have to admit I’m a little surprised by all the people freaking out over a (purported) $3000 price tag.

How many people here have multiple Apple products already? Or who drop a $1k+ on a new phone every year, $800 on a watch, or a couple grand or more on a laptop? Surely $3k isn’t that much if the device is possibly as compelling as it could turn out to be?

Besides there’s always the return window. Maybe we should start the “Who’s returning their Apple Goggles” and “You have a Macbook, Phone, iPad and Goggles. Why?” threads pre-emptively?

It is hard to justify a $3000 price tag for a product that the design team say is not ready. Nonetheless, we will have to wait and see. The official release is the only thing that can make these rumors official.

 

[corinthos]

Ready Player 1