Nah, nothing is true or fact until official, no matter how believable! This is the issue, people around here build expectation based on rumors.
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Apple's Unusual Headset Design Has Led to Unprecedented Production Challenges
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Excited to hear more about it. The first generation will surely be very expensive. But hopefully Apple will be launching a cheaper version in a couple of year's time.
Niche perhaps, but the first computer I ever had my hands on was a TRS-80 PC-1 pocket computer in 1981 or early 1982.
Ten years later I had a Zeos Pocket PC that I used to take notes in class.
I went through a slew of PDAs in the late 90s and early 00s that I was convinced (when I bought them) would organize my life.
Seems like the touchy one is you. If it’s going to be such a hit, why so defensive?
Looking forward to seeing this, if its a good product and I can take my home office into the garden with it during warm and dry days I'll probably put one through my company. I like the idea of alfresco working with multiple external screens without carrying them all (assuming it offers that)
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
No defense. I don't know if it is it is going to be hit. That's why I'm waiting to see what it actually is, what it actually does and how much it actually costs before I pass judgement. Then, I might become as pessimistic about it as you seem to be... or I might become more optimistic about it... or land somewhere between the extremes.
If anyone want's a clue and a little help to imagine to what Apple are making my bet is to have a look at Magic Leap 2, AR glasses which even has the ability to make the screens dim and go black and give a near VR experience. As for the external batterypack it wouldn't surprise me if an iPhone can be used as such and also double as an input device (you have to control this thing one way or the other).
If one starts to think of this device as unobtrusive AR glasses rather than strap on VR goggles it makes a whole lot a sense that Apple want't to get in on the action. Ultimately I think it's not going to be right to call it either VR or AR but rather Mixed Reality MR.
It's going to be extremely exciting to see what Apple shows us next week. I think it will focus on the business market for first and later when the technology gets cheaper and smaller the consumer marked will follow.
Is it monday yet?
If one starts to think of this device as unobtrusive AR glasses rather than strap on VR goggles it makes a whole lot a sense that Apple want't to get in on the action. Ultimately I think it's not going to be right to call it either VR or AR but rather Mixed Reality MR.
It's going to be extremely exciting to see what Apple shows us next week. I think it will focus on the business market for first and later when the technology gets cheaper and smaller the consumer marked will follow.
Is it monday yet?
I am still on team Facebook with the Oculus quest. Apple don't understand gaming never have, and never will. AR has been nothing but a gimmick since day one. An animated sketchy background that uses the camera and zaps your battery life. Big whooop!
Where not a week goes by I haven't played a VR game since owning a quest to play with buddies on the other side of the country.
Where not a week goes by I haven't played a VR game since owning a quest to play with buddies on the other side of the country.
And sadly typical for these boards. I think this thing will be pretty amazing from an engineering standpoint, and I've followed Apple too long to even consider making a prediction beyond that.
I don’t even know what this thing does yet but if the reports of tethered design and abysmal battery life are true, it’s a non-starter for me, regardless of design, price, or whether it makes bacon for me.
Yeah, I don't take anything written above seriously, thanks for the grain of salt advice.
Cuz Apple definitely understands gaming, and not Sony who has bested not one, not two, but three competing companies in the space. Where is the Sega helmet? Where is the Xbox helmet? Has Nintendo made a VR helmet? How is Oculus doing?
No analyst is expecting this device to be a mass market device... You have to keep that in mind. The Apple Watch wasn't the next iPhone, but it launched a new product category and has been a huge success. This is just a new product category for Apple, not a device positioned to change the world. Apple's first XR device will be a stepping stone to the eventual AR glasses that may someday replace our iPhone. Making the statement "how is this the next iPhone" shows a disconnect with leaks/rumors/analyst and you need to get your expectations in check instead of pulling things out of the air.
Here's my rebuttal to your other points.
1.) As was the original iPhone, Mac Book Air, etc...
2.) Yes, adhering to high quality standards and building XR experiences is very challenging from a design and sometimes engineering perspective.
3.) The executives doubts are rooted in historical performance of XR/VR related sales and the market they have defined. The leader of those companies, Facebook/Meta have done a horrible job marketing their device... I will say if Apple were to launch of $3000 headset or even a $1000 headset focused on entertainment I would not bet on that device, but I believe Apple knows how big of a mistake that would be and that their XR headset will be a ecosystem device with primary focus on everything but entertainment with a healthy side dish of entertainment.
4.) Let's be clear, Apple doesn't really have any competitors in this space. The nearest would be Facebook/Meta. Does Meta have a history of launching successful wearables? No. In fact they had to team up with Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica for their camera glasses product. That's cutting into their margins. Apple won't have to do that. Does Meta have a success chain of brick & mortar stores to run demos, promotions and support for the device? No. Apple does. Has Meta invested in geolocation/mapping technology to correlate for real-time AR experiences. No. Does Meta have an ecosystem? No. Does Meta have any first party AAA productivity titles that impact industry, No. Apple has Final Cut Pro and Logic. Apple has the deep pockets to launch an XR device that no one else has, period. Will they be successful? Time will tell.
5.) $3000 is prohibitively expensive for a mass market product, yes... But there's two possibilities. One is the rumors of selling "at cost" are true, which could easily make that $3000 headset come to market closer to $1500. Still expensive, but more down to Earth. Two, all Apple has to do to sell the headset is provide game-changing XR only productivity features to Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro... If suddenly as a professional using these software packages I now need this headset to be competitive, because those with it can do work faster then $3000 is a drop in the bucket... For professional non-gaming use cases $3000 is not a huge expense, for entertainment it's impractical. Apple has some of the best marketing minds in the business, of course they know this.
6.) We'll see, the form factor and detached battery rumors may indicate that, while not as portable as a pair of sunglasses, it may be a lot more usable outdoors and on the go than anything else we've seen yet.
7.) Right, the entire XR/VR industry is currently defined by a market that is around 95% gaming and 5% niche Enterprise software... There is no question in my mind that Apple knows this and also knows they have to disrupt that in order for their device to be successful. I think you have to open your mind to all the use cases beyond entertainment and niche Enterprise software that have not been tapped, because Meta simply has no leverage to tap them. Nor has HTC. Microsoft took a few steps, but let's not forget Microsoft also failed with Smartphones before the iPhone came out... The truth is Apple is in the best position of any tech company to take XR to the next level.
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This really stinks.
Wow those are very low yields. Good thing Apple isn’t planning on selling too many.
My rebuttal: We don't want our iPhones replaced by a pair of sunglasses that barrage us continuously with information we don't need at all times.
Also, those AR sunglasses will end up banned while driving and severely restricted in public places.
as a person that has to wear glasses, wearing glasses sucks. i don't want to put on glasses for anything really.
Which highlights perhaps the main aspect that none of the boosters gave any thought to.
Ads.
This thing will be a platform for ads. In your FACE and all the time.
No. Thanks.
Great, I have to watch ads when I am using it as an "external monitor"
I’ve had frames redone and s-racial,glasses, but those are generally left with the opticians and they can test fit etc.Actually, I've often taken old frames to glasses stores who were happy to provide lenses for frames they had no part in selling. Bose's had these audio glasses for a while, and my glasses store said they could make prescriptions lenses to fit those. So if Apple does this right, they could make it easy for regular glasses stores to make lenses for their headset.
Bluetooth Headphones & Wireless Headphones | Bose
Enjoy performance and comfort with Bose headphones. Choose from a wide range of Bluetooth headphones that bring you closer to the music you love.www.bose.com
Would they do the same with something like this and are customers going to want to leave a $3k device with them?
it sounds from the article the lenses are separate and just pop in, rather than sitting in a normal frame arrangement.
It is of course all speculation anyway until it’s launched!
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Haha. You and other guy are hilarious in your dedication to shoot down what is currently vapor at every possible opportunity. You don't even know what it is but yet you and he are jumping on every hint of a negative as if it can only be a box of purely negatives coming from Apple, after 6+ years of development.
Regarding advertising: nobody wastes money buying ads where they are likely to be seen by nobody (because, as you and he implies... EMPHATICALLY in thread after thread... no one will want this thing). If there are no eyeballs, there's no ROI on running ads. Advertisers spend their ad budgets where they can be seen by huge numbers of eyeballs. Per you and the other "expert," there are no eyes at all to see any ads that could be run in these things.
But even if we foolish "boosters" and only "developers" buy Goggles, that still would be nowhere near enough eyeballs to interest anyone who pays for advertising... especially LOTS of it so it is "no thanks" in our face at all times.
Where would advertisers want to buy ads? iPhone, because it has hundreds of millions of eyeballs right now. And we know what the advertising "barrage" you imply for this is like on that Apple device. So it seems impossible for there to be any more ads than we currently get on iPhone, even at a misleading extremist logic maximum.
And anyone else with any business brain will know that ad budget cash will not be spent where there are few to no eyeballs... or are you and other guy now imagining there will be millions buying goggles to see those ads and make paying for advertising in goggles worth it to the advertisers? Because you can't have it both ways: it can't be that this is a product for no one... but it will be loaded with paid advertising to no one. So which is it?
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Who SAID it will replace the TV? Anyone who knows anything about tech knows that mostly new tech augments older tech, it does not replace it. Hell, AM radio still exists.
But just as, today, I might shift where I am watching content from TV to iPad to phone in the course of one day, so glasses can now also enter that mix.
Overall your complaint seems to have entered the inevitable stage of EVERY Apple thread on the internet where it becomes a whine about prices. This is where I leave the conversation.
Delusional.
Every tech becomes a platform for ads. This one will too. Bank on it.