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Apple's Unusual Headset Design Has Led to Unprecedented Production Challenges
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Super light weight? That could be the game changer right there.
Nothing in threads like these will age well and maybe that’s normal.
I’m currently in a train while using my iPhone and I’m wearing regular sun glasses, who knows how long until it’s just the glasses 😎
Well, sure. And I was one of those (had a blackberry at the time).
But carrying a phone in public is not even a thought process, even in 2007. But wearing one of these things in public is out of the question, so you are only using it at home or at work.
Having said that, you really can't compare this product (and the possible potential it may have) to the iPhone.
The original iPhone was hard to produce.
Anyone remember the story of Steve Jobs at the very last minute demanding it have a glass screen instead of a plastic one?
The original iPhone had absolutely no third-party compatibility.
The original iPhone was basically useless in the enterprise market, no Microsoft exchange support, no MMS, no third-party applications. BlackBerry already dominated this market.
The original iPhone was entering a market that was very much not mature. There were iPods, there were pocket PCs, and there were primitive smart phones, but nothing like the iPhone.
The original iPhone had some very famous doubters, Steve Ballmer included. There was even an entire different team inside of Apple that were developing a click wheel powered iPod phone just in case the touchscreen OS didn’t work out.
if anything, the original iPhone had an even harder job selling itself to become a big product.
There were 1 billion phones sold in 2006, a year before the iPhone launched.
The iPhone launched several hundred dollars more expensive than any other phone on the market, as an AT&T exclusive, and only in… *checks notes*… oh yeah, US only for its first several months on the market.
In its first year, Apple only sold 6 million iPhones in six countries.
So yeah… I’d say these products have plenty of similarities.
The original iPhone was not the instant absolutely world conquering success people like to think it was.
I’d even argue it wasn’t even the 3G or 3GS that did it, although it’s undeniable, they were way more successful than the original.
Ok, so I have to wait 10 years for it to be portable?
Easy to manufacture?
Cheaper?
Have a use that my phone or laptop can't already do much better?
Not have to get a MD or get licensed by the state so that I might use it in my job?
Be portable without cables or external battery packs?
Have a use outside of gaming?
Sounds cool. But working out with a headset on AND a cord hanging down to an iPhone-sized unit in my pocket? Definitely seems to be designed for more stationary purposes. Otherwise, we're being asked to effectively carry two iPhones in our pockets?
Credit to Apple for being ahead of its time. Reminds me of Disney's Galactic Starcruiser: Ambitious. Pricey. And low reusability.
Credit to Apple for being ahead of its time. Reminds me of Disney's Galactic Starcruiser: Ambitious. Pricey. And low reusability.
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Very interesting details. Sounds like Apple has over engineered this thing. I guess we shall see if the fancy curved design is enough to make consumers pay a far bigger premium than the competition. If the design is really a big factor in the price, it seems like Apple would have guaranteed more sales by using a more conservative approach. Especially since most current VR headset owners don’t use their devices very often.
I’m definitely looking forward to hearing hands on previews from people who are actually in the VR space. Of course the MKBHDs and iJustine’s will have glowing things to say but the smaller channels with VR focus who aren’t afraid of being critical will be important for giving us a realistic view of this headset and if it’s actually worthy of the high price.
I’m definitely looking forward to hearing hands on previews from people who are actually in the VR space. Of course the MKBHDs and iJustine’s will have glowing things to say but the smaller channels with VR focus who aren’t afraid of being critical will be important for giving us a realistic view of this headset and if it’s actually worthy of the high price.
And appropriate to the fashion sense of the time they were released.
P.S. I loved the Picasso Macintosh shirts. I think I even had a T-shirt with that on it.
yeah right lol. they’re barely producing any of these things. every single one is probably under lock and key with very few people able to view it.
the original iPhone nor the original Apple Watch was shown via factory before the reveal.
So how the hell are they gonna simply manufacturing for the consumer model down the line?
i am awaiting this to be bundled with the Apple snorkel.
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
Suspended
Anytime I wore a AR/VR headset in the past. Five minutes later I always ended up feeling uncomfortable and ended up with a headache and motion sickness. Oh yeah, my forehead and head would get itchy too.
Anyone else feels the same or is it just me?
Anyone else feels the same or is it just me?
At one point did it say Apple complained and when and what source has said Apple has pulled "the I can do this with one hand tied behind my back and blindfolded.😒 Hubris" That's all conjecture and quite ridiculous.
Agreed, except for one item: the market was very mature. For touch devices, no. But practically everyone had and used a cell phone in 2007. The iPhone was just an insanely better version of the cell phone.
The same cannot be said for the VR headset market.
If you were a Mac user in 1984 (40 years ago) or even further back to the Apple Lisa or Apple I, you probably would wonder how much better the technology would become. What would a Mac be like in 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020. There seems to be an ambition within Apple that the traditional desktop and laptop form factor, even the tablet, needs to take the next leap where it becomes wearable. Like Leo Laporte noted on MacBreak Weekly, the Newton was a flop, but the technologies it help to fund such as the ARM processor ultimately benefitted the iPhone 10 years later.
The headset might fail and you can be sure Apple is gonna keep at it for a while (they have the resources after all). But the ground work will be put in place, all the science, engineering and materials. If it does not succeed, they set it aside and try again in 10 years. But I look at my environment today with the desktop PC and laptop, both are such outdated models of computing for health and other industries. If the Apple headset can reduce the Mac to just a keyboard and mouse and ultimately economies of scale bringing down the price of the headset itself, this could be a game changer.
No need to buy large physical screens when the headset can give you all that, wireless, easy to carry with you. Combine that with AirPods, watch and phone, Apple is obviously taking a chance at pulling the industry out of a doldrum.
The headset might fail and you can be sure Apple is gonna keep at it for a while (they have the resources after all). But the ground work will be put in place, all the science, engineering and materials. If it does not succeed, they set it aside and try again in 10 years. But I look at my environment today with the desktop PC and laptop, both are such outdated models of computing for health and other industries. If the Apple headset can reduce the Mac to just a keyboard and mouse and ultimately economies of scale bringing down the price of the headset itself, this could be a game changer.
No need to buy large physical screens when the headset can give you all that, wireless, easy to carry with you. Combine that with AirPods, watch and phone, Apple is obviously taking a chance at pulling the industry out of a doldrum.
It's polished for where the tech is at the time (which was the same case for the Apple Pencil came along) and seems like a better user experience than carrying the weight on your head.
Was there a big enough market for the Lisa or Macintosh? You would've considered that a waste of time too, and if everyone else thought the same, well we wouldn't have a macrumors forum in the first place.
- But it had a broad, generalized use category that everybody can use and no other device provided at that level.
- Yes, and I also know he demanded that the back be completely metal, which would have killed radio signals. Which is why the first gen iPhone 2g had a black plastic back at the bottom.
- Yes, those were all added, but it had to launch first. And AGAIN, go back to number 1. BROAD GENERAL USAGE. I don't need a VR headset to send email or make a phone call
- The original iPhone had a feature set so far beyond the smartphone of that time period that it took only 2 years to wipe the major competitors out of the space entirely or into Google's Open Handset Alliance
- Steve Ballmer is a ****ing moron. After leaving Microsoft, his replacement put the company into a far better position than Steve Ballmer or Bill Gates ever did. Steven Sinofsky and his team also saved the Windows ecosystem after the Vista debacle that Ballmer produced.
- I am very well versed in the Tony Fadell vs Scott Forestall prototyping Project Purple with the projector screen and Forestall winning.
- Yes, and the majority was RIM and Nokia and Palm, which all no longer have a product in the device category and one is actually no longer a company.
- Who gives a **** what it launched at? $599 is not $3000. And you got it for a 2 Year Locked Contract with a hefty buyout, not a one time purchase. The original iPhone could not be unlocked. It's not even the same universe, buck.
- Point number 1: GENERAL BROAD USE CASE does not mean a helmet with a cable attached to a battery to do things my iPhone ALREADY DOES
- They are not even remotely similar. The iPhone is a flagship product. The VR/AR headset is an accessory like the Apple Watch.
And iPod: "Who asked for a thousand songs in your pocket?"
That's what people said about the iPhone as smartphones at the time were considered a business niche, and that any that didn't have a keyboard on it was considered DOA.
They also said the same about the iPad, saying "why would anyone buy this, it's just an iPod Touch but bigger and more expensive, so just get an iPod Touch."
And of course the Apple Watch since it wasn't until the Series 3 that the price went way down.
Also VR/AR isn't as niche as you think it is. To date Meta sold over 30 million Quest 2s. That's as much as the PS5 has sold so far. If anyone can expand the market, it's Apple
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Actually, all of your "know" bullets are coming from posts on a site with RUMORS in the name. I know this is a shock but rumors are not facts.
We actually know almost nothing about this product, price, functionality, etc. but that will likely change in just a few days where we might see whatever it actually is, how much it actually costs, what it can actually do, etc.
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