Apple's Vision Pro Developer Labs Not Drawing Many Attendees

[MacRumors]

Apple in July began inviting developers to Vision Pro-focused developer labs in cities that include Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo, but so far, developers don't appear to be expressing a lot of interest in attending.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the developer labs have been "under-filled with small amounts of developers." One issue is that Apple is not offering U.S. developer labs outside of Cupertino, which means any developer that wants to try the Vision Pro must travel to Apple's headquarters in California.

The Vision Pro developer labs that Apple is hosting are meant to give developers hands-on time with the Vision Pro headset as well as help from Apple engineers as they begin to develop apps for the upcoming device. The labs will provide testing and optimization for visionOS apps, with Apple experts on hand.

Any developer can apply to attend a developer lab, but Apple is not reimbursing for travel, and developers located on the east coast of the United States will have to fund cross-country travel to get to the lab. Apple's choice to host only one U.S. lab location is curious as the company has said that the Vision Pro will be launching first in the United States before becoming available in other countries.

The visionOS simulator has not been available for long, so many developers may still have apps in development and might not be ready to attend a lab. Other developers may not be motivated to create apps when the Vision Pro isn't slated to launch in their countries for some time.

Apple is also planning to send Vision Pro developer kits to some developers, and applications opened two weeks ago. The developer kits are available in limited quantities, with Apple prioritizing apps that best take advantage of the Vision Pro features and capabilities. Apple has strict rules for the developer kits, such as limiting them to one development site and keeping them in a private, secure workspace, which may not be possible for some smaller developers.

Developers will have more than six months to test and develop apps for the Vision Pro as it is not expected to launch until early 2024, a timeline that could range from January 2024 to April 2024, and that's provided there are no launch delays.

Article Link: Apple's Vision Pro Developer Labs Not Drawing Many Attendees

 

[Matthew.H]

The aspect of the device costing $3500 may be off-putting in itself.

 

[Drew1980]

I have a bad feeling about Vision. I hope it doesn’t flop but I don’t see it being as popular as other Apple devices.

 

[aidler]

I‘m sure this means nothing 😎

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Niche Market + Niche Product = Niche Interest.

In addition, I think Apple should cover the travel expenses. It's a multi-trillion-dollar company.

 

[raindogg]

I don't see a reason for VR/AR headsets besides Games and Porn.

 

[nfl46]

Ahh. They're not offering labs outside of the one in Cupertino.

Well, US developers only have one city option. No wonder the numbers are low.

I wonder how many people actually read the article on here. Lol. It doesn't seem like many from the responses.

 

[zorinlynx]

The aspect of the device costing $3500 may be off-putting in itself.

$3500 and very little focus on VR gaming which is what most people would want this for.

 

[surfzen21]

You go first. No you go first!

 

[User 6502]

This thing will flop so hard pippin will look like a success in comparison.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I don't see a reason for VR/AR headsets besides Games and Porn.

The sad part is; They will both require some sort of a monthly/yearly subscription.

 

[t0rqx]

The aspect of the device costing $3500 may be off-putting in itself.

Plus:

No use-case.
Bad for eyes.
Big and uncomfortable.
Poor Battery Life.

As how the device is presented now. It is useless.

The design team was not behind the release of this product as it is not ready for primetime! Apple marketing pushed out some fake news that all
VPs were suddenly behind the product and never saw this "amazing" AR/VR experience.

From what was presented it was nothing special and the news following some aspects were indeed not finished does not do this product good.

 

[gpat]

If this fails, VR is pretty much dead as a market.
Anyway this needs to have a $999 version that you can power from a Macbook Pro's battery and SoC.
$3500 is just too steep as an entry ticket to the platform.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Plus:

No use-case.
Bad for eyes.
Big and uncomfortable.
Poor Battery Life.

As how the device is presented now. It is useless.

Agreed! Tim Cook really thought he can get into people's heads by using a fancy word like, Spatial Computing.

Introducing Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s first spatial computer

Apple today unveiled Apple Vision Pro, a revolutionary spatial computer that seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world.

www.apple.com

 

[xxray]

Vision Pro was super impressive to see at WWDC, but I gotta admit, I've lost all interest since then. I'm rooting for it, but I have no plans or desires to purchase it anytime soon. It kinda says a lot that I've been way more excited for the iPhone 15 Pro, which is rumored to only provide iterative updates over the iPhone 14 Pro, than I am for Vision Pro.

 

[BellSystem]

You mean people don’t want to make software for Apple’s dystopian nightmare? People don’t want to watch their kid’s birthday like a cyborg? Wow. Who would have thought.

 

[tonie walker]

No appealing use case so far - people will buy this as collectors item

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

If this fails, VR is pretty much dead as a market.

It will have no impact on the VR space if it fails.

 

[sw1tcher]

Apple in July began inviting developers to Vision Pro-focused developer labs in cities that include Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo, but so far, developers don't appear to be expressing a lot of interest in attending.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the developer labs have been "under-filled with small amounts of developers." One issue is that Apple is not offering U.S. developer labs outside of Cupertino, which means any developer that wants to try the Vision Pro must travel to Apple's headquarters in California.

Are the labs in London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo under-filled too?

 

[jz0309]

So initial offering only in the US, 1 center in Cupertino, that’s it…
And Apple announcing the developer kit, maybe there’s more interest trying it out at home vs having to travel?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I'm going to by one and never open it. Maybe my kids can sell it for a fortune 20 years from now.

 

[btrach144]

I really want to develop for it but I can’t think of anything cool. Maybe a few kids apps but who is going to give a $3,500 headset to a kid?

 

[snow755]

hmm is this going to flop be for it even hits the market ? well this get canceled this like the AirPower charger ? wait and see and find out

 

[AppleTO]

Most devs probably don't know what to do with it. I can't imagine a AR/VR version of my banking apps, various smart home apps, reward card apps, etc.

Edit: Not to mention, food ordering apps. You can see the food on your plate before you buy it!! lol

 

[citysnaps]

I don't see a reason for VR/AR headsets besides Games and Porn.

There are far more uses than that. Do a wee bit of research.