These are great points. I had not considered the difficulty in using Vision Pro for quickly looking things up or working immediately.
With the comparison to pulling a laptop out of a bag, I would submit that Vision Pro is definitely a home, indoor device, but one that is still portable enough to take to work. As someone obsessed with Vision Pro, even we can fully agree that using one at an airport or on a plane is ridiculous. In fact, leaving one in direct sunlight can fry the displays.
I agree that it is a home/indoor device, generally speaking. When I think about how I use my devices, I don't see Vision Pro being an improvement in any way. I frequently grab my phone or Mac and look something up or answer a text. I'm not going to put Vision Pro on and take it off every time I want to do something like that, nor am I going to go about my day wearing it and experiencing reality through video feeds...just so I can have a big Messages window.
For Vision Pro to be a serious computing platform, it has to improve upon current form factors and the overall user experience those devices deliver. So far, I don't see Vision Pro as an improvement in any meaningful way. That doesn't mean it isn't insanely cool tech...but just how useful, day to day, is that tech? I think having to wear something, especially on one's head, over one's eyes, is going to be a deal breaker for a lot of people. As silly as it sounds, think about how it's going to mess up one's hair.
I do think Vision Pro will be a viable daily driver computer for many. I think of two reasons: information density and input efficiency. Phones and tablets are much more personal than a Vision Pro, but they inherently have small displays.
But is that really a problem for most users? Think about all of the laptop buyers who don't buy an external display. They are perfectly happy with their small screens. Even on these forums I frequently see people complain about monitors that are
too big whenever external displays are discussed. I'm not convinced that the promise of huge screens floating in the air will move the needle at all. Most people aren't doing twenty things at once on their computer. Most people don't use external displays, much less multiple monitors, so how is this a selling point for them?
Vision Pro exploits human perception to give the experience of having unlimited, virtual displays of any size. Sure, the PPD is nowhere near a good 27 inch display or 4k tv (yet), but there is no limit to the size or number of those displays.
Do we know that there is no limit to size and number of displays? People on here say they plan to replace their three external monitors with a Vision Pro...but do we even know that Vision Pro can display three virtual monitors? Many of these Vision Pro threads remind me of the Watch threads leading up to its release. People were throwing out all kinds of features and use cases as though they were a given...and many of them turned out (shocker) to be pipe dreams.
The second is the efficiency of the input model. Yet to be seen, but it looks like moving within interfaces by gaze and a (physical) keyboard may offer lower latency than using a mouse and keyboard. Time will telll.
I agree that time will tell. Personally I don't see how Vision Pro's input model is an improvement over the tried and true mouse and keyboard. Apples to apples, multi-touch is not better, and I expect Vision Pro's input model to also fall short of the keyboard/mouse in terms of speed and efficiency too. No doubt (as you suggest), it will be a lot better with a physical keyboard. I do think there are certain user types who will benefit greatly from Vision Pro's input model, though. People with certain disabilities or mobility issues, for example.
I remember in 2010 when people expected iPad to replace laptops. They of course did not. I believe the main reason is that phones got quite large and capable. I expect Vision Pro to live between Mac and Apple TV. It won’t replace either, but still offers advantages over each.
I thought those people were crazy. There was no way that an iPad would ever replace a laptop/desktop for people who need a proper computer. The reasons are numerous and obvious in my opinion. iOS is so limited - and limiting. Multitasking sucks. Touch is much slower than a mouse/keyboard and not nearly as accurate. Copy and paste still sucks, how many years later... Even today there are basically no desktop class apps on iOS.
I'm not sure if Vision Pro lives between products, but I see your point. I think the vast majority of people who buy it will buy it for one reason only: entertainment. The real problem there is the fact that it can't be shared. For less than $1000, a family of four can gather around a huge TV with Apple TV. To get the Vision Pro experience, that same family has to shell out upward of $14,000.
100%. But it's even worse than that. This the first hardware Apple has released that is truly objectionable...something no one anywhere actually wants to use. No one wants to wear a big bulky headset for any period of time. It's something they have to do, in order to get at the software experience. That is really significant. You can't say that about any other Apple hardware. That is going to have an bigger impact on the adoption of Vison Pro than the price.
I completely agree. Will the Vision Pro software experience be so mind-blowing that it convinces people to wear it? I have serious doubts. The entertainment aspects of the device seem compelling, but the computing platform aspects don't seem particularly exciting to me. I think once the gimmick wears off, people will still prefer kicking back on the couch with a laptop or iPad over wearing a headset.
VR headsets have existed for years. The Quest can do most, if not all, of what Vision Pro does. Vision Pro does seem to be an improvement over the Quest in many ways, but fundamentally they are quite similar and yet the general public has not embraced the Quest (or any other VR device). Anecdotally, I know several kids who got Quest headsets for Christmas over the past few years. They were all beyond excited...for a few days...and then they were over it. They all went back to playing games on their iPads and computers.
