I think V1 getting a price cut from $3499 -> $1599 when V2 comes out is very (overly) optimistic. V2 launching at somewhere between $2499 and $2999 makes sense, though.
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Gruber’s thoughts on Vision Pro
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It is unthinkable how our way to interact with computer will change so quickly. Before Vision Pro I would never ever thought it's possible, certainly not with Meta Quest (tried that and it is just a very bad experience). Then Apple announce Vision Pro and suddenly the clock to the future starts ticking.
Note I said a few years after. Expect Apple to sell v1 for 3 years before they release v2. It’s gonna be a while before they start doing yearly releases.
No. The lenses are too small and flat. Even if they were literally touching his eyes he couldn't get an image that filled his natural FOV. I think he just means that you can't see the physical edge of the screen and that everything lines up perfectly between the real world and the virtual recreation of it—which is pretty much the case with any VR headset.
I don't believe Apple needs to.
My M1 Mac Studio Max (64GB, 32 GPU cores, 2TB SSD) cost me around $3000.
The Vision Pro is powered by the Ultra that I couldn't justify/afford then.
I would say, Gen-1 Vision Pro is insanely cheap to create a huge ecosystem that encompasses computing, education, entertainment, sports, and other things who know what.
I means it: insanely cheap.
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It's not just how immersive it is for the wearer. By nature of it being this giant apparatus, it is very isolating to the people around you. Far different real world experience than if this thing were a pair of glasses.
Price changes are not as important as form factor changes to make this thing gain popularity.
Which is why it will always be expensive, as new advances are introduced Apple will justify the expensive tier. But economies of scale will bring the price down and of course the app ecosystem and more users purchasing it. Just as Apple will always have a $3,500 MacBook Pro every year, the same will happen for a Vision Pro.
I may be a bit off base here, but after watching the Vision Pro item again, this looks more like Apple wanted an Ultimate AR device however it has way more VR potential than AR. Had to chuckle at how hard Apple went out of their way not to say VR or AR if at all possible.
But that’s not really all that I want. I do want the greater potential and much higher resolution experience of the Apple product. Not to mention the built-in privacy, which is something I think we can all agree is not Facebook’s goal. I would not purchase a product made by Meta. After their populace manipulations prior to the 2016 election (USA) and sharing of data with Cambridge Analytica, I’ll never willingly purchase any Meta device or service.
Very good point. I (of course) don’t know Apple’s goals for this product, but I do expect they would like a very large market, which means that it needs to b financially ‘accessible’ to a large swath of consumers. But…what that ‘accessible’ number is could be highly variable. I don’t think that a few years ago anyone would have envisioned $2K phones as part of the ’normal’ consumer market, yet tablet-folding-phones will break that barrier.
Laptops where you could easily buy a $500 PC model have Mac counterparts at twice the price (at the least). But, people consider the Macs to be worth the additional cost (and I agree). They generally last much longer. People will argue this point, but I have never had a Mac, Macbook, or MBP, or iMac last under 10 years. I will usually purchase a new replacement computer simply because it’s ‘time’ and there have been enough significant improvements and software revisions that I consider the spend ‘worth it.’
Back on subject, I agree, this device, Vision Pro, incorporates a massive amount of technology, and is the first step into a new computing paradigm. I do think that people will choose to spend whatever the ‘affordable’ model costs, once it reaches max affordability (which could be something like $1700+).
Why would it be optimistic to sell it for 1600 after 3 years on the market? 3 years later would be 2026, we would be on M6 by then. Also, you can't keep v1 at two grand, because that would be competing with v2 especially if Apple wants to get rid of old inventory. Lets not forget v2 could be a cheaper model with cut features. Then again, Apple spent 100 billion developing this device, if they sell just 10 million by v2, it will just be 34 billion. They need to make back that R&D money.
I don't think this is a great marketing / pricing approach by Apple.
Given how they've specifically launched this with "Pro" branding, I'm fairly certain they plan to introduce a non-"Pro" version that maybe has lower resolution per eye and less features, but a much more affordable price point of say... starting from $499.
Over time, "Pro" features will trickle down to the non-Pro version - we've seen this happen with the iPad Pro tech trickling down to the non-Pro iPads. I'm of the opinion that this is the likely approach Apple will take.
I think AR/VR needs a strong consumer use case first before Apple wants to commit to a non-Pro Vision device, and Apple is betting that this will come about via first adopters / developers building first for the "Pro".
There is no way any VP version will be as low as $499 for the next 3-4 years at least.
“VP” as in “Vision Pro”? I’m confused with the term “VP version”.
I can’t tell when they’d release a regular version - too many variables in terms of predicting compelling use cases - only that it’s a likely plan to reach mass market adoption.
Right now the high price is likely due to the high cost of components. > 4K per eye is extremely high tech at this time. I’m certain the price will fall over time if there’s a good mass market adoption plan leading to economies of scale, but admittedly it’s a bit of a chicken and egg problem.
Yep. I don’t think Apple will compromise on any VP version whether it’s SE, Air, mini or something else. The tech won’t be that cheap to be able to produce a $499 version in the next 3-4 years.
I can see $999-$1,499 in 4 years time though.