How can the cost be justified?

[thewiccaman]

Assuming I had over $3000 spare, can someone please explain how Apple can justify the cost of the Vision Pro, a product competing with the new Meta Quest or even the Playstation VR costing a tenth of the price?

What am I getting for my money with Vision Pro that those other products don't offer?

 

[sunapple]

You can compare a Casio to an Apple Watch but if you are looking for just a watch you might as well choose the Casio. But yeah, I already know what you are about to reply to this argument. That is because this topic has been discussed all over the forums in great length already and the bait is a bit too obvious. So my question is, how can this topic be justified?

 

[iStorm]

Their justification is the same reason why they sell four little wheels for $700 or a monitor stand for $1,000. They can do what they want and know people will still buy them, even if it may seem over-priced.

 

[bigjnyc]

Basic Economics... As long as people buy all the units they make then its the market price and as a result justified. If people don't buy it or if sales slow down then you'll see the price go down.. whether it be via a reduction or the creation of a cheaper "non-pro" alternative.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Im a software engineer I am justifying it as furthering my career. However, I don't need "justification"

 

[DaveOP]

Assuming I had over $3000 spare, can someone please explain how Apple can justify the cost of the Vision Pro, a product competing with the new Meta Quest or even the Playstation VR costing a tenth of the price?

What am I getting for my money with Vision Pro that those other products don't offer?

It's most of the guts of a MacBook Pro, with an extra processor that no other device has, a higher resolution and spec OLED screen x 2 that probably costs a fortune and is supply constrained. It's also not getting the benefits of economies of scale, and all the machining costs for the hardware is only starting to pay off now.

That said, if you're going to compare it to other headsets, you'll likely not love the "value". This is the lambo of headsets right now, halo product with an associated cost. I don't think it's meant to be a value in any sense of the word. I believe the HoloLens was a similar price, these are for developers and specialists more than regular consumers.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I think it might even be under priced

For the folks who seem actually interested in it, I think price is not an issue at all.

Given the limited run -- why not go for $4999? Or maybe $7999?

The buyers for these are sort of the same folks interested in "rollable OLED tvs"
Completely price insensitive basically

 

[jclardy]

Assuming I had over $3000 spare, can someone please explain how Apple can justify the cost of the Vision Pro, a product competing with the new Meta Quest or even the Playstation VR costing a tenth of the price?

What am I getting for my money with Vision Pro that those other products don't offer?

Reverse the question, how can you justify PSVR or a Quest 3? You just play games on those devices, and you have a playstation already!

I think you would be asking this question even if the same hardware cost $1000 - $1500 (Why is it 2-3x the Quest 3??), at what point would you think the price is justified? If there was zero markup, and zero R&D cost built in?

My thought on pricing - Apple is price gouging, slightly. This thing is expensive to build, and there is no possible way they will build enough of them in the first year to satisfy demand. Think about it - it is essentially a high end M2 Macbook Air (Extra cores, 16GB RAM), with multiple iPhone quality camera modules, LIDAR sensors, gyro/accelerometer, a secondary R1 processor along with two incredibly expensive 4k microLED displays. At a base cost based on Apple's pricing of the M2 Air, this would be at minimum $2000 just for the base internals + displays, not including iPhone cameras (Which are a big chunk of the pricing of iPhones.)

IMO $3000 is what the cost should be, if there was zero demand and no supply issues. Apple is basically soaking up $500 that would be going to scalpers and middlemen, especially since the launch is US only first. And I think $3000 will likely be the cost of the next Vision Pro base model (~1.5 years from now), so that people can be awed at the price reduction on top of the new capabilities.

 

[SunMac]

Look at the cost of an ultra short throw projector. I have one that was $3200. It casts an 150 inch image on my wall. The APV can do this same thing virtually but with a much, much clearer image. I can take it on an airplane and use it in a hotel as well. Looking at it from that view its 100% justified.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Assuming I had over $3000 spare, can someone please explain how Apple can justify the cost of the Vision Pro, a product competing with the new Meta Quest or even the Playstation VR costing a tenth of the price?

What am I getting for my money with Vision Pro that those other products don't offer?

Apple CAN’T justify it. The only folks that CAN justify it are the ones that are buying it.

BUT, they can only justify it for themselves. For anyone that doesn’t want it and doesn’t see there’s value in it, why would they want anyone to try to convince them that there IS value in it?

 

[ascender]

I think the price is "justified" because of the hardware specification of the device.

Its also not competing with anything else, including those headsets you mentioned at this time.

 

[sdynak]

I wish it was along the lines of a MacBook Pro or even Air with MacOS. That would be a no brainer for me.

Given it is more IOS it’s a struggle for me to get there. I would love to have it but doesn’t replace my MacBook Pro for sure. Maybe a iPad and that’s if you want to wear it whenever you need to use it.

It’s really an added device to the ecosystem and pretty sure the approach Apple has.

 

[JordanCautious]

Assuming I had over $3000 spare, can someone please explain how Apple can justify the cost of the Vision Pro, a product competing with the new Meta Quest or even the Playstation VR costing a tenth of the price?

What am I getting for my money with Vision Pro that those other products don't offer?

Well for starters, it’s not competing with PSVR2 at all? If we ignore the ‘Spatial Computing‘ marketing speak, it’s basically a MacBook Air strapped to your face with extremely high res screens. PSVR2 is just a console gaming headset. It is not a general computing device. Meta Quest 3 is an android phone strapped to your face…literally. It’s a mobile processor the XR2. It’s real competition is the VarJo headset, which is also around the same Price and has high res screens, I believe even more high res than Apple‘s if I remember correctly. In fact, if I remember the resolution graph correctly, the AVP is 2x the resolution of Meta Quest 3 and 3x the resolution of the Meta Quest 2.

What you’re mostly getting with your money with the AVP is pretty obvious when you consider that the most expensive component in the device is the screens, which every single reviewer has praised.

If you don’t want extremely clear AR/VR (Or Spatial Computing As Apple puts it) then just don’t buy it lmao. No one is forcing you. Wait for Gen2 if you want, which probably wont be as heavy and cheaper.

 

[thewiccaman]

Well for starters, it’s not competing with PSVR2 at all? If we ignore the ‘Spatial Computing‘ marketing speak, it’s basically a MacBook Air strapped to your face with extremely high res screens. PSVR2 is just a console gaming headset. It is not a general computing device. Meta Quest 3 is an android phone strapped to your face…literally. It’s a mobile processor the XR2. It’s real competition is the VarJo headset, which is also around the same Price and has high res screens, I believe even more high res than Apple‘s if I remember correctly. In fact, if I remember the resolution graph correctly, the AVP is 2x the resolution of Meta Quest 3 and 3x the resolution of the Meta Quest 2.

What you’re mostly getting with your money with the AVP is pretty obvious when you consider that the most expensive component in the device is the screens, which every single reviewer has praised.

If you don’t want extremely clear AR/VR (Or Spatial Computing As Apple puts it) then just don’t buy it lmao. No one is forcing you. Wait for Gen2 if you want, which probably wont be as heavy and cheaper.

Good, clear explanation. Thank you.

Not something I could ever justify buying even if I had the funds but good luck & 'enjoy' to those who do.

 

[thewiccaman]

Interesting & very varied takes on my original question.

Don't misunderstand me: I am fully supportive of Apple/the Apple ecosystem. The explanations given to my question are very helpful & does put into perspective the pricing.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Assuming I had over $3000 spare, can someone please explain how Apple can justify the cost of the Vision Pro, a product competing with the new Meta Quest or even the Playstation VR costing a tenth of the price?

What am I getting for my money with Vision Pro that those other products don't offer?

The Meta Quest has a significantly worse image quality than Vision Pro and significantly worse AR passthrough. The PSVR 2 is tethered to a PS5 while the Vision Pro is standalone.

There's actually a good website that shows comparisons between HMDs

Apple Vision Pro vs Meta Quest 3 (Comparison) - VRcompare

View a full technical comparison between the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3.

vr-compare.com

 

[257Loner]

There is no justification whatsoever for buying this. Your babies need diapers, and the diaper money don't need to be diverted to this toy.

 

[M1956]

I think the cost is actually very reasonable. Yes 3.5k is a lot in absolute terms, but relative to the value AVP can provide it’s very reasonable. It’s a general purpose computer with “infinite” screen. If you try to replicate it with Mac it would cost same if not more. MBP 14 with 16gb + Apple studio display is 3.4k already. If you want another screen (which you won’t even be able to use with base MBP lol) it’s already significantly more expensive. Yes, you can get a cheaper monitor, but decent ones are in 1k territory:

Best USB-C/Thunderbolt displays for MacBooks - 9to5Mac

This guide covers a list of the best USB-C/Thunderbolt displays available for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook, Mac mini, and even PCs.

9to5mac.com

Even cheaper MBA and less expensive monitors quickly add up to >3k if you want more than one.
Take in to the account that AVP is very portable so you can use your perfect set up in any room, when you stay at friends house, a hotel, or even a cafe (if you are brave enough). This portability adds a lot of value.
Yes, this argument assumes that there will be Mac level software for AVP which is rather optimistic. But given it’s essentially the same hardware there is no fundamental reason why there wouldn’t be proper software. Even without any software I can do my work as a software engineer in safari on Replit or GitHub codespaces. Far from ideal, but damn tempting already if I can forgo buying two high end monitors!

 

[jdb8167]

I think it might even be under priced

For the folks who seem actually interested in it, I think price is not an issue at all.

Given the limited run -- why not go for $4999? Or maybe $7999?

The buyers for these are sort of the same folks interested in "rollable OLED tvs"
Completely price insensitive basically

Not true in my case. If AVP was in the $2000-$2500 price range I would be one of the first in line. But $3500 is just a bit too high for me. It doesn't seem to have any value outside of entertainment. And later generations will be vastly improved which makes the high price even more of a problem by limiting my options later on.

Apple isn't concerned about any of that though since they will sell every one they make in the 1st year anyway.

 

[dumastudetto]

Their justification is the same reason why they sell four little wheels for $700 or a monitor stand for $1,000. They can do what they want and know people will still buy them, even if it may seem over-priced.

The compound of tyre they are using is very expensive with the Mac Pro Wheel Kit. I've understood they are actually selling these kits at a loss.

 

[dmr727]

There is no justification whatsoever for buying this. Your babies need diapers, and the diaper money don't need to be diverted to this toy.

The vast majority of people buying this aren't diverting money from anywhere.

 

[lenningj]

The shape of the glass alone looks very expensive to me and my thought is that it cost a lot to get right (no idea, just a guess) Apart from that, baking in support of this new product category over the expected life Apple might have in mind adds to this $3.5k

 

[klasma]

Assuming I had over $3000 spare, can someone please explain how Apple can justify the cost of the Vision Pro, a product competing with the new Meta Quest or even the Playstation VR costing a tenth of the price?

What am I getting for my money with Vision Pro that those other products don't offer?

10 years of R&D cost, MacBook Pro-level hardware (M2 with higher core count, 16 GB RAM), 4K micro-OLED panels, better than 90 Hz camera-to-screen latency, curved OLED EyeSight display, visionOS (the Quest OS doesn’t quite compare), Apple tax, polishing cloth. On the flip side, no controllers though.

 

[boss.king]

Head empty, wallet full. Sometimes that’s all the justification people need.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Assuming I had over $3000 spare, can someone please explain how Apple can justify the cost of the Vision Pro, a product competing with the new Meta Quest or even the Playstation VR costing a tenth of the price?

What am I getting for my money with Vision Pro that those other products don't offer?

I agree with sunapple's query: how can this topic be justified? In addition to that, the OP defines the AVP as competing with Meta Quest, etc., but AVP is instead in its own genre. Folks who cannot see that are wasting their time discussing AVP.