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I just don't understand how they're going to find mass consumer appeal at the rumored $3k pricepoint. At $1k these fly off the shelves, but $3k puts it into a very niche category (and Apple doesn't do specific business-oriented products like Microsoft does).
Really? Firstly it's not for the average consumer. Secondly, people will buy no matter what price. In Australia alone, the higher end iPhones sell for close to $AU3000 and continually sell out. People also by laptops for up to $7000. Even if it were close to US3k,..it will.sell.
 
Facebook lets you buy apps (sorry, "Experiences") from a webpage, in their iOS/Android apps, or on the headset itself. Since you don't consume the content/services on the phone, they have no requirements to give the mobile platform vendor a cut. I don't believe they even have restrictions on adult content.
FB doesn't want to be in the ads business forever. When I owned an Oculus, they pushed their app store on it. It's clear that they want to be the iOS/Android for AR devices. Taking a 30% cut from apps is easy money and lucrative. Whatever developer-friendly policies they have in place now will change if/when they take a huge portion of the market share.

What do you think they are at the mercy of iOS and Android for?
Because they can't install their own FB App Store on iOS. And Apple does whatever it wants with iOS APIs such as removing the ability for FB to track across apps. Haven't you been reading the news?
 
Really? Firstly it's not for the average consumer. Secondly, people will buy no matter what price. In Australia alone, the higher end iPhones sell for close to $AU3000 and continually sell out. People also by laptops for up to $7000. Even if it were close to US3k,..it will.sell.
Some people will it no matter what just like how some people bought the original Homeprod (I did myself too). iPhones are different. They impact the user's life way more than an AR headset.
 
When they are released I am expecting to see many of the units end up on the secondhand market because Apple's core of fans will purchase a unit because it is 'Apple' but when they realise there is not much they can do with it, they will dump it and try to sell it.
 
I’m very worried about price…
Oculus Quest 2 success is mostly because of a very accessible price.
Apple will ask more than $1000 for this VR
 
For that timeline to hold, a full DevKit should be available at WWDC. A $3k price tag makes sense for that. Consumer version should probably be substantially cheaper to get mainstream adoption…
 
My two cents:
Apple spread the rumors of the headset hight costs purposefully, to let the competition believe they have not much to worry about. But in reality this headset will cost much less than expected.
 
Owning an Oculus Headset, I wonder what Apple's plans are with VR. VR has so many downsides compared to other types of media. A TV, a radio, a PC, a phone, a tablet... all those can run in parallel to our daily chores. You can enhance your life by using an iPad as a cookbook. You can enhance your life by having your radio turned on to listen to the news.

But for a VR headset, the "Real life" gets switched off. You only have the virtual space you move in, you need a dedicated area in your apartment if you want to really move in that virtual space. It's great for certain games when you really want to immerse yourself in that, but everything else fades away.

Augmented Reality is much more interesting, as it interacts with reality. An AR headset that is advanced enough might allow getting rid of TVs, as "virtual" Monitors could be projected anywhere. Any piece of furniture that is only for decoration or to "look at", can be projected.
Or if an AR headset gets accepted in the public space, pedestrian navigation, highlighting friends in a crowd or... personalized ads in the open space! Imagine the possibilities.

I think, the "switching off reality" aspect of VR disables it from being a breakthrough for humanity.
The passthrough api already answers all of those questions. This only improves with 8 full color front facing cameras and Apple's applied data. What did you think that massive neural engine was for? :). I am posting this on my quest II with the passthrough environment selected. That allows 3 wall sized browser windows and a full view of your connected bluetooth devices (keyboard, mouse). It is already a phenomenal browsing and light work environment, even with facebook/meta at the helm. Wait until Apple gets their hands on this with real professional hardware.
 
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There was no way Apple was going to use Fresnel lenses. They are too large, too heavy, too blurry and too position specific for Apple. Meta has already announced (months ago) that they will be using pancake lenses for Cambria. Apple will at least match that improvement although I imagine they have much more up their sleeves. With Apple's expertise in computational imaging we should see some magic unleashed. I would be surprised if we do not see software adjusted, individual eye, eyesight correction with this product.
 
That price point isn’t happening
Correct. They will come in at "pro" level in Apple Speak. They can do this right at that price point (3K neighborhood) but not cheaper. Not yet. They cannot do it Apple right yet for less. When advancement allows, less expensive models will come.
 
Was just going to say, this will be a terrible product for those with eye glasses.
It will likely be the best. There are a number of ways this could be addressed that will be far superior to glasses/contacts with conventional monitors.
 
This is version 1, for developers and enthusiasts. Like when Apple TV was a "hobby".

If Apple launches a consumer version in a few years, it won't be priced at $3,000.
 
Hah, it wasn't as much as a dig as it may have sounded like. It's more out of curiosity.

Personally, they'll probably get me to buy it. I'm starting to incorporate some money into this year's budget for it too. But I'm speaking from the perspective of a Diehard-Buy-Most-Things-Apple-Ever-Makes fanboy, what I'm wondering is how they're going to get the everyman.

Edit: I was just digging around some of the earlier rumors for this headset and found this quote, which kind of answers my question, from a Gurman-written Bloomberg report from January of last year (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-to-be-niche-precursor-to-eventual-ar-glasses):


I guess they've already accepted that this product won't be a sales smash and designed it accordingly. Interesting.

I don't believe any of these rumors. Apple's Tim Cook has repeatedly stated that AR will be as big as or bigger than iPhone. That means Apple needs AR devices to sell at the volume of iPhones - and that's not going to happen with a $3k VR headset. Even as a precursor, who is Apple going to market a $3k device to? There'd be essentially no game titles for it (other than the handful Apple will have enticed a few game developers to convert/create). What other general-public use cases are there for VR? For AR I can come up with limitless possibilities - but with VR, the only other use case I can see is as a desk/monitor replacement. Instead of sitting down in front of your desk with multiple monitors to do your work, you could don this VR headset and accomplish the same thing. Being in VR makes you immobile (otherwise it would have to be an AR device) and VR/MR takes more power than AR, so you better stay near a power source LOL.

What devices does Apple sell that are $3k+? Mac Pros, MacBook Pros and, I guess, the XDR monitors. Only the MBPs are "mass market"/consumer devices - and they have a much wider set of use cases AND SOFTWARE than a VR headset to justify their price. I bet 99% of Mac Pro and XDR sales are to business customers who can deduct their cost from taxes. But even there, the customers get devices that are immediately useful with existing software.

Don't get me wrong. Like you, I'm an Apple fan boy. Other than Mac Pro and the XDR displays, I pretty much have every device Apple makes. But I have to have a need to justify each purchase. I don't see a need for a VR headset that would justify $3k. But I am completely jazzed about getting my hands on AR glasses (vs *headset*) to help me in day-to-day life.
 
Really? Firstly it's not for the average consumer. Secondly, people will buy no matter what price. In Australia alone, the higher end iPhones sell for close to $AU3000 and continually sell out. People also by laptops for up to $7000. Even if it were close to US3k,..it will.sell.
iPhones and laptops have millions and thousands of software applications available the moment you buy them. How many applications do you think will be available for an Apple VR headset? 5? 10? If it's not for the 'average consumer', who is it for? Define the market, please. The only market I see for a VR headset is the gaming market. But what gamer would plunk down $3k for a device that essentially has no apps? Apple has seeded AR development for years with ARKit. I haven't heard a thing about a "VRKit" to help game developers get onboard. There's a definite chicken-egg problem when it comes to applications for an Apple VR headset: why would developers risk spending the time/effort/money to create VR content for a non-existent market - and why would consumers buy a $3k device that has no VR applications? Sorry, I just don't see it.
 
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I still have a hard time believing this device is a consumer product. I believe this device is an internal device used to develop and will be SOLD to developers like the M1 Mac Mini Dev Kit was, or will be strictly VR for consumers. The tech and rumors swirling around this device dont make sense. Its being spoken/rumored as its an AR/VR device, but I cant imagine Apple releasing a device you cant use in the real world. Imagine putting these on, and then trying to drive, walk around town, shop, explore...you cant. That is what AR is, AUGMENTED REALITY, the ability to AUGMENT REALITY. The way these are described are VR, VIRTUAL REALITY. This is either a VR device, or it is an AR/VR device that is to be used to build data and development models for real Apple AR Eye(i)Glasses, that can be used in a utilitarian manner which is Apples forte. In no way, shape, or form, do I doubt these exist...its just the manner in which they are being described, and the verbiage that is being used that I disagree with.
 
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I don't believe any of these rumors. Apple's Tim Cook has repeatedly stated that AR will be as big as or bigger than iPhone. That means Apple needs AR devices to sell at the volume of iPhones - and that's not going to happen with a $3k VR headset. Even as a precursor, who is Apple going to market a $3k device to? There'd be essentially no game titles for it (other than the handful Apple will have enticed a few game developers to convert/create). What other general-public use cases are there for VR? For AR I can come up with limitless possibilities - but with VR, the only other use case I can see is as a desk/monitor replacement. Instead of sitting down in front of your desk with multiple monitors to do your work, you could don this VR headset and accomplish the same thing. Being in VR makes you immobile (otherwise it would have to be an AR device) and VR/MR takes more power than AR, so you better stay near a power source LOL.

What devices does Apple sell that are $3k+? Mac Pros, MacBook Pros and, I guess, the XDR monitors. Only the MBPs are "mass market"/consumer devices - and they have a much wider set of use cases AND SOFTWARE than a VR headset to justify their price. I bet 99% of Mac Pro and XDR sales are to business customers who can deduct their cost from taxes. But even there, the customers get devices that are immediately useful with existing software.

Don't get me wrong. Like you, I'm an Apple fan boy. Other than Mac Pro and the XDR displays, I pretty much have every device Apple makes. But I have to have a need to justify each purchase. I don't see a need for a VR headset that would justify $3k. But I am completely jazzed about getting my hands on AR glasses (vs *headset*) to help me in day-to-day life.
You are making a distinction between AR and VR that doesn't exist. You can switch back and forth or combine at will already. That is the Passthrough API. This is in use right now with the Quest 2 and Meta has already announced this will be greatly enhanced with Cambria. This is also the purpose of the 8 additional cameras on Apples rumored device. There is no way that this does not become the status quo for computing. Put the demo unit in the Apple store and they will sell. It is efficiency x 10.
 
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