Kuo: Low-Cost Apple Vision Pro Might Be Canceled

[Crow_Servo]

I wonder if this first gen Apple Vision Pro will get a second event closer to launch to go over more details and to hype it up more. The hype is dying down post-announcement, I can tell.

It needs all the help it can get. But personally I am considering getting one. I’ve been hyped ever since rumors began about it.

 

[TSE]

I bought a few weeks ago and share price has plunged $5 since then. It doesn't seem like a lot investors are in agreement with you.

First time investing?

 

[DocMultimedia]

If this thing let me sit anywhere in an NFL during the game I’d buy in a second. But that went down with the YouTube TV deal. They need REALLY good software to get me interested in this.

 

[Someyoungguy]

First time investing?

Changing the subject?

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Cancel the original one and forget about the whole thing 🙂

 

[Someyoungguy]

I share your opinion on this topic. For this thing, too many of us Apple people seemed to have lost the ability to "think different." It takes only a little imagination to come up with a plethora of uses of this product. For example, this is another kind of cut at the same sort of thing "fold" and "roll"able screen devices are trying to deliver: mobile screens bigger than a brick in your pocket or screen in a bag... this one with no crease, no hinges, no scroll mechanisms.

If you ever wish for a screen bigger than the mobile one with you (iPhone, iPad, MB), this could deliver that out of the same bag... and delivery could be ANY size screen... not just a single size or only a little bigger screen... WITHOUT the scaling up of weight as you choose your bigger screen(s) size.

To your last point, this whole crowd DID passionately ridicule phablet-sized phones for YEARS before Apple went there: "one handed use", "pants with bigger pockets", man purses, developer fragmentation, et all. The word "abominations" was commonly slung. Then Apple rolled out iPhone Phablets and it's as if no one ever had such opinions... and later some of the same people were then ridiculing those who dared to call for smaller screen version of iPhones... and that continues right up to now.

When imaginations shrink too small, progress is hard to picture, feared and/or outright resisted. But soon this will go from imagination vapor to tangible reality. And I suspect much like the "abominations" of phablets, there will be a mass shift in opinion once what Vpro can do is fully revealed and able to be demoed in stores for the doubters.

Maybe if we can adopt some bigger man purses or pants with even bigger pockets, we can find a way to appreciate this entirely new thing from Apple once it can actually be experienced first hand? 😉

Just FYI, "plethora" does not mean "one thing" - a large screen for your laptop or phone. And of course, we're limited to a 2-hour battery, worn on your belt. I'd take a foldable phone over this any day.

 

[DocMultimedia]

If this thing let me sit anywhere in an NFL during the game I’d buy in a second. But that went down with the YouTube TV deal. They need REALLY good software to get me interested in this.

I bought a few weeks ago and share price has plunged $5 since then. It doesn't seem like a lot investors are in agreement with you.

If you believe in the company just keep buying when you have spare cash. I saw my first iPod ad years ago and bought. Was a really good idea. 😁

Edit. Hmmm. MacRumors did some weird merging. Oh well.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Just FYI, "plethora" does not mean "one thing" - a large screen for your laptop or phone. And of course, we're limited to a 2-hour battery, worn on your belt. I'd take a foldable phone over this any day.

I know the definitions of words I write. I shared only ONE example. I see MANY uses for an easily mobile, any-size screen. That particular usage is just my current favorite... and seems like something LOTS of Vpro buyers are likely to enjoy if it works as good as demoed in the WWDC video. Presumably this works via some kind of Airplay option. If so, anything else that one airplays could be "thrown" to Vpro too.

And for brevity, it's already been shared that Vpro should run all iPad apps. So virtual laptop screen of any size + anything you can airplay + all things that iPad apps can offer. There's a few hundred thousand uses.

I believe a "think different" crowd should easily have imaginations big enough to imagine MANY things they would enjoy if they could have any-size screen available to them anywhere they happen to be.

Need more examples from me?

 

[Lakersfan74]

I wonder if we could do ACMI $97 something a month for 36 months

 

[UltimaKilo]

Still gonna be a massive hit, but will be a slow burn. Definitely the future.

The problem is its way in the future. At the moment, the components are too expensive, the headset still too large and the processors are not there to power these hungry devices.

2024 was rushed and the rumor of 2027 seems more legitimate because of the way optics, battery and semi tech is about to take a giant leap around then.

 

[Jensend]

But all that aside. Myself, I don't care what it looks like. I'm fine with any headset look really.

I care inasmuch as a smaller, slimmer, lighter device makes it more comfortable to use, and that overlaps somewhat with what makes the device look nicer when worn on a face.

I hope they can get it closer in size to the Bigscreen Beyond, which looks much more comfortable for extended use. That won't be easy, because the Beyond lacks built in compute and many of the sensors that the Vision Pro has. But it also makes decisions that Apple could make, like having a fixed IPD (the AVP has motorized IPD adjustment, which requires additional weight and space) and a facial interface customized to each customer.

 

[currentinterest]

The first 128K Mac was $2499. The Mac II was $5500. Even if you try to argue using an inflation calculator, the technology back then was so grossly inferior to present technology so today's Mac's are way better buy for the buck. In a 1984 mind set the Vision Pro prototype is lightyears advance then many profession workstations that were huge in comparison. Look at an older multi processor CCA Silicon Image workstation setup as a example. 😉

I am not quite sure I understand your point. In 1984 that $2500 is approximately $7300 today. In keeping with the technology advancement, the Apple Vision Pro costs one half as much. The 1984 Macintosh was a consumer revolution in computing, just as is the Apple Vision Pro today. By the end of the year 2024 it will be rare NOT to see them in use on airplanes. I know I will be using mine while on the plane. I recently was in a hospital maternity waiting area where there was excited discussion between three people about getting the iPhone 15 Pro so they could take AVP ready 3D videos. Demand is going to far outstrip supply.

 

[mevans7]

Taking bets on whether the Tesla Truck or Vision Pro will arrive first!

 

[boss.king]

I am not quite sure I understand your point. In 1984 that $2500 is approximately $7300 today. In keeping with the technology advancement, the Apple Vision Pro costs one half as much. The 1984 Macintosh was a consumer revolution in computing, just as is the Apple Vision Pro today. By the end of the year 2024 it will be rare NOT to see them in use on airplanes. I know I will be using mine while on the plane. I recently was in a hospital maternity waiting area where there was excited discussion between three people about getting the iPhone 15 Pro so they could take AVP ready 3D videos. Demand is going to far outstrip supply.

I doubt this very much. The number of these even being made (even if the rumours are off by an order of magnitude) means it's going to be rare to see them anywhere.

 

[DocMultimedia]

I doubt this very much. The number of these even being made (even if the rumours are off by an order of magnitude) means it's going to be rare to see them anywhere.

Especially since people will use them as individuals in their house. I’ve actually never seen any VR or AR goggles even though I’m very geeky.

 

[Marshall73]

At that price and with the number of bugs and issues with the latest OS and devices I think I’ll skip it.

 

[kkee]

Wow, more rumors on rumors. Delicious.

Vision Pro is working up to be le epic fail.

correction: Vision Pro rumors are working to be le epic fail.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I wonder if this first gen Apple Vision Pro will get a second event closer to launch to go over more details and to hype it up more.

Certainly! There will be a major event close the launch in which whatever Apple chose to "hold back" at WWDC will be revealed... along with anything and perhaps everything amazing any third party developers have developed during this time.

With a fairly long stretch of time between first reveal and launch, Apple would not have wanted to play all cards at WWDC. I'm confident some Apple "amazing" is still to be revealed. My first guess is that some of that will be new kinds of services that yes, while making the thing even more expensive for anyone interested in the services, will also deliver new experiences we can't replicate as well on any visual consumption devices we have now.

Recall that Bob Iger segment for Disney. I highly doubt that THAT was only about eventually watching Disney+ on Vpro. Rewatch his segment and think about each little snippet of things shown. Disney media has tentacles in everything. There is abundant opportunities for Vpro offerings in those little snippet teasers. New kinds of interactive things, new kinds of consumption, new kinds of services (and services revenue opportunity). I saw many potentials packed into that 2 or 3 minutes of Disney... like teasers all jammed into a quick movie trailer. Break those little teasers out and think about their potential. There is MUCH in that short segment if one has an imagination.

I suspect a lot of this pessimism will be pressured to flip once we are on the edge of actually releasing the thing. For now, while it's still vapor and imaginations can run wild to any preconceived bias anyone feels about this kind of product, we get the full range of speculation from "greatest product ever/next iPhone-level innovation" to "biggest pile of.../DOA". However, all that evolves when rumors of things it can do start piling up closer to launch, then a live Apple event actually pulling back the curtain and live demos in stores.

Between now and then, the extremists at either end of the spectrum could be absolutely correct in what they think... but reality is probably somewhere in-between. The half full segment will be able to imagine some impressive things it might do to build upon the tangible things demonstrated in the WWDC video. The half empty segment will be able to imagine more negative things and likely build upon the social influence of recurring opinions of the extremists who can't see anything at all here.

Personally, I'm in the half full segment (and I'm no fanboy- I write with a consumer-first lens firmly in place). I don't think Apple can work on anything for 6-8 years and it be only a big pile of.../DOA. I choose to lean pretty positive on the strength of many years of development by bright minds at Apple has likely created a number of good things available in this new product. I also expect third party developers to have come up with some remarkable things between WWDC and launch, as we've seen each time there's been a new platform revealed for developers and then launched later. I look forward to learning more in the "it's showtime!" event close to launch, then actually seeing with my own eyes in a demo at an Apple store.

 

[Realityck]

I am not quite sure I understand your point. In 1984 that $2500 is approximately $7300 today. In keeping with the technology advancement, the Apple Vision Pro costs one half as much. The 1984 Macintosh was a consumer revolution in computing, just as is the Apple Vision Pro today. By the end of the year 2024 it will be rare NOT to see them in use on airplanes. I know I will be using mine while on the plane. I recently was in a hospital maternity waiting area where there was excited discussion between three people about getting the iPhone 15 Pro so they could take AVP ready 3D videos. Demand is going to far outstrip supply.

If technology advances significantly so that equivalent computer performance is 10000% more capable then the 1984 or 1987 examples how can one say trivially that computers back then were worth today's $7300? If you took 20 Mac II's and ran them in parallel do you really think they have a fighting chance at besting the performance of a Studio Mac M2 Max? I don't. Thats why we can't simply use inflation calculators to compare purchasing products from different eras with vastly different technology performance. 🙂

 

[TSE]

Changing the subject?

Not at all and if you had any experience investing you'd know that it dropped 5 dollars in two weeks is really nothing. The S&P500 in general hasn't been doing well, but zoom into Apple into 6 month increments and you'd see that even within their best 6 month periods, the price ebbs and flows.

 

[Jensend]

Certainly! There will be a major event close the launch in which whatever Apple chose to "hold back" at WWDC will be revealed... along with anything and perhaps everything amazing any third party developers have developed during this time.

With a fairly long stretch of time between first reveal and launch, Apple would not have wanted to play all cards at WWDC. I'm confident some Apple "amazing" is still to be revealed. My first guess is that some of that will be new kinds of services that yes, while making the thing even more expensive for anyone interested in the services, will also deliver new experiences we can't replicate as well on any visual consumption devices we have now.

Recall that Bob Iger segment for Disney. I highly doubt that THAT was only about eventually watching Disney+ on Vpro. Rewatch his segment and think about each little snippet of things shown. Disney media has tentacles in everything. There is abundant opportunities for Vpro offerings in those little snippet teasers. New kinds of interactive things, new kinds of consumption, new kinds of services (and services revenue opportunity). I saw many potentials packed into that 2 or 3 minutes of Disney... like teasers all jammed into a quick movie trailer. Break those little teasers out and think about their potential. There is MUCH in that short segment if you have an imagination.

I suspect a lot of this pessimism will be pressured to flip once we are on the edge of actually releasing the thing. For now, while it's still vapor and imaginations can run wild to any preconceived bias anyone feels about this kind of product, we get the full range of speculation from "greatest product ever/next iPhone-level innovation" to "biggest pile of.../DOA". However, all that evolves when rumors of things it can do start piling up closer to launch, then a live Apple event actually pulling back the curtain and live demos in stores.

Between now and then, the extremists at either end of the spectrum could be absolutely correct in what they think... but reality is probably somewhere in-between. The half full segment will be able to imagine some impressive things it might do to build upon the tangible things demonstrated in the WWDC video. The half empty segment will be able to imagine more negative things and likely build upon the social influence of recurring opinions of the extremists who can't see anything at all here.

Personally, I'm in the half full segment (and I'm no fanboy- I write with a consumer-first lens firmly in place). I don't think Apple can work on anything for 6-8 years and it be only a big pile of.../DOA. I choose to lean pretty positive on the strength of many years of development by bright minds at Apple has likely created a number of good things available in this new product. I also expect third party developers to have come up with some remarkable things between WWDC and launch, as we've seen each time there's been a new platform revealed for developers and then launched later. I look forward to learning more in the "it's showtime!" event close to launch, then actually seeing with my own eyes in a demo at an Apple store.

My biggest disappointment with the AVP event was the lack of anything beyond floating windows.

• No exploring 3D scans of the real world like in Google Earth VR. (though there were some nice looking 3D environments for use as backgrounds)
• Almost no creative uses shown, such as painting and sculpting. Spatial photos/videos may be an exception.
• No fitness apps / rhythm games like Supernatural and Beat Saber.
• No games.
• No art galleries.
• No social apps where you have the feeling of being in the same space as other AVP users.

I like how the AVP lets you easily do the computing things you already do on other Apple devices, but Apple didn't really show new things enabled by AR/VR.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm confident we did not see everything it can do at WWDC. The gap to launch is many months. If I was in charge, I would have teased with some functionality and held back other stuff for close to launch. No need showing all cards until it's time to sell them.

I suspect several things on your list are in there- just part of the unplayed hand until closer to the event. As we all well know: Apple likes to put on a big, amazing show just before asking for the money "starting Friday" ... not "starting 7-11 months from today." 😉

That "order now" or "order tomorrow/Friday" thing has been a proven piece of the formula since Job's return to Apple. Even the old Macworlds would "big show" and "order <near immediately>"

 

[picpicmac]

This $3500 product will be a massive fail.

Did you actually believe that Apple thought a $3500 product would be bought in the same volumes as the iPhone or iPad.

Apple's marketing department obviously intended for the product to be used in professional settings, and in a niche luxury market.

 

[picpicmac]

The Newton was introduced by Apple in 1993. I knew someone who had one and was very eager about it and tried to spread its use.

But the Newton went nowhere.

17 years later Apple introduced the iPad. And while tablet sales have slowed recently, Apple is the dominant maker in that market.

The AVP is obviously a first generation product by Apple to test the waters. In twenty years, if the market wants such things, whatever augmented reality device Apple (or whoever) will have will be different.

 

[bgillander]

The funniest rumours here are the ones for follow-up products to products that haven’t even shipped, yet. They remind me of politicians’ promises… “We haven’t done anything about those earlier promises, but check out the next batch!”