hold on let me get excited about something i'll never be able to afford!
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Mass Production of Apple's Mixed-Reality Headset Said to Begin in March 2023
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Many people think AR will mostly be a niche product for enterprise. I hope so. I actually fear it’s going to be too mainstream. I think it has that much potential. Not looking forward to the day that society is full of people constantly distracted by their HUDs. But that’s only if/when they’re able to make AR glasses that will be fashionable to wear in public with long battery life. This rumored product, however, is goggles, which will certainly not be worn in public, but in private places. And I‘m sure it will be much more niche because of its (supposed) form factor and price. At least, I will be surprised if it becomes a mainstream device and shocked if it’s worn in public.
And my fears are even worse for VR. VR has the potential to really isolate people. And when people are isolated, they get weird.
But I think as these technologies improve to reach their potential, they will inevitably reach critical mass and become mainstream, so I just hope most people will be aware enough of the situation to make and use them responsibly. They do, after all, have a lot of potential for good too.
And my fears are even worse for VR. VR has the potential to really isolate people. And when people are isolated, they get weird.
But I think as these technologies improve to reach their potential, they will inevitably reach critical mass and become mainstream, so I just hope most people will be aware enough of the situation to make and use them responsibly. They do, after all, have a lot of potential for good too.
Consumer application right now is extremely niche, and only for entertainment (ie gaming). The only possibility I could think of is an AR simulating multiple desktops/larger desktop area of your computer, so you have larger canvas/"screen" without physically having one. That could work in some markets where office spaces are limited and/or homes are tiny. Eg a designer/architect no longer need to invest heavily in large/multiple monitors. But in the end, not the typical consumer usage.
That actually reminds me of those pico projector, which aimed to replace regular large projectors and/or TVs. But those didn't seem to catch on.
I am not an avid follower of everything Apple but I am curious to know when was the last time, if there ever has been one that there has been so much public talk about an Apple device, about what it is supposed to do, it's design looks, it's tech specs but yet there has been absolutly nothing to show for it until release day, because for a number of years now there has been much talk about this AR/VR devices mythical specs and it's looks and it's supposedly development and production but yet there has been nothing to show for it, no leaks, no actual specs, just guesses and assumptions. We are even told that Apple are now on version 2 of the device with version 1 not ever seeing the light of day. There was talk about senior executives being shown the device during it's alleged development stages and yet again nothing offically released about it.
How is it this AR/VR device has been getting so many 'if's','maybe's','probably' and so much forum air time that nobody outside of Apple knows anything concret about the device? If such a device exists and early development sets were shown to Apple executives then why wasn't the device given any air time on one of Apple's key note events? basically giving Apple users a teaser of what they can expect further down the road. But no, Apple ave done nothing. What's the betting that 'something' will happen and we are told 'alleged' production has stopped.
MR did a front page article a long long time ago about Apple executives being given the oppertunity to see development sets and if that was the case then Apple have had every oppertunity to show Apple users what they can expect but no, Apple have kept everything quiet. Therefore do people honestly believe that Apple does actually have an AR/VR device ready to be produced or is all this just fake talk from Apple and no such device actually exists.
How is it this AR/VR device has been getting so many 'if's','maybe's','probably' and so much forum air time that nobody outside of Apple knows anything concret about the device? If such a device exists and early development sets were shown to Apple executives then why wasn't the device given any air time on one of Apple's key note events? basically giving Apple users a teaser of what they can expect further down the road. But no, Apple ave done nothing. What's the betting that 'something' will happen and we are told 'alleged' production has stopped.
MR did a front page article a long long time ago about Apple executives being given the oppertunity to see development sets and if that was the case then Apple have had every oppertunity to show Apple users what they can expect but no, Apple have kept everything quiet. Therefore do people honestly believe that Apple does actually have an AR/VR device ready to be produced or is all this just fake talk from Apple and no such device actually exists.
Maybe Tim needs to reevaluate their strategy. Metaverse isn’t going to be the thing that saves big tech. I think we are witnessing the end of big tech. Unless they somehow get into the energy business like building nuclear reactors. Or maybe Tim is on to something. Maybe he’ll build nuclear power stations in the metaverse.
There is no way this doesn’t get announced before production begins. We would have leaks galore otherwise. January makes the most sense for an event, with release in the third quarter. The Mac Pro could also be announced at this event, along with updated MacBook Pros.
I predict a $1500 dollar starting price point, Apple rarely aims at the corporate market for any product category. That said, I'll probably buy one at any price anyway, for years now I've been waiting for a high-quality VR-device that will blow me away and Apple is in the best position to make that a reality.
Yes, very niche so far, but I think the reason has been mainly the tech. AR has only existed in handheld small screens (very limited potential), or big heavy goggles that are either tethered or have short battery life, with bad resolution, and glitchy anchoring/occlusion, etc. The only market willing to tolerate all that is probably hardcore gamers.
A lot of these are huge hurdles, but I don’t think any are inherently insurmountable. So as tech progresses and solves more of those issues, I’m fairly certain more markets will come into play, and more applications will come. The virtual displays you mentioned is a pretty big one in my opinion, if they can get really good resolution and frame rates. That’s one I’m definitely interested in, even if it’s tethered, mainly for work. Although it wouldn’t need to be a display per se. Each computer application could just be its own floating window placed wherever you want in your environment. And instead of a 2D window, applications could also be 3D objects, with 3D UIs.
If they’re able to make very portable headsets, other possible applications are navigation, tourism info, shopping info, museum gallery info, realty info, star gazing... I don’t know, it seems pretty endless!
No idea how far away the tech is from making these applications feasible—won’t happen tomorrow, for sure—but I think it’s inevitably coming.
I think there are more application ideas in this thread:
Compared to the Meta Quest Pro, I don’t expect the hardware to be revolutionary. It will be a matter to see how much of a spec bump it gets from Apple Silicon.
I’m much more interested in the software side of things, how Apple envisages the AR/VR world which goes with the hardware product.
I’m much more interested in the software side of things, how Apple envisages the AR/VR world which goes with the hardware product.
There are some rumored specs, I believe. And I think there were big clues found in code. But yes, I don’t recall any photos of hardware.
But regardless, you’re right, of course, it‘s very possible it will never be announced, who knows. But if that’s the case, I think with the amount of rumors we’ve seen, it’s unlikely it would be because it was all made up. It’s more likely that it was developed with considerable effort, but something came along, possibly a technological barrier, that made Apple change their plans, much like the Air Power charging pad thing, which was much more of a debacle because it was actually announced.
Sounds just like the rumored iPhone posts in Nov 2006….”niche” was the most popular word too. You can go to Macrumors archives and see for yourself.
It'll be overpriced and underpowered like the first iPhone and the first Apple Watch.
From these comments, there’s just so many people who don’t understand what the product is, or even what the segment is. And this is on a technology forum, so you can imagine how far off we are from the general public understanding.
AR is a tool that people will use to solve problems with assistive information of various kinds. An insurance adjuster will be able to quickly evaluate and assess car damage having loads of information and photos that can be called up while reckoning estimates. A surgeon being able to perform a difficult procedure on a patient assisted with information, records, diagrams, real-time vitals, etc (already being done). An architect working with clients. A power plant inspector assessing conditions and maintenance of a plant. A car mechanic working under the hood assisted by AR. People visiting museums and having a richer experience having a variety of additional information available while viewing exhibition. And on and on and on. There are so many potential applications.
VR is more for entertainment, though it's certainly not limited to that.
And of course the "line" that divides AR and VR can be pretty squishy.
Too bad this wasn’t ready during the earlier days of the pandemic when everyone was flooded with cash and buying $5,000 pelotons. Now Apple will release their expensive headset during an inflationary and possibly recessionary period.
Maybe I'm just old, but I don't see the "killer app" (or even apps) for these goggles that are going to be critical to Apple's future success - for several years now. I see these being useful about the time TRUE self-driving cars are ubiquitous (about the same time we can buy flying cars at our dealership).
Again, a lot of people are dismissing VR because the value is not immediately obvious. The same thing happened with Computers/iPhone.
To summarize:
- For the first time ever, XR will let people control their personal visual experience like headphones do for audio. Even subtle uses will have deep resonance.
- Distracting HUD's were never a good idea, just sci-fi eye-candy. Virtual objects seamlessly integrated into the real world is a much better approach.
- Version 1 might not look good in public but a version that does will come fast.
- It will take time to digest and realize its potential; just like most ground-breaking technologies.
To summarize:
- For the first time ever, XR will let people control their personal visual experience like headphones do for audio. Even subtle uses will have deep resonance.
- Distracting HUD's were never a good idea, just sci-fi eye-candy. Virtual objects seamlessly integrated into the real world is a much better approach.
- Version 1 might not look good in public but a version that does will come fast.
- It will take time to digest and realize its potential; just like most ground-breaking technologies.
And the mass layoffs at Meta should be an indicator that no one wants / needs this.
It just wouldn’t be MR without our weekly dose of this rumor.
We might as well start throwing a birthday party for this rumor.
Who has the cake and candles?
We might as well start throwing a birthday party for this rumor.
Who has the cake and candles?