New Book Details Vision Pro's Troubled Launch in Apple Stores

[jole]

The Apple Vision Pro is still 100x better than any Meta Quest.

On specs, it is "much better", but definitely not 100x.

On privacy, Meta anything will lose before even the product name is said.

 

[d-klumpp]

Probably like many MR readers, I almost never arrive in any showroom knowing less than the salesperson. Whether it's a car or a bike or appliance or replacement windows, I do my homework ahead of time and only come into the showroom to see and touch the physical item. Salespeople may provide additional insights, but I've already made up my mind before entering the store. For the AVP, I'm not a gamer, and I prefer to watch TV with my wife rather than withdraw into a private world. So I could never imagine a use case that justified the (any) price. With a nice AV system and Macs already, the AVP would have to be less than $1000 — lots less — for me to move beyond mere curiosity. I cannot imagine that AVP sales were compromised mostly by Apple staff, thus the book probably draws more from correlation than causation.

 

[The Game 161]

One of my favorite devices that I’m glad I tried and bought. Makes watching content next level. Still use it 2-3 times a week

 

[AppleWes]

I don’t believe I’m alone in this but I absolutely loathe going to an Apple Store now. They’re arrogant and sometimes extremely defensive when there’s an issue with a product.

Same here. I used to love going in person and now the condescending attitude is through the roof, as if "why are you bothering me?"

I actually miss being able to just line up or have clear areas to go to without having to look for employee first.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Well well well!
This is a great start!

Steam Link Apple Vision Pro 2D Beta :: Steam Link Apple iOS / Apple TV / Vision Pro

Hey everyone, we are happy to announce a native Steam Link app for visionOS! This update improves network performance, allows streaming up to 4K resolutions, and allows you to dynamically adjust the curve of the display in panoramic mode. This client is for 2D streaming only and does not support...

steamcommunity.com

 

[maxoakland]

It seems similar to the issue they also had getting apps and content for the device. They pissed off so many developers and content houses over the previous few years that no-one other than Disney, who they have corporate ties to, wanted to produce an app, and most including Google and Netflix stopped their iPad apps from being used on the device. Indies who in the past would always be relied on to produce new things for new platforms had been ignored for so long by the current Apple leadership that they couldn't be bothered either. And so you ended up with a device that no-one loved.

Indies haven’t just been ignored by Apple, they’ve been abused and exploited. This is the kind of thing that Tim Cook just doesn’t understand. The stuff outside the money that affects the money

 

[maxoakland]

All that said, I have to say that even if the headset were around 1,000 and potentially more people had bought it - although there might be more software available as developers would be more inclined to create apps for it given the bigger user base - I still dont see something of that nature being a regularly used piece of tech.

There also would’ve been more software of Apple treated indie devs better. That was a big factor in what made the iPhone such a success. People saw the cool apps and that expanded the audience last what the base device could do

And the indie devs made apps for the iPhone because they were excited about the tech and excited about making software for it. Apple had a ton of goodwill from their high quality software and hardware. There was a great community of developers who liked Apple and wanted to see them succeed

Apple has destroyed all of that with their abusive iPhone practices. It only showed up on a new device because the iPhone was already so successful, devs are locked in

 

[maxoakland]

I mean, both things can be true at the same time.
The Vision Pro itself was never meant to be a big seller, it literally couldn’t be. Apple could not produce as many units as they could sell if it was as big as the iPhone. Saying “it flopped” because it didn’t sell the same number of units as an iPhone or Apple Watch is just a silly argument to make, it’s been well known for years now that Apple could only make less than 1 million units a year.

However, it was clearly supposed to be a market mover, as in it existing would create more interest in other products just like it, and I think it’s safe to say two years later that that *has not* happened. We are no closer to an augmented reality/virtual reality future than we were in 2023 and the Vision Pro’s existence has not had the butterfly effect they were hoping it would.

This is rewriting history. Apple wanted the Vision Pro to be an iPhone level success. They even marketed it as an iPhone moment. Tim Cook pushed it out because he wanted to secure his legacy as an innovator like Steve Jobs

This was all common knowledge around the time of release

 

[CarAnalogy]

This is utterly fascinating. It tracks that Cook “unwound” what sounded like a wonderful retail arm. He was the “supply chain” guy before being ceo. Was always about optimising costs. Tunnel vision for the bottom line.


Also this is just wild.

That’s absolutely key and underrated. They see employees using their own iPhones and Apple Watches but if you ask them about their Vision Pro… and if even they don’t use it… what does that tell the customers?

 

[Happy_John]

Apple wanted the Vision Pro to be an iPhone level success.

I can’t buy that. The Vision Pro was never going to be an iPhone level success. It simply wasn’t.

Mobile phones had already hit critical mass when the iPhone launched. Smartph9nes were already a th8ng when the iPhone launched, even if it was a geeki, techy niche. The Blackberry was already well established. iPods and mpeg players were already established.

There wasn’t the same environment for the Vision Pro.

And I can’t believe the higher ups in Apple were SP deluded as to th8nk the Vision Pro would be the „next iPhone moment”.

Marketingspeak is one thing, but reality is different. I cannot imagine they expected the Vision Pro to be more successful than it was, but I imagine their idea of success was for it to be a prestige product, and fancy design proof of concept, not a mass market device.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Well, that's not a step in the right direction...

 

[CarAnalogy]

This is rewriting history. Apple wanted the Vision Pro to be an iPhone level success. They even marketed it as an iPhone moment. Tim Cook pushed it out because he wanted to secure his legacy as an innovator like Steve Jobs

This was all common knowledge around the time of release

Thank you for also remembering what we all saw, seriously. Too many people forget too fast.

I don’t necessarily blame him for wanting that but it just wasn’t there and he wanted it too much. $500 on contract was a lot in 2007 but $4000 is a lot all the time.

The iPhone was also an obvious upgrade to something (or several somethings) people already had, the Vision Pro is its own thing for better and worse.

Also people forget the blood sweat and tears it took to get the iPhone even at that price. That was Jobs’s strength. Making so many people from so many different areas come together for one focused goal.

 

[subjonas]

I feel it was imediately obvious that this Vision Pro would be a flop, which kind of shows Apple are out of touch or believe their own hype machine

Whenever there's a new Apple product, there are people who believe it's immediately obvious that it will be a flop. iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch... Even a broken clock is right twice a day. This proves nothing new. Apple has occasionally made flops throughout its history.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I do think this is true to an extent. All the talk of the release of AVP being Tim Cook's "iPhone moment" wasn't for nothing. There is a fair amount of cope going on whenever the argument is made that Apple didn't expect the VisionPro to be a market success. Of course they did. It's a new product from Apple! They wanted it to sell well, as they do with all their products. The same was true of HomePod, another product that did not disrupt or capture the market like they'd hoped.

At the same time, it's hard for me to think anyone at Apple was high enough on their own supply to truly believe that a $3500 headset (a product category that has never proven to have wide appeal) was going to be the next iPhone.

I think there seems to be a lot of confusion. Apple did not think this thing was going to sell well, no matter what, because they literally, as reported on over and over again, could only make half a million units a year.
What they likely did expect, however, was to make a big splash, and for it to have an effect across the industry that every company rushes to put out a competitor, bringing down component costs and increasing consumer interest across the board, so they could leap forward towards a cheaper one and a smaller one and a full iPhone or iPad sized line-up of headsets.
This did not happen, there were small moments when Samsung and Google announced a competitor (where has that gone?) and Mark Zuckerberg made a weird video response, but other than that the headset category has kind of gone back into hibernation. Even Meta seems to be giving up.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

This is rewriting history. Apple wanted the Vision Pro to be an iPhone level success.

The only one rewriting history here is anyone saying they expected it to sell in iPhone numbers.
From December 2023:

Kuo: Vision Pro Likely to Launch in Late January or Early February

Mass shipments of the Vision Pro to Apple will begin in the first week of January, according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a December 24 research note, Kuo said the Vision Pro will most likely hit shelves in late January or early February based on this shipment schedule. Kuo estimates...

www.macrumors.com

“, Kuo said the Vision Pro will most likely hit shelves in late January or early February based on this shipment schedule. Kuo estimates that Vision Pro shipments in 2024 will reach approximately 500,000 units.”

From May 2023:

Apple's Unusual Headset Design Has Led to Unprecedented Production Challenges

Apple's mixed-reality headset will reportedly be the most complicated hardware product ever made by the company, sporting an unusual design that has proven to be an unprecedented challenging to manufacture, The Information reports. Apple headset concept by Marcus Kane The headset apparently...

www.macrumors.com

“Apple is expected to ship less than half a million headsets during the first year of its release.”

From June 2023:

Apple Vision Pro Only Has Sony As Its Internal Display Supplier, And Its Annual Capacity Cannot Even Reach One Million Units

Even if more people wanted the Apple Vision Pro, it comes down to Sony, who can only supply less than a million panels annually

wccftech.com

“Currently, The Elec reports that Sony can only mass produce up to 900,000 internal display units for the Apple Vision Pro.”

This was common knowledge, this was reposted and almost every article throughout 2023 and 2024.
Sony could only make enough displays for around half 1 million headsets.
Apple only ever had the ability to sell between 400 and 500,000 Vision Pro units.
The idea that people here seem to have that externally Apple knew they only could make half a million headsets, but internally they were expecting it to sell in iPhone numbers is just so silly.

 

[AbeLincoln1984]

VR has never sold. Almost like it's doomed as a concept.

I have never seen anything creepier then the original promotional video for it where a dad wore it to attend a birthday party or something.

I've seen that movie, it's called Surrogates, not a huge man.

There are few things more human than trying to invent yourself out of your own humanity.

 

[eifelbube]

blaming retail employees for the failure of a product that no one aside from characters in a 1995 movie wanted (or the dean in that community season 6 episode) shows how out of touch Apple, New York Times, or anyone who hasn’t worked a retail job are.

I agree that Apple Store employees are not to blame for the AVP failure. However, while Tim Cook very much represents Apple for being “out of touch”, the book author just works for the NYT, he does not run the paper. MR wrote “A new book by New York Times labor reporter Noam Scheiber argues …”. NYT is not the publisher of Scheiber’s book.

 

[eifelbube]

I'll admit, I'd probably keep one around if it were $299.

For Halloween? 😉😊

 

[urtules]

It’s a real shame and I hope a new leadership at Apple will correct this. Yesterday I had experience with PSVR2 which made me appreciate Apple Vision Pro even more. There is so much love and labour put in this product if it would be a shame if it fails. Most of the people don’t even know it exist. I had experience buying Apple Vision Pro twice, and UK stuff really clueless. Both online and in stores. With this product it’s really important to get the seal of the right size.

 

[eifelbube]

“The demo itself was technically demanding. Employees had to scan customers' faces, select from roughly 25 different light seals, and guide users ...”

I do remember thinking while undergoing the complex demo setup: This doesn’t bode well for a product made by a company whose legendary CEO popularized the phrase “It just works”.

 

[eifelbube]

(note: I still believe spatial computing will be a thing, just not sure when, by whom, and in what exact form factor)

After Artemis IV, V, and VI missions built and settled the first colonies on the moon. The AVP Lunar will be lighter than a feather.

 

[wanha]

AVP is not like any other Apple product that one could easily pick it up and begin using it. One has to customize AVP to head shape for band size, weight, then prescription or not and familiarize with the UX/UI environment. Plus factor in it’s not as mobile as a phone, tablet, watch or even a laptop and one can see why it has not caught on along with the price deterrence.

My partner and I tried AVP for the first time, partner felt some motion sickness, I felt the demo experience was limiting. The dino demo was cool along with the immersion video demo but the lack of other sensory feedback didn’t make it emerging. No bass to vibrate your body, the video camera limitations were notable especially in the NYC aerial view, immersion was a bit too close to experience environment for me as it felt a little too close and limiting (I felt a bit of a wider view would be better). When looking at my arms I can see a halo or glow effect which limited the believability of the experience.

At this price point it doesn’t seem polished enough for me.

I'm with you. AVP feels like little more than a public developer kit and a tech preview for those who are interested and can afford it.

IMO the idea for spatial computing is solid, but the hardware and UX are still massively lacking.

 

[Xade]

I booked an appointment for a demo, turned up at the shop, they were quite busy but I was told to have a seat and wait. 45 minutes after my appointment time I told them I was fed up and leaving. They had forgotten about me apparently. Not the best way to sell an expensive niche product.

 

[svish]

Interesting to know about this. Vision Pro in its current style will not be a successful product. Hopefully the upcoming AR glasses will be adopted by customers.

 

[Basic75]

Well well well!

And it doesn't support VR games. Why bother?