Report: Apple Executives Cautious of Mixed-Reality Headset Amid Compromises

[Simmias]

I am totally shocked by this story. I have never seen the media, or Mark Gurman in particular, spreading FUD or mean-spirited gossip in order to gain clicks leading up to a new Apple product launch. It's not like everyone predicted the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch would all bomb. Abject failures like AirPods, Apple Watch and the M1 Macs prove Tim Cook has now idea how to run a company and has lost his way. /s

 

[epox999]

Per the infamous iPod launch thread, the first of those sucked even right after Apple revealed it due to "insane price", "nobody will want", "why is Apple straying off of their core competencies" and so on. But then, apparently, many came around and the success of that thing basically made modern Apple.

To be fair though, the ipod didn't sell well until 04/05 after they ditched firewire and adopted USB and iTunes for Windows. the first 3 generations sold in the hundreds of thousands, it didn't hit 10+ million sold a year till 4th/5th Generation

 

[Mr_Ed]

I think it has potential. I don’t know if it’s any good, because… ya know… it isn’t released yet!

Fair enough, just don’t pretend those who are not optimistic about it are any less informed than those who are, as implied in your original comment.

 

[rpmurray]

“Apple reportedly hopes that users will eventually wear the device continuously all day…”

Who the hell watches pr0n continuously all day? I see no other reason why anyone would wear Apple glasses.

Raises hand. This is my retirement plan.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

That’s the minority. And especially for Apple with their entire stance on remote work. This inherently isolated the wearer so they are contradicting even themselves.

It's fine for you to feel this way. You are not obligated to buy any new product that Apple sells. Others though may have applications for new products from Apple. Minority or majority, sometimes people want what they want.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Raises hand. This is my retirement plan.

You win the internet today. That was hilarious!

 

[steve123]

Why are the executives all trying to distance themselves from this thing before it’s even announced? With the watch I remember a similar story before the introduction flaunting how deeply involved Tim Cook was with its development.

It is pretty obvious what a watch would be used for. It is not so obvious what the AR headset would be used for.

 

[steve09090]

Fair enough, just don’t pretend those who are not optimistic about it are any less informed than those who are, as implied in your original comment.

There is a difference between being optimistic or pessimistic and writing them off and denigrating Apple (or any company) on a product that hasn’t even been announced.

It is pretty obvious what a watch would be used for. It is not so obvious what the AR headset would be used for.

Probably should wait until it’s announced then, eh?

 

[120FPS]

So, I think I've seen this movie before. You know, where a rumored Apple product is DOA before anyone's even seen it? I think the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch all "sucked" before they were launched too.

All the examples you mention had an audience waiting for an elegantly designed version of a music player, mobile phone, tablet, and smartwatch.

The audience for VR is not very big and is quite specific. Most people do not want to wear a cumbersome headpiece to take them out of it for an experience that doesn't always pay off for long periods but is a quick ooh ahh. That said it sounds perfect for adult entertainment so maybe it will be a huge hit among people struggling to get their needs met.

 

[Ethosik]

It's fine for you to feel this way. You are not obligated to buy any new product that Apple sells. Others thought may have applications for new products from Apple. Minority or majority, sometimes people want what they want.

Minority means a product will flop. We see how good these things are for devices that have a lot of content (gaming). Yet it’s still niche and doesn’t sell a whole lot. Metaverse is failing.

 

[arkitect]

From the original Bloomberg article:

In an attempt to keep headset wearers engaged with the real world, the device will have an outward-facing display showing their eye movements and facial expressions. Apple regards this feature as a key differentiator from enclosed VR headsets. One person familiar with the device says the exterior screens allow people to interact with a headset wearer without feeling as if they’re talking to a robot.

That is going to be interesting… and quite a feat to pull off.

I for one — even though I am not remotely interested in spending USD3,000 on a 1st gen device — am rooting for Apple to make a success of this…

I want to be convinced that I need this. 🙂

 

[Ethosik]

All the examples you mention had an audience waiting for an elegantly designed version of a music player, mobile phone, tablet, and smartwatch.

The audience for VR is not very big and is quite specific. Most people do not want to wear a cumbersome headpiece to take them out of it for an experience that doesn't always pay off for long periods but is a quick ooh ahh. That said it sounds perfect for adult entertainment so maybe it will be a huge hit among people struggling to get their needs met.

Doubt Apple would allow this content. Is there even this stuff on the App Store?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I can almost see your concern if your job puts you in an airplane several hours a day every workday, and if so, how many of you are there to justify that niche market?

Anyway . . . $17 privacy screen

I've been in wifi coffee shops and in just glancing around the room seen screens where people are apparently working on or commenting on strategic plans, unreleased products, etc. I recall sitting next to a woman in a similar setting and she had a spreadsheet on screen with what was likely a list of employee names and their salaries (presumably HR, but me- a total stranger- was easily seeing specific names of people and exactly what they are paid).

None of this is trying (to see such stuff)- just noticing. Glance around and you sometimes see things on screens you should not see.

Yes, I could privacy screen it, but that's only a benefit offered up by the last critic. My much, MUCH more enthusiastic view of a Goggles-based laptop concept is ANY size screen on which to work while mobile. The privacy part is just an added benefit.

Most of my time, I work on a 40" ultra-wide desktop screen. However, when forced to laptop, 16" feels insanely cramped. Goggles MIGHT be able to make that same 40" become a light, mobile screen in the laptop bag... or 2 of them. That has massive appeal to me.

 

[steve09090]

Minority means a product will flop. We see how good these things are for devices that have a lot of content (gaming). Yet it’s still niche and doesn’t sell a whole lot. Metaverse is failing.

The Microsoft HoloLens has sold about 300,000 units at about AU$7,000 and is not considered a flop…. Not everything has to be made for the gaming market. I doubt it would be targeted to 25 year olds gaming nerds working in burger joints. More like professionals with actual cash.

 

[KaiFiMacFan]

Wear it all day, really? I've been trying to be open-minded about this device, despite not really being interested in it, and I was a bit skeptical of rumors suggesting this was going to replace the iPhone, but now it seems that's what they were intending all along. It's a device called "Reality" that we're meant to wear all day...the bad sci-fi parody writes itself.

Can Apple really not see how this is different from wearing a watch all day? Even if this device ends up being good and successful, I don't think the future they're envisioning is the one that I want. Impulsively looking at a phone screen all day is bad enough, but at least you can put a phone in your pocket and it's not always in your field of vision...

In either case, the rumors are all over the place: this is a desktop monitor replacement, this is not the Metaverse, it's AR only, it's VR also, it's not about gaming, it's going to revolutionize mobile gaming, it's a professional-only device, it's going to be mainstream and replace the iPhone...guess we'll find out soon enough.

 

[Ethosik]

I've been in wifi coffee shops and in just glancing around the room seen screens where people are apparently working on or commenting on strategic plans, unreleased products, etc. I recall sitting next to a woman in a similar settings and she had a spreadsheet on screen with what was likely a list of employee names and their salaries (presumably HR, but me- a total stranger- was easily seeing specific names of people and exactly what they are paid.

None of this is trying- just noticing. Glance around and you sometimes see things on screens you should not see.

Yes, I could privacy screen it, but that's only a benefit offered up by the last critic. My much, MUCH more enthusiastic view of a Goggles-based laptop concept is ANY size screen on which to work while mobile. The privacy part is just an added benefit.

Most of my time, I work on a 40" ultra-wide desktop screen. However, when forced to laptop, 16" feels insanely cramped. Goggles MIGHT be able to make that same 40" become a light, mobile screen in the laptop bag... or 2 of them. That has massive appeal to me.

You are going to wear this….in a coffee shop…in public? That’s a major issue. It isolated you and you won’t be fully aware of your surroundings if something happens.

 

[Ethosik]

The Microsoft HoloLens has sold about 300,000 units at about AU$7,000 and is not considered a flop…. Not everything has to be made for the gaming market. I doubt it would be targeted to 25 year olds gaming nerds working in burger joints. More like professionals with actual cash.

300,000 for a product from Microsoft is a flop.

But that’s the point. Games already exist so there is content for this. Yet it’s not popular. Apple has NOTHING. So how good can these get?

 

[steve123]

I don't understand why they felt so compelled to release what is seemingly to be a beta product with the success of the company so far.

I think it comes down to nobody at Apple has identified an economically viable use case. So, release it to the wild and hope someone else will come up with one.

 

[hovscorpion12]

Whether this article is true or not, I will be avoiding the AR glasses as WWDC. Proves that it should not be released until ready.

this could be another product Apple launches and fails within a year.

 

[Rogifan]

All the rumors point to a product that exists because Apple execs feel they have to release something, not because it’s a product they’re excited about. Of course this isn’t 2013 with a bunch of nervous nellies worried about Samsung and big phones and leaks that the Apple board wants to replace Tim Cook. Apple is a $2.7T company and nobody is worried about Samsung (or anyone else) eating Apple’s lunch. This product seems like a disaster in the making.

 

[steve09090]

I hope it goes the way of the iPod Hifi.

I hope it’s better than its predicted, but then, I’m not hating on it like others.

 

[Rogifan]

I'm quite sure Apple itself seeds these "leaks" setting expectations low to surprise us. Or should I say, I hope they do?

This is way more than setting low expectations. This is saying key executives, including the CEO, aren’t on board. Why would Apple leak that?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Most people here prefer to denigrate Apple even though their basis is made up views on a rumour website.

Why let facts get in the way of a an accurate narrative.

Personally, I'm no fan boy. I can be quite critical of Apple when they are doing things I view as anti-consumer. I'm always a consumer-first thinker. For example, I'm 100% for third party stores because competition is always good for consumers. I'm also 100% for USB-C over Lightning. I still think removal of headphone jack is terrible because "the future" can't effectively deliver the new lossless music to our ears, latency issues, relative ubiquity, a high quality DAC is already built in, and so on. This list could be quite long.

However, with this thing, I see much potential. I too am imagining vapor and it may fall far short of what I think it will be. Or it may be more than what I'm imagining. Either way, for the vapor my own brain has imagined, it has great potential... and $3K doesn't look crazy to me if it can do ONE thing well: deliver a new kind of laptop with ANY size screen available in a laptop-like bag.

 

[evertjr]

Rumors about this device are getting so annoying. I feel like we get a mix of outdated and new information and no one knows anything. I feel like this device in the current form is so impressive they can't afford to not release it, even if it's not in the desired shape (more glasses like). They probably hope people will be shocked enough to still want it, kinda like the AirPods Pro made people pay premium for ANC.

 

[steve09090]

300,000 for a product from Microsoft is a flop.

But that’s the point. Games already exist so there is content for this. Yet it’s not popular. Apple has NOTHING. So how good can these get?

Who said this will only succeed if it’s aimed at gaming? So many uses for AR. Check out Googles Project Starline.