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

[Ethosik]

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.

It’s full on Ready Player One and I don’t like it. Just encourages people to not be social and interact in person. Which is strange since Apple is so extremely anti-work from home.

Did nobody see the end of Ready Player One? Spoilers ahead. It caused so much damage they had to plan to shut down the system a couple days a week to force people to socialize.

I don’t like this. Goofy device, isolates the wearer, and advocates anti-social behavior.

 

[Ethosik]

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

What killer app does Google’s Project Starline offer that will revolutionize my work?

 

[Rogifan]

Yeah, the rumors seem to simultaneously be "this thing is going to be terrible" and "this thing will blow all the competition out of the water."

Could be competing factions within the company (or others who have had some involvement with the product) leaking.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Craig likes to live in reality. He also likes to stay real. I’m pretty sure Craig thinks the same as most people think about the AR/VR headset. I bet you... he wasn't probably impressed. He knows it’s a niche product entering a niche market.

He just knows it’s going to mess up his hair, that’s all.

 

[KaiFiMacFan]

It’s full on Ready Player One and I don’t like it. Just encourages people to not be social and interact in person. Which is strange since Apple is so extremely anti-work from home.

Did nobody see the end of Ready Player One? Spoilers ahead. It caused so much damage they had to plan to shut down the system a couple days a week to force people to socialize.

I don’t like this. Goofy device, isolates the wearer, and advocates anti-social behavior.

It seems like there are more and more studies coming out about how damaging social media and screen addiction is to teens (and I would bet it has similar effects on adults), and yet supposedly we're going to be wearing our screns all day (not even thinking of this headset specifically, but of the goal of AR glasses that all these companies eventually want), so that social media notifications are literally right in front of us? Setting aside the question of whether these goggles are going to flop or succeed, should we even want this?

Could be competing factions within the company (or others who have had some involvement with the product) leaking.

I also just think it's very possible this device is technically superior to the competition...that still doesn't mean it has a "killer app" and is going to be a huge success. It can be technically impressive and superior to what's come before and also be a niche market that doesn't catch on with the general public.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

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.

Oh brother! EVERY product that Apple sells, sells to a minority share. Look up market share of ANY Apple product. Even iPhone doesn't dominate the smart phone space on volume.

Some of us will twist the measures to try to make Apple "win" such contests- such as wanting to compare only a single model of Android vs. a single model of iPhone but that's no more of an objective measurement.

What Apple does better than anyone is harvest the most possible profit from selling to minority shares of several markets. They are far and away kings of that.

Whether this product will flop or not is TBD. The spectrum of possibility is actually that not one person will buy one to every person will buy at least one. I'm confident that reality will fall somewhere in that range. Until we actually see what this is, none of us have a clue about flop or not... except perhaps for ourselves where minds are not just made up but cemented no matter what is revealed. Fortunately for all of us, any ONE of us does not represent ALL of us.

 

[dumastudetto]

Funking magnets how do they work?

 

[Ethosik]

Oh brother! EVERY product that Apple sells, sells to a minority. Look up market share of ANY Apple product. Even iPhone doesn't dominate the smart phone space on volume.

Some of us will twist the measures to try to make Apple "win" such contests- such as wanting to compare only a single model of Android vs. a single model of iPhone but that's no more of an objective measurement.

What Apple does better than anyone is harvest the most possible profit from selling to minority shares of several markets. They are far and away kings of that.

Whether this product will flop or not is TBD. The spectrum of possibility is actually that not one person will buy one to every person will buy at least one. I'm confident that reality will fall somewhere in that range. Until we actually see what this is, none of us have a clue about flop or not... except perhaps for ourselves where minds are not just made up but cemented no matter what is revealed.

iPhone doesn’t have sales in the 300,000.

 

[Rogifan]

I also just think it's very possible this device is technically superior to the competition...that still doesn't mean it has a "killer app" and is going to be a huge success. It can be technically impressive and superior to what's come before and also be a niche market that doesn't catch on with the general public.

It seems like the ultimate tech nerd product. There is very little in Apple’s portfolio that is tech for tech’s sake or just about showing off. It seems like those most interested in this product are tech nerds who just want a new gadget to play with or gamers who already own VR headsets.

 

[jonnyb098]

Because this device is stupid. Facebook (the biggest proponent) has thrown in the towel on the metaverse. Plus with heading into a recession with massive inflation a $3000 headset is not top of mind for most people just trying to make ends meet right now.

 

[Weasel13]

And so it begins, the recriminations that is...

 

[bLackjackj]

Deny everything 😏

 

[arkitect]

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.

Seems like it…

“The headset will be similar, but there is hope that third-party apps will save it.”

 

[jonnyb098]

Craig likes to live in reality. He also likes to stay real. I’m pretty sure Craig thinks the same as most people think about the AR/VR headset. I bet you... he wasn't probably impressed. He knows it’s a niche product entering a niche market.

This product shouldn’t even exist until it’s in the form of real glasses. But seems they wanna get this out almost as a developer kit for the future and a handful of nerds will buy it. This won’t have any shot as mass appeal for a few years when it comes in “non-goggle” form factor.

 

[Mr_Ed]

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.

The fact that there exist people stupid enough to have sensitive data out in the open does not constitute a “killer use case“ for this device. Those are the same kinds of people that lose those laptops and cause security breaches.

I have worked with sensitive information. The thought ”Oh, it’s a nice day out. I think I’ll just work at the coffee shop today.” has never, and will never cross my mind when I’m handling sensitive data.

 

[120FPS]

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

I was being facetious. Besides people get around it whether Apple likes it or not. It’s not like pornographic content isn’t spread through dating and social media apps anyhow.

 

[sw1tcher]

The headset has reportedly deviated significantly from CEO Tim Cook's original vision. The product was initially imagined as "a pair of unobtrusive eyeglasses that could be worn all day," but it has now become a full-blown headset that looks like a pair of ski goggles and requires a separate battery pack due to technological limitations, internal disagreements, and a rush to bring an Apple AR/VR product to market.

Key figures including software chief Craig Federighi have also kept their distance from the headset during its development and have seemed wary of it. Apple's senior vice president for hardware technologies, Johny Srouji, is believed to privately be a skeptic of the device, comparing it to a science project.

So Apple executives are now cautious/wary/skeptical of their AR/VR headset?

But I thought this was going to be the next big hit product from Apple since some unknown individual was "blown away" after briefly testing it.

Apple Tester Claims to Be 'Blown Away' by AR/VR Headset, Says There Was Giant Development Leap

Ahead of the unveiling of Apple's AR/VR product, there has been skepticism that the device will be well-received, both because of its rumored...

www.macrumors.com

 

[bLackjackj]

Despite Cook's unwavering view that the device should focus on unobtrusive augmented reality, he was reportedly not deeply engaged in its design

Yeeeeright! Too late for the narrative change Tim, we gotcha 😏😉..thats all Tim has been talking up for years!

 

[KaiFiMacFan]

It seems like the ultimate tech nerd product. There is very little in Apple’s portfolio that is tech for tech’s sake or just about showing off. It seems like those most interested in this product are tech nerds who just want a new gadget to play with or gamers who already own VR headsets.

I think so too. I kind of laughed when someone in an earlier thread said this was a product made for YouTube tech reviewers to gush over, but that kinda seems like the case to me now. This will definitely get the right attention from the review community. I'm sure they'll all call it a "game changer" and say it's far superior to Microsoft or Meta's offerings, and that will probably be true. But that says nothing of market adoption...

 

[rjjacobson]

It’s full on Ready Player One and I don’t like it. Just encourages people to not be social and interact in person. Which is strange since Apple is so extremely anti-work from home.

Did nobody see the end of Ready Player One? Spoilers ahead. It caused so much damage they had to plan to shut down the system a couple days a week to force people to socialize.

I don’t like this. Goofy device, isolates the wearer, and advocates anti-social behavior.

I agree, also have been meh about all the AV headsets just boring tech for me (not a gamer much as well). But alot of the comments on here about AV tech and us humans loosing more and more important socialization makes me think of a piece on TV recently where a school bus driver had a major medical issue and one (repeat only one) student noticed and took the wheel and got the bus over to the side of the road. The rest of the bus no one noticed because they were all on their smartphones unaware of a reality that might have killed or injured them. This one kid does not have a smart phone per his parents decision. It was obvious he was not as excited about that fact and probably wanted one but his not having one saved the day. This is a strong commentary on how our tech is going in terms of destroying living in reality and in good social relationships. So me not into these headsets and do not care how good they get if actually announced. Enough said

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

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.

Let's not mix the messages to try to create a ridicule scenario.

Those comments were about the PRIVACY issue.

Where I would use Goggles if they can work as I envision them is anywhere where I might currently use a laptop. Often that IS while traveling such as in airplane seats where even a small laptop sometimes won't open well (and will certainly not have privacy).

I don't see goggles for eyes as so different than headphones for ears. Slip them on when you want their benefit and off when you don't. They should slip on and off about as easily. Since we are already very accustomed to headphones, none of us seem to be able to envision ridicule for their usage. But, as usual, imagine something new and a little different, and we are- once again, holding large iPads up to our ears to make phone calls (as if the only way to use iPads as phones is holding them up to our ears).

If we want to find ridicule points, I still find it pretty odd that people walk around seemingly talking to themselves because they are using buds during a phone call. To me, THAT can look stupid. So do NOT buy phones or buds so you don't look stupid if you ever do that and I- a complete stranger who might think you look stupid doing that- may happen to see you.

However, that said, the other major rumors about goggles is AR with cameras apparently all over the place. If so, there is no isolation (unless you want it). In fact, one might be able to see more of their surroundings depending on where these cameras point. Again, if they slip off as easy as headphones... or a motorcycle helmet... or ski goggles... or sunglasses, I foresee no issue. Use them when you want their benefits, off when you don't- just like iPhone, iPad, MB, buds, headphones, etc.

Yes, one might look moronic with goggles on in some public settings... or it might be a curiosity/envy play that that person happens to have Apples "latest & greatest" new thing. TBD.

 

[Nicky G]

Apple selling hardware at cost? I find that exceptionally difficult to believe.

 

[michaeljk]

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.

Not everyone followed this trajectory though. iPhone was an immediate hit, despite expectations that its price was prohibitive. I watched the original launch presentation for iPhone, went to an Apple Store the next day to look at it, and bought it right there. I remember thinking, "this is going to change everything..."

 

[Weasel13]

Love how this says both that Tim Cook was “was reportedly not deeply engaged in” anything but demos but also that the project only stayed active to keep Tim happy. If he can’t be bothered to be involved, why would he be insisting on keeping it going? Overall a super bizarre set Of rumors, especially in contrast to the positive rumors lately.
AR is the future, but this device is almost certainly more MessagePad 100 than iPhone. Decent chance it’s a decade or more AR is ready for prime time, but I’m glad there are devices coming out now to keep moving in that direction.

Allows for all possible outcomes.
A. If it does well, this was Tim Cook's pet project...
B. Flops, Tim Cook was skeptical and had nothing to do with it...

 

[steve123]

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

This is not the way.


The current situation is an interesting example of how Apple's secrecy can work against them. Nobody knows what Apple is thinking but we can speculate they are uncertain because literally billions of dollars have been spent developing competitive products and millions of people do not see the use case. If indeed Apple does not have a concrete use case, Apple has chosen to undertake a technology demonstration engaging with developers and the user community exploring possibilities. This is a risky way to introduce a new product because they may contaminate their IP or enable the competition.

I see this technology demonstration as a major distraction from more important things Apple could have chosen to invest in.