Vivo's $1,400 Apple Vision Pro Clone Launches Across China

[kevinlaz]

You're making a false assumption that folks who are critical of AVP don't have actual experience with it.

I'm speaking in generalities, obviously. But based on how few people have them (as is constantly emphasized by the biggest forum critics), math says that most of them don't have "actual experience with it". Mind you, I would put people who have only done an Apple Store demo in that category.

The same way it affects people who buy their clothes based on looks only and not on the quality of the fabric and manufacturing.

this is also the reason for EyeSight on the AVP in my opinion. For the user, it's nothing but negative trade-offs (weight, battery life, size), but it helped them position in the product category differently than every other headset that came before it in a few fundamentally important ways (perceived isolation, social stigma, etc)

 

[Student of Life]

Competition is always welcomed and it should help force a price reduction. The technology to make this mainstream is still not available at a price point most will jump in.

 

[wigby]

Video passthrough is a joke, at any latency. Your eyes have 0 latency (well, from eyes to brain is a different story). No product should attempt to mimic vision with video. This entire concept needs to be shelved until we can do spatial computing projected into your environment with AR.

You don't sound like you've tried AVP at all because I haven't heard any actual users complaining about latency.

 

[wigby]

Better specs, yet one third of Apple Vision Pro's price.
What am I missing?

Cheaper labor and supply chain in China? Also, that extra polish that Apple gives their products carries about a 25% price premium over competition. Some don't want or need it but obviously billions of customers appreciate the little things that Apple also delivers.

 

[ISmohsin]

The part where they didn't have to do any research or development.

I doubt Apple put their research in a PDF file available on the internet for Vivo to copy lol

 

[zach-coleman]

This might be too off topic but I'm curious reading these comments, for anyone who has been around for this long... was the discussion around the iPod/iPhone/iPad/Apple Watch on MR anywhere near as bad as the VP? The hatred for it seems to run very deep, wondering if that's unique.

 

[citysnaps]

If the Vision Pro is garbage as some claim here, why did the Chinese copied it? That would make no sense.

A lot of ignorance spilled around here from people who don't even own the device or didn't know what to do with it.
They are just blindly repeating what click-bait bloggers have been publishing about the Vision Pro.

Like with the first iPad ever released, my Vision Pro is the most amazing device I have ever owned until date. Not only as a toy or media consumption device, but as a work tool. And tools generate money; something a few of us know how to use these tools.

Spot-on assessment. Every new device Apple introduces is met with the same rage.

iPod: Who asked for a thousand songs in your pocket?
iPhone: Who asked for a non-mechanical keyboard?
iPad: It's just a big iPhone.
Watch: If I want to know the time, I'll just look at my phone.

 

[Nugget]

Spot-on assessment. Every new device Apple introduces is met with the same rage.

iPod: Who asked for a thousand songs in your pocket?

Famously "No wireless, less space than a Nomad. Lame."

 

[richinaus]

This might be too off topic but I'm curious reading these comments, for anyone who has been around for this long... was the discussion around the iPod/iPhone/iPad/Apple Watch on MR anywhere near as bad as the VP? The hatred for it seems to run very deep, wondering if that's unique.

Anything that challenges their world view is seen as negative and goes against what they actually understand.
Human nature. People resisted computers in the 80's, mobile phones in 90's, Internet in 2000's.......

 

[vantelimus]

Better specs, yet one third of Apple Vision Pro's price.
What am I missing?

First, based on this article you know that two specs look better. The weight is lower, which will affect usability for some people. Next, you know the number of pixels per eye is a little better. Whether the slightly larger screen is significant to the user experience, we don't know. Everything else is unknown. Overall, it might be better, just as good, or a poor ripoff. We'll have to wait for honest real-world user reviews. Be optimistic if that's your bent; but skepticism is warranted until more data is available.

Second, Apple's price is much higher, but it is selling all the units it is making, so Apple's price is either right or low according to capitalistic principles. How Vivo is pricing its unit may only be partially based on profit motives. We'll have to wait for tear downs to understand their BOM.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

You, I assume, do acknowledge that it needs to get better to increase adoption, right?

Normal folks aren't looking to get "subjected" to their device and "tolerate" using it.

Of course lightening will make it sell more units, as will decreasing price. But no, I do not worry about your comment:
"Normal folks aren't looking to get "subjected" to their device and "tolerate" using it."

The AVP is not some cheapy fad device like a hula hoop for "Normal folks." It is an expensive piece of high tech, and real buyers will buy, just like more than 100k already have. Try to think in terms of expensive high tech instead of in terms of an iPod for the masses.

Think on the evolution of night vision goggles [NVG] as a good example. They were crazy PITA [cost, weight, batteries, performance] from the gitgo, took many years to evolve, and users still today are ""subjected" to their device and "tolerate" using it." But NVG have been righteous tech from their beginning - - and so is AVP.

NVG development was facilitated by the military just like $4T Apple is facilitating AVP.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Competition is always welcomed and it should help force a price reduction. The technology to make this mainstream is still not available at a price point most will jump in.

And "the technology to make this mainstream" may never be "available at a price point most will jump in." Which is just fine. Every Apple product does not need to be mainstream similar to an iPod.

 

[richinaus]

Of course lightening will make it sell more units, as will decreasing price. But no, I do not worry about your comment:
"Normal folks aren't looking to get "subjected" to their device and "tolerate" using it."

The AVP is not some cheapy fad device like a hula hoop for "Normal folks." It is an expensive piece of high tech, and real buyers will buy, just like more than 100k already have. Try to think in terms of expensive high tech instead of in terms of an iPod for the masses.

Think on the evolution of night vision goggles [NVG] as a good example. They were crazy PITA [cost, weight, batteries, performance] from the gitgo, took many years to evolve, and users still today are ""subjected" to their device and "tolerate" using it." But NVG have been righteous tech from their beginning - - and so is AVP.

NVG development was facilitated by the military just like $4T Apple is facilitating AVP.

average consumers dont get it. Although I disagree with the development of the AVP - its development leads to the replacement of the phone.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

You're making a false assumption that folks who are critical of AVP don't have actual experience with it.

Actually, many of the critical comments do sound like they came from folks who never spent enough time (multiple hours) with AVP to get a solid understanding of the new, different UI. A cursory 35 minute demo is not enough time.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I doubt Apple put their research in a PDF file available on the internet for Vivo to copy lol

They have the actual device. So instead of spending many thousands of hours determining things like numbers of cameras, optimal camera sizes, aiming angles, lens focal lengths, display resolutions, etc. they can just copy.

 

[bLackjackj]

Pre-orders are now open for the device, although Vivo has yet to confirm availability details, giving Apple plenty of time to consider its legal options.

Have you not seen Samsungs Project Moohan? Why didn’t you make the same “jokes” about Samsungs exact copy of a headset?…very strange article.

 

[falainber]

They have the actual device. So instead of spending many thousands of hours determining things like numbers of cameras, optimal camera sizes, aiming angles, lens focal lengths, display resolutions, etc. they can just copy.

Did Apple patented the number of cameras or something? Apple was not far from the first in this field. The display resolution is different. It's not clear if there are any significant similarities (apart from the looks but those are superficial and to a great degree caused by the nature of the application). Relax.

 

[richinaus]

nice quality hardware is great, however I would suggest the real value is actually in the OS and UX.....same with all Apple products. Looking the same does not equal the same. In fact its nearly impossible to copy Apple due to the ecosystem.

 

[darngooddesign]

That's about what Vision Pro costs to make. So in classic Apple fashion, it is sold for more than twice as much.

Wait... you think the only costs are the bill of materials?

 

[Jeeve Stubbs]

Is it just me or Apple only sues non-Chinese companies for copyright infringement?

 

[varsity]

China clearly has access to a great deal of Apple’s IP. Google Apple’s China Problem.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

I had heard that AVP marks the end of the VR age, but it is completely new to me that it also marks the start of it😁
Seriously hadn't you heard of any other products doing the same thing before AVP?

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...'

 

[johnsawyercjs]

What you're saying is you make up numbers, get offended when someone asks for evidence, and you also ignore the fact that a simple materials cost is not the total cost for Apple to make and support a product.

Well, it's not hard to get fairly accurate numbers on this, especially using one's favorite AI chatbot (if one has one). I won't copy and paste ChatGPT's breakdown of the numbers and its sources (unless you'd like me to), but when factoring in all of Apple's costs, it determined that the bill of materials is a little over $1500, but the total cost to design, make the parts, assemble, market, distribute, warranty support, etc. comes just under the cost that Apple is selling the AVP for. Maybe Apple decided to price it so that it would make only a slim profit rather than Apple's usual margins, much less sell it at a loss, since that would have been hard to justify to the board and the shareholders.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

No mention of whether this Chinese knockoff includes the fake eyes display, so it probably doesn't, which is probably a major reason for some of the weight reduction.

 

[Makanmata]

The headline should be "Half the Weight and a Third of the Price."