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A: as revolutionary as the App Store is in retrospect, people forget that it was dead simple to jailbreak the original iPhone, certainly a lot easier than it is today, so utilities to install third-party apps, were literally available within the first several days.
B: the original iPhone was the first with a fully capable web browser, which was definitely the killer app at the time, even if it got the most muted reception at its original introduction compared to some of the whizbang 2000s iPod features.
A) Anything that requires unauthorized modification of a device is never that popular. I know it was pretty big, but it was not a going concern for an average consumer. They were even having a big “is jailbreaking illegal?” scare at the time which wouldn’t have scared a normal user away even more.
B) It certainly was very impressive to have full safari on the go, but considering the slow page load times, no flash player, and how “non online” a lot of companies were at the time, I don’t think it was nearly as notable as apps. Remember that especially at the start web mobile layouts are non existent so it would be very inconvenient to navigate the web to do anything complex. Nothing like what you can do now was even close to possible on the web browser on the 2G.

While we’re on the topic of the original iPhone, anyone think that CoverFlow would be oddly appropriate for the music app on the Vision Pro?
Cover Flow would be oddly appropriate for even how phones are now. So much UI is useless in landscape because the phone is too wide.
 

Why do people think that AVP needs a killer app?​

Because it stinks for everything else? It's not as easy to input text with as a normal computer with keyboard. It has terrible battery life. It puts weight on your head for doing things that involve no weight on your head at all with a laptop or tablet.

It's a novelty at this point without a killer use/app.
 
I don’t know how the idea of “killer app” came about, but yeah I think it really just means killer use case—meaning a compelling use case, not necessarily one app. And “use case” can be very broad. And “killer” of course is very subjective.
I'm fairly certain the term "killer application" arose from VisiCalc on the Apple II. Before VisiCalc microcomputers were seen as hobbyist machines but after VisiCalc they became business machines too. Every new computer then needed a "killer" application or the world assumed it was doomed.
 
Will it have Day One support for Beat Sabre?

My honest reaction is that the "killer" app in this will be simply experience.

Will it be worth putting these on to watch a movie?
Will it be worth watching a football match wearing these?
Would I wear this around other people?

The barrier for this product is the form factor. If you have a nice home theatre, with a big OLED tv, will you prefer the headset?

Would you wear this if you got your work done 10% faster?

Would you bother putting this on to email someone? Would you browse with this as your primary screen?

If you're sitting at your Mac now, as I am, would there be a better experience for me to plug in for hours? How easy is it for me to eat and drink with the headset on? (Yes, that matters a lot.)

IOW, it's not the apps (or a 'killer' app). It's the equation that says that given the same apps (roughly), the same streaming services (roughly), or for games in general, will you wear it for significant stretches of the day?

That defines success. The 'killer app' is really going to be the sum total of all apps and how much better (or not) they are wearing a headset.

If I can get my work done easier and faster, and take the thing off easily and put it on quickly, I'll buy that. If not, I'll get a nice new 32" monitor for the Mac. But that's the competition.

If you'd rather have AVP than a kickin' monitor, AVP wins. If not, AVP loses.
 
Would you wear this if you got your work done 10% faster?

Would you bother putting this on to email someone? Would you browse with this as your primary screen?

...

If I can get my work done easier and faster, and take the thing off easily and put it on quickly, I'll buy that. If not, I'll get a nice new 32" monitor for the Mac. But that's the competition.
It's hard for me to imagine that this first generation of AVP is going to be used for work. The short battery life, bulkiness, and weight make it unlikely to be suitable except in very niche cases (like working on a site where a head-up-display shows critical information.) It seems more likely that people will buy it for entertainment use as in your other examples.
 
Probably more about VR type sets history. Most people like it, use it for a bit, and barely touch it again.
Exactly...the killer app for a phone is...phone calls with visual voice mail, contact list, caller ID, and cellular all in a single device. Later it became a general purpose internet-connected mobile computing device - which itself is a killer app.

In this case, at $3500, there needs to be something that it does better than other interface devices. The ipad has a bigger screen, so it does certain tasks better than an iphone. A mac has capabilities (local storage, real OS, etc) that make it better for some tasks than an iPad.

For the vision, there's no clear $3500 worth of 'better' than another device. Cool tech? Sure. But so far, AR/VR with real world 'better' has been lacking. Until that's really in place, across a large user population, it'll remain a niche vs mass market device.

That's not saying there isn't or won't be one, but ubiquity is a tough hill to climb. I applaud Apple for taking the risk, and for tempering expectations, but we're a lot way from Ready Player One where everyone is sitting around with headsets on attached to all-day battery packs.

Edit to add: Neck and eye strain/dryness is going to be a real obstacle here too.
 
This is the first time I have seen anyone saying that it needs a killer app. To be precise, I still have not seen anyone saying that it needs a killer app, only that with this thread, it is the first time I've seen someone saying that they have seen other people saying that it needs a killer app. Yes, I have seen people stating the lack of use case, the high price, etc., without saying that it needs a killer app. So maybe not everybody is saying it. Killer app or not, some people, such as myself, is not interested in this product -- for now.
 
This is the first time I have seen anyone saying that it needs a killer app. To be precise, I still have not seen anyone saying that it needs a killer app, only that with this thread, it is the first time I've seen someone saying that they have seen other people saying that it needs a killer app. Yes, I have seen people stating the lack of use case, the high price, etc., without saying that it needs a killer app. So maybe not everybody is saying it. Killer app or not, some people, such as myself, is not interested in this product -- for now.
I think people often use the term “killer app” interchangeably with talking about a flagship feature or use case.
 
The main reason for me would be immersion. There's watching a show on a tiny smartphone or tablet, there's watching it on a 55" OLED TV, and there's watching it on a screen as large as my entire field of view.
Everyone talks about pron, but horror movies will be wild to experience in this thing
 
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My app is definitely the killer app on Vision Pro 🤓

I don't know what "killer app" means, people need multiple different apps for different things.
 
The killer app on pretty much every general computing device is the web browser.
 
If you want a screen as large as your entire field of view, be prepared to be disappointed.

You're going to get windowed video in a "screening environment" https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/16/24039960/apple-vision-pro-3d-movies-disney-plus
Almost everything I've seen people tout as features that justify buying this thing have turned out to not be possible (at least at launch or on first gen hardware).
Multi-display array? Not possible.
All encompassing theatre view? Not possible.
Immersive display for PC or console gaming? Not possible.
Self-contained laptop replacement that needs no peripherals? Not possible (at least not if you ever need to type anything substantial).

I'm left to wonder... why are they launching this? What is it meant to do, and for who?
 
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The problem is AVP is so hard to take out and just use it compared to an iPhone, or even a Mac. You need a reason to wear it and not take it off. Otherwise you will slowly forget about it like a Quest.

You don’t really need a killer app, but need a reason to use a certain type of new device. However, for VR, it has improved for about 10 years, and still not ‘mainstream’(used daily). It being a new VR/AR device needs a killer app to demonstrate the vision Apple have for why they think you need this device. Or else, they are just pushing their own version of Quest3
 
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Took a look at the impressions from the Verge etc and I think I've discovered the ulterior motive of the Vision Pro:
Tim Cook is a secret fan of the circle game and the Vision Pro is a long-term play to make it go mainstream again.
The evidence can't be ignored.
Screenshot 2024-01-17 at 17.14.54.png
 
I dont understand the concept of killer app. I mean I get the definition of the term but I don't get why they think they need it for a computing device?

What is the killer app for iPhone? None. It's a computing device (on the go). You do things on it. It's successful because it allows you to do anything imaginable in a form factor that is best while mobile.

For AVP, it's the same thing. What's the killer app? None. It's a computing device. It allows you to do generic computery things while you are immersed.

Desktops, laptops, iphones, AVP, these are computer platforms where you are making trade offs on form factors for optimization of different use cases. None of them have a killer app.

What kind of question do people mean?

From one POV, the 'killer application' of iPhone *is* that is a computing device on the go. Before iPhone that didn't exist as we know it. From a more "apps" point of view iPhone had three killer apps (you can watch the keynote) that blew away people minds....
1) incredible mobile internet via Safari (again nothing like it on market, new categories of use -demoed w Job on stage ordering starbucks or something)*.
2) touch ipod w music (all the music, in your pocket with a nifty screen! which was a very cool thing at the time) and camera; 'best camera you have is the one with you' (consumers do music and camera; see AAPL price).
3) phone with *blow your mind features* like visual voicemail [lol]. This was actually really useful at the time (it made voicemail less awful.). if you don't remember what voicemail is, it's because Apple's implementation of it, and mobile compute's ability to steer it towards text messaging w their *blowyour mind* virtual keyboard etc. literally killed the old way of understanding this part of telephony.

These three killer "Apps" showcased HOW the iphone would change expectations of mobile computing. They offered 'applications' of its power/form factor that mattered and were available.

*Google Maps was and still is the Killer map for the OG iPhone; virtual maps in real places, in your pocket phone was nuts (and still kinda is!). Do you carry a road map (paper) in your car? do you own a paper map? iPHone w Google Map showed a different way of computing than desktop computing. mobile computing. Expectations grew from there.

Apple is yet to - with AVP - show a different way of computing that we can actual relate to /apply as spatial computing: having icons and windows and 'apps' is probably your first sign they've not got it right yet. desktop:window, mobile:app, spatial: ? Or put another way, Killer app for desktop was excel and word (have you heard of these?). Killer app for Mobile was Goggle maps and mobile networked camera/social apps like Instagram or iMessage (have you heard of these?) Killer apps for 'spatial computing' is: ?

AVP needs a 'killer app' in both senses of the word. real world applications that change how poeple live/work through spatial compute and the 'apps' that are produced to showcase those interface-with-life changes. 3D video sitting on a plane or couch while bystanders wonder wtf, probably isn't it.

"Immersion though1!!1!!!!" Maybe, but for what experience or ends? What application (of use) is the 'killer app' of immersive tech? I haven't seen a clear answer. *and haven't put a AVP on my head so maybe I just need to be blown away....
 
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If you want a screen as large as your entire field of view, be prepared to be disappointed.

You're going to get windowed video in a "screening environment" https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/16/24039960/apple-vision-pro-3d-movies-disney-plus

All encompassing theatre view? Not possible.
Huh? This is a bizarre complaint. You don't want a movie that was shot to be displayed on a movie theater screen to take up your whole field of view, because that would be uncomfortable to watch. The optimal movie screen FOV is about 45 degrees. For IMAX, about 70. The Vision Pro is over 90 degrees.

And you can also just play movies on a standard floating window that's not in a theater environment and get as close to it as you want to.

Videos specifically shot to take up your whole FOV will take up the full FOV that the optics of the device allow.


Self-contained laptop replacement that needs no peripherals? Not possible (at least not if you ever need to type anything substantial).
I don't think anyone here has said it would be a laptop replacement without needing a physical keyboard for substantial text input.

Multi-display array? Not possible.
Each app is its own window or windows and can be freely arranged in 3D space. No need to confine apps to "displays". We have not been told of any limits on the number of app windows.
Immersive display for PC or console gaming? Not possible.
There will probably be apps that allow you stream from any PC.
Console gaming? OK you've got one thing correct. The Vision Pro doesn't have HDMI in, so it won't stream to consoles unless the console companies release remote streaming functionality... which isn't out of the question: the PS5 can wirelessly stream to a handheld system.
 
Almost everything I've seen people tout as features that justify buying this thing have turned out to not be possible (at least at launch or on first gen hardware).
Multi-display array? Not possible.
All encompassing theatre view? Not possible.
Immersive display for PC or console gaming? Not possible.
Self-contained laptop replacement that needs no peripherals? Not possible (at least not if you ever need to type anything substantial).

I'm left to wonder... why are they launching this? What is it meant to do, and for who?

Of those things you listed, the only one I really want is multiple Mac displays (by “no multi-display array” I assume you meant Mac displays), or rather multiple free floating Mac app windows, not anchored to any virtual display. But one huge Mac window and a bunch of free floating vOS app windows would be pretty great for productivity too. And this is my main reason for considering getting a VP. For my work I need to look at a lot of reference material and being able to spread it out in space would be ideal—loads better than what I do now, which is cram as much as I can into the limited real estate of my physical displays, and juggle which images/docs are visible and which have to be hidden because of lack of space. But also a 100 ft-like movie screen is a very nice bonus.
IMAX filling field of vision would be nice I suppose but a small portion of movies are shot on IMAX anyway, so if it doesn’t feature that I don’t feel I would be too affected. But also I believe VP does officially support IMAX—so are we sure IMAX movies don’t fill the field of view? I haven’t seen any reports saying either way.
Of course sure I would want the VP to be a self-contained laptop replacement if that were possible, but I don’t think that was ever on the table, at least not any more than an iPad without peripherals can replace a laptop. All devices require a physical keyboard for the most serious typing and probably always will unless they figure out how to wire into our brains.
 
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Huh? This is a bizarre complaint. You don't want a movie that was shot to be displayed on a movie theater screen to take up your whole field of view, because that would be uncomfortable to watch. The optimal movie screen FOV is about 45 degrees. For IMAX, about 70. The Vision Pro is over 90 degrees.

And you can also just play movies on a standard floating window that's not in a theater environment and get as close to it as you want to.

Videos specifically shot to take up your whole FOV will take up the full FOV that the optics of the device allow.



I don't think anyone here has said it would be a laptop replacement without needing a physical keyboard for substantial text input.


Each app is its own window or windows and can be freely arranged in 3D space. No need to confine apps to "displays". We have not been told of any limits on the number of app windows.

There will probably be apps that allow you stream from any PC.
Console gaming? OK you've got one thing correct. The Vision Pro doesn't have HDMI in, so it won't stream to consoles unless the console companies release remote streaming functionality... which isn't out of the question: the PS5 can wirelessly stream to a handheld system.
I’m not the one setting these standards. These are things people have told me they plan to use the device for and limitations of the hardware/software based on what’s been reported so far.
 
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Of those things you listed, the only one I really want is multiple Mac displays (by “no multi-display array” I assume you meant Mac displays), or rather multiple free floating Mac app windows. But one huge Mac window and a bunch of free floating vOS app windows would be pretty great for productivity too. And this is my main reason for considering getting a VP. For my work I need to look at a lot of reference material and being able to spread it out in space would be ideal—loads better than what I do now, which is cram as much as I can into the limited real estate of my physical displays, and juggle which images/docs are visible and which have to be hidden because of lack of space. But also a 100 ft-like movie screen is a very nice bonus.
IMAX filling field of vision would be nice I suppose but a small portion of movies are shot on IMAX anyway, so if it doesn’t feature that I don’t feel I would be too affected. But also I believe VP does officially support IMAX—so are we sure IMAX movies don’t fill the field of view? I haven’t seen any reports saying either way.
Of course sure I would want the VP to be a self-contained laptop replacement if that were possible, but I don’t think that was ever on the table, at least not any more than an iPad without peripherals can replace a laptop. All devices require a physical keyboard for the most serious typing and probably always will unless they figure out how to wire into our brains.
The people I talked to seemed to mean multiple virtual Mac displays, each containing a bunch of windows. Why they want that rather than a bunch of floating windows, I don’t know. They said these things to me, I’m not coming up with these uses myself.
 
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I’m not the one setting these standards. These are things people have told me they plan to use the device for and limitations of the hardware/software based on what’s been reported so far.
There is no news that has said there is a maximum size for movie windows. Just because one app allows you to view video in a custom 3D environment doesn't mean that you can't also just watch it in a floating window of any size in a void of blackness.
 
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