WSJ: Some Apple Vision Pro Buyers 'Feel Total Regret'

[chfilm]

I use both Apple XDR (6k) screen and AVP for "serious work". Each has its pros and cons.

If I would be on market today or needed to only choose one, I would take AVP.

lol, you’d chose the Avp over the XDR display for daily work? Cmon! I really
Love the avp and have two XDR displays as well, but under NO circumstances would I chose the avp for my daily job as a video editor/motion designer. Besides the unpleasant weight of the device, the resolution of the Mac virtual display is just really really poor still. If you try to work in something like Adobe after effects with tiiiiiiny UI elements, it becomes painful really fast.

 

[chfilm]

Exactly.

I'm still amused at their original sales pitch for Vision Pro, that it's a computer that's always there and which you wear all the time, like your phone. Who would've thought that it was a good idea? Showing father talking to a kid while wearing the glasses?

It obviously should've been pitched as an entertainment device and as a pro device for specific use cases (akin to HoloLens), but definitely not this.

Yeah well I guess that’s the long term vision which is just not here yet.

 

[Varmann]

All three of those are Apps, and it was absolutely killer at the time.

(You can only fairly judge something in the context of the time in question)

The Iphone had so much to it...

- It combined ipod, mobile phone, internet access (email + basic browser) and camera
- It added many utility apps, alarms, calendar, contacts, weather, notes, maps, photos etc
- It did so in a very tasty and efficient user interface.
- It was obvious at the start that this will just get better.
- Even if a highend Blackberry could competent featurewise, it was not a real competition.
- As a normal person I could skip simultaneously carrying around mobile, ipod, digital camera, paper street map and calendar, mini flashlight, while keep looking for an internet cafe to check my email.

The VP promise "yet another way" to do the same things, but in a quirky and cumbersome way, only with some arguable benefits. The iphone is very weight efficient with what it do, it can also be very discreet, the Vision Pro, not so much of either.

 

[Fara82Light]

To me the AVP was Apple really just flexing when they introduced the device. It was basically the result of the worlds largest tech company saying here is a really expensive luxury device because we can.

The thing that companies don't understand when they release really expensive new devices/tech is that you fail to get enough people curious about the tech and the device. That means that eventually when the device or market reaches an appropriate level of maturity, less people are going to care.

I suspect that eventually Apple will make the device better. Lighter, more mobile, easier to wear, integrate better within their existing Apple ecosystem. But by that point the potential market may have completely moved on. Sometimes it's better to introduce a slightly lower quality, far more affordable new type of tech to give more people a taste of what the potential could be, then just release a super expensive device that might be more polished, but ultimately limited in what it can do.

I am pretty sure Apple knew who they were aiming the product at and this would have informed the pricing decision.

 

[Fuzzball84]

The last bit about lying in bed while watching movies is the use case I could see. But you’d still have all that pressure/weight bearing down on your face.

It needs some serious weight reduction, redistribution etc to address this issue.

I can honestly see a cut down version for the purposes of media consumption being the killer app for these headsets to become popular consumer items.

 

[germanbeer007]

Why do you believe “negative posts” are related to buyer’s remorse?

It is possible that a product can get great reviews and consumers have buyer’s remorse…because nothing in that genre is worth a $3500 starting price.

Yes, I’ve used one in my home environment. Awesome experience. Nowhere near $3500 awesome.

my post was 100% sarcastic by the way

 

[d686546s]

There were other phones that played MP3s before iPhone. I had one, and I had it setup to play part of Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" as a ring tone:

(...)

Anyway, the ability to play MP3s was already becoming a common feature on "feature phones" by the time the iPhone came out.

Sure, but the user interfaces where usually clunky, the feature phones often didn't have headphone jacks, for those who already had an iPod you could synchronise with iTunes etc etc etc

 

[McWetty]

The travesty is Tim Cook dedicating resources to his signature boondoggle while Apple software, Siri, and AI have been left painfully behind.

He was reading all the MR comments about him having no Vision and wanted to change that… I kid.

But seriously, I believe he was having a WWSJD moment and just completely dropped the ball. The front glass element isn’t necessary and adds a ton of weight. I won’t speak for SJ, but I doubt he would have approved that bit of tech/cost/UX.

 

[shenfrey]

I’m just here for the reaction farm. So without further a due, *ahem*

I have one

 

[doelcm82]

I’m just here for the reaction farm. So without further a due, *ahem*

I have one

*ado*

Adieu!

 

[HazeAndHahmahneez]

The last bit about lying in bed while watching movies is the use case I could see. But you’d still have all that pressure/weight bearing down on your face.

It needs some serious weight reduction, redistribution etc to address this issue.

I can honestly see a cut down version for the purposes of media consumption being the killer app for these headsets to become popular consumer items.

Yes it needs a great reduction for sure. Fascinating how the included screen to show your eyes was supposed to help with alienation yet many users claim only enhanced alienation and even ridicule….just ditch the screen, Mr. Cook and look for other weight reduction techniques all while enhancing capability…fascinating indeed.

Buuuuut if you have to have a front screen make it touch screen so 2 ppl can wear the units then face each other and touch each other screens and interact with them virtually/spatially/augmented style..

 

[turbineseaplane]

There were other phones that played MP3s before iPhone. I had one, and I had it setup to play part of Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" as a ring tone:

Dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah
Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me,
But I know you.
And I've got a message to give to you.

You could also set up ringtones for particular numbers, so when my mother called it said instead:

Dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah
Hello? This is your Mother. Are you there? Are you
Coming home?

Anyway, the ability to play MP3s was already becoming a common feature on "feature phones" by the time the iPhone came out.

"playing MP3's" ≠ an iPod

It was ridiculosly cumbersome to load, manage and play MP3s on feature phones in the mid 2000s

The iPhone was a revelation.

C'mon, you know this.

"History" knows this.

The killer App in 2007 was the combination of a wildly popular iPod, phone and full blown internet access in a revolutionary touchscreen device.

 

[fatTribble]

I put a lot of thought into the purchase before I bought it. I did the demo. I read the reviews. If anything, I enjoy it more than I expected. If something happened to mine today I would go buy another one.

 

[tyranne201]

Yam Olisker, a 20-year-old YouTuber from Israel, flew to New York to purchase the Vision Pro at launch and obtained ‌Tim Cook‌'s signature on both his iPhone and the Vision Pro box.

This is the first time, ever, that I've thought an Apple product was just a bit early, or ahead of its time. I use it much less than I expected.

20 yo lol

 

[iMattPro]

I don't feel regret. Just sadness. We can't have cool stuff anymore. This was cool, but corporate greed has killed the app ecosystem that made apps and smart devices popular in the first place. So, of course nobody is making anything for the AVP, and if they are, they're too afraid to push the boundaries - everything is either a floating iPad window or an annoying AR experience. Only the immersive media is interest, but that's slim pickins.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I don't feel regret. Just sadness. We can't have cool stuff anymore. This was cool, but corporate greed has killed the app ecosystem that made apps and smart devices popular in the first place. So, of course nobody is making anything for the AVP, and if they are, they're too afraid to push the boundaries - everything is either a floating iPad window or an annoying AR experience. Only the immersive media is interest, but that's slim pickins.

This is a take I strongly can agree with.

All of tech is lacking joy now as it's just gone so far down the "sucking up our data, attention and every last nickel they can steal from us" road.

It used to be fun and interesting.
Now it's all just a constant scheme to "get more" ... and there is no "more" that is ever "enough".

Even here in Apple land.. they can't bring themselves to take a far more reasonable 5-10% cut on Apps, or open the devices to App installs from wherever folks would like, and it all dramatically limits the potential and interest in the devices, as well as any rich competition for devs and customers of App concepts that would be a major driver of innovation.

We don't even know what we are missing because you can't measure all the things NOT being made due to platform and ecosystem terms and restrictions.

 

[Chungry]

This is a take I strongly can agree with.

All of tech is lacking joy now as it's just gone so far down the "sucking up our data, attention and every last nickel they can steal from us" road.

It used to be "fun" and interesting.
Now it's all just a constant scheme to "get more" ... and there is no "more" that is ever "enough".

I think the fun, whimsy and delight is what I miss most about Apple. I used to be so excited when a new phone or version of OS X dropped. I would pour over the settings and just noodle around and it was this experience that compelled you to explore and tinker. Apple has corporatized the experience and wrung all the fun out of owning their products. I want a return to those exciting times when Apple was a trendsetter and innovator in the most unexpected and delightful ways

 

[turbineseaplane]

I think the fun, whimsy and delight is what I miss most about Apple. I used to be so excited when a new phone or version of OS X dropped. I would pour over the settings and just noodle around and it was this experience that compelled you to explore and tinker. Apple has corporatized the experience and wrung all the fun out of owning their products. I want a return to those exciting times when Apple was a trendsetter and innovator in the most unexpected and delightful ways

Took the words right out of my mouth.

I used to just want to play with stuff and explore the OS.

Sometimes I wonder if it would help if they went back to charging for the OS every 18-24 months or something. I guess probably there is no going back.

It's all about people and culture and Apple seems to have lost something on that front.

This is the logical end game of "Ops Guy in charge" I suppose.

When you aren't relentlessly focused on Product and letting profits fall from that tree, this is what we get.

 

[JMaille]

I think I should point out that I absolutely regret that many years ago I bought two different laserdisc players and several dozen laser disks. Sure, the video quality was much better than that provided by either VHS or Hi-8 tape, but they were expensive and technology rapidly progressed resulting in them being replaced by other devices of higher quality at much lower price points. For some time though, I did enjoy them.

I was asked what this has to do with anything. I think my feelings about my laserdisc purchase is as relevant as these peoples feelings about their purchases.

And also... a couple of quotes from long ago...

I want a pony.

and...

Why are we in this basket and where are we going?

 

[Chungry]

Took the words right out of my mouth.

I used to just want to play with stuff and explore the OS.

Sometimes I wonder if it would help if they went back to charging for the OS every 18-24 months or something. I guess probably there is no going back.

It's all about people and culture and Apple seems to have lost something on that front.

This is the logical end game of "Ops Guy in charge" I suppose.

When you aren't relentlessly focused on Product and letting profits fall from that tree, this is what we get.

Cook has definitely made Apple more robotic. Steve always said Apple existed at a crossroads. I'll quote the man:

"It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough — it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing"

This is what Cook and the current leadership have utterly failed to deliver on, in service only to the almighty dollar and shareholder value. They completely abandoned what I consider to be Apple's mission statement.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Cook has definitely made Apple more robotic. Steve always said Apple existed at a crossroads. I'll quote the man:

"It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough — it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing"

This is what Cook and the current leadership have utterly failed to deliver on, in service only to the almighty dollar and shareholder value. They completely abandoned what I consider to be Apple's mission statement.

A beautiful quote.
I miss that version of Apple.

 

[JMaille]

Took the words right out of my mouth.

I used to just want to play with stuff and explore the OS.

Sometimes I wonder if it would help if they went back to charging for the OS every 18-24 months or something. I guess probably there is no going back.

It's all about people and culture and Apple seems to have lost something on that front.

This is the logical end game of "Ops Guy in charge" I suppose.

When you aren't relentlessly focused on Product and letting profits fall from that tree, this is what we get.

I don't think it has anything to do with "Ops Guy in charge".

Look what happens when Apple decides to wait on something like AI, planning for exactly how it should be integrated into their products so that it provides something useful to users, making sure they get it right, as opposed to throwing it in to products with no rhyme or reason?

Hundreds if not thousands of articles about how they are falling behind, that they no longer provide the best products, their stock value starts to fall, investors and users start questioning what they are doing.

Unfortunately, as much as some of us would like them to take a slower pace on some things, I don't think from a financial standpoint they actually have a choice.

Stockholders today expect every CEO to be relentlessly focused on products and there will be hell to pay if those profits don't keep falling from the tree.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Look what happens when Apple decides to wait on something like AI, planning for exactly how it should be integrated into their products so that it provides something useful to users, making sure they get it right, as opposed to throwing it in to products with no rhyme or reason?

Are you joking?

They are absolutely in no way doing that

Apple got caught so off guard and found themselves way behind and still working with brain dead Siri and they started jamming Apple Intelligence everywhere as fast as they could and claiming already existing products were suddenly "built for Apple Intelligence". The features have been there on the timeline they promised and they've had to walk it back quietly.

They even made some tremendously embarrassing ADs in the process.

It's been hard to watch honestly.

 

[philfloyduk]

Lengthy startup time? I’ve always been pleasantly surprised how quickly it loads…. so obviously I just timed it 😄, 32 seconds.

Still love mine. Still use it almost every day.

Bring on VisionOS 3!

 

[JTK Awesome]

Make the Vision Pro out of plastic instead of metal and glass. And then provide a stiff head harness instead of the soft bands.

Since Apple produced the film "F1" might as well use some F1 tech.