Due to the recent mendacities of the establishment I will never buy one of these. I have removed wifi from my home and my kids are watching DVDs. I am strongly considering going back to a flip phone as well after having an iphone since the 3g.
I'm seeing a pattern with every single new Apple release. Apple releases something, the same people put it down as crap, overpriced, doesn't work, doesn't do anything something else already does, etc, etc and it will fail (or its already failed). They give it a month or two, maybe six, continue to push how much of a failure it is. About a year goes by, Apple keeps improving the product with software updates and it starts to sell and push others out of the market. Two, three years down the road, some of the major players are now struggling if not out of existence. A new Apple product is announced in the mean time and the cycle starts all over again for that product.
Maybe I'm just failing to see the point, but this is a cycle that I've experienced a few times:
-iPod
-Certain Macs (Depends on the category/audience)
-iPhone
-iPad
-iCloud
-Apple Watch
I'm sure I'm missing some.
I have this saved in a note so I can just copy and paste it whenever needed. It's so continuously relevant over and over again.
Almost every v1 Apple product is a dud, commercially. First Apple Watch, first Homepod, iPad, first iPhone really. It's usually the 3rd version where the price and the features finally click and people fall in love.
Every time Apple releases a new product, it is met with laughter, doubt, and confusion by the outside world.
There have been many terrible launches. Some never recovered.
iPhone 1 didn't sell and got a price cut by 33% (!) after 3 months while the base model was removed.
Lisa (2700 ended in a landfill)
G4 Cube failed on so many levels and then got repeated by the Trash Mac Pro which also failed.
AppleWatch 0 failed (series 0 was sold as a fashion statement with celebrities and fashion designers). Refocused to be about health made it a success.
Pippin, Newton, eMate, OpenDoc (did attend the press briefing in London and Apple didn't believe it would fly), AOCE (PowerTalk), iPod HiFi, and the car that never happened. There have been numerous failures.
Rhapsody - it was only around 10.4 that Mac OS X started really working.
iPod was right. Sure the FireWire was strange but navigation, storage, sync, charging using data cable,... it was perfect from day 1.
iPad... same - as a surf + reading tablet with all-day battery at a time when iPhone had a small screen and laptops did 3 hours on a charge.
AirPods - probably one of the best products ever by Apple. So well designed and integrated.
I really like the idea of Google Glass but a visor? Apple demand that employees are on-site 3 days per week to interact. They have designed their HQ to create interactions. No capes and no visors :-)
Thanks beat me to it and you stated the case better than me. Remember as well that engineers were unsure iPhone OG was even going to work at it’s first presentation. Not to mention the drubbing Apple Watch 0 got by the media with its initial presentation.
And it took iterations before the health aspect of the watch took off and now it dominates the market.
Due to the recent mendacities of the establishment I will never buy one of these. I have removed wifi from my home and my kids are watching DVDs. I am strongly considering going back to a flip phone as well after having an iphone since the 3g.
While I personally can't imagine any "killer apps" in this the new interface for casual users, that doesn't mean there aren't any; at the same time I can imagine many killer-apps for businesses.
However this thinking is moot anyway: Apple's strength is in iterations. Whether that's taking an existing product and making it good, or improving their own products over time, Apple's success comes from not giving up. I think people often forget that many 1st gen apple products were relatively limited and poor: iPod, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook Air to name a few were not instant successes, had a lot of negative press coverage and many included obvious drawbacks.
In the end, the real question is what use-cases it will unlock that cannot be currently done with existing products, including existing VR/XR devices. The $3000 price tag might actually work better than a $500 price tag, unless they are aiming it at a professional market. This is why I'm surprised this is Apple's approach, a company that is mainly a consumer focused enterprise. I am very skeptical - they are releasing this in a time where VR has been out for a while without fully fulfilling its promises.
When any other company releases a new product and it's a 'dud' no one cares. If Apple does this it will be like two supermassive black holes colliding. There will be a tremor in the universe as the gravitational waves ripple through spacetime. If/when this thing is released in June (?) and it does not sell well or flops initially the sharks will smell blood in the water, the tech blogs will explode with recriminations and damnation, and the faithful will lose faith. /s
I remember when the CEO of Oculus famously touted that he would make their VR headset macOS compatible when Macs had enough horsepower. Anybody even remember Oculus because you ever hear a word about them these days much less the current state of VR headsets on the market?
It has “throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks” written all over it.
That is soooo not Apple, which is notoriously well managed and says no to a million things before saying yes to one.
Apple will foil for years on end to mail something and only when they are 100% certain that no one could possibly do any better, they prep the market and launch with a resounding impact. Major success and even segment redefinition follows.
This…is not that.
This is what a Microsoft or Google would do. Not Apple. Tech executive focus groups now, surrounded by manipulative upscale trimmings? Strange days.
Hopefully either this rumor is false - or this is one of the things Apple says no to.
I thought you were going to get rid of your wi-fi and get a flip phone. Yet here you are, posting again with what is likely wi-fi and not a flip-phone. People just don’t have the courage of their convictions anymore…
When any other company releases a new product and it's a 'dud' no one cares. If Apple does this it will be like two supermassive black holes colliding. There will be a tremor in the universe as the gravitational waves ripple through spacetime. If/when this thing is released in June (?) and it does not sell well or flops initially the sharks will smell blood in the water, the tech blogs will explode with recriminations and damnation, and the faithful will lose faith. /s
I remember when the CEO of Oculus famously touted that he would make their VR headset macOS compatible when Macs had enough horsepower. Anybody even remember Oculus because you ever hear a word about them these days much less the current state of VR headsets on the market?
Oculus doesn't exist with that name any more, that's why you don't hear about them. Everything they make has been rebranded to Meta, and you hear about that a tonne.
I'm seeing a pattern with every single new Apple release. Apple releases something, the same people put it down as crap, overpriced, doesn't work, doesn't do anything something else already does, etc, etc and it will fail (or its already failed). They give it a month or two, maybe six, continue to push how much of a failure it is. About a year goes by, Apple keeps improving the product with software updates and it starts to sell and push others out of the market. Two, three years down the road, some of the major players are now struggling if not out of existence. A new Apple product is announced in the mean time and the cycle starts all over again for that product.
Maybe I'm just failing to see the point, but this is a cycle that I've experienced a few times:
-iPod
-Certain Macs (Depends on the category/audience)
-iPhone
-iPad
-iCloud
-Apple Watch
I'm sure I'm missing some.
I have this saved in a note so I can just copy and paste it whenever needed. It's so continuously relevant over and over again.
You are so right with this, which is why I’m so intrigued to see where Apple takes us with the rumored headset. Every one of the products you mentioned were rumored at some point and my initial response was always “meh, so what?” And in every singe case I ended up “getting it” once I saw the product launch demo or went to the Apple Store for a hands-on tryout (for the hardware products).
The biggest swing from “meh” to “hell yeah” for me was the iPad. Even viewed from the content consumption perspective alone the iPad was transformative in terms of coalescing so much of the things I personally enjoyed so much into a single, highly personalized, and comfortable device I could use nearly anywhere. I still view it more as a multimedia portal than a personal productivity device, although it can serve quality admirably in the latter domain when stuck to a Magic Keyboard and Pencil.
I’m even deeper in the “meh” hole with this rumored headset than I’ve ever been for a new Apple product. The rumored price isn’t even a consideration at this point. If you recall, the iPad also had an overblown (2X reality) price estimate prior to launch. But even if the headset is a bigger ticket item, if the wow factor is there people who are transformed from “meh’ to “hell yeah” are going to find a way to get it into their hands and strapped on to their face. If the rumors are true about Tim Cook’s insistence to get it out now, and if Tim “gets it” like Steve always “got it,” then standby for some major whiplash on the opinion front.
It's worth remembering that Apple Watch v1 SUCKED when released. Too slow, too small a screen, too expensive for what it did... which was what, exactly? What was arguably its best feature--iPhone functionality like email, messages and phone calls on your wrist--only worked if your iPhone was with you and tethered to your Watch! So, essentially, for $349/$399... or $10,000 for the 18K gold Edition... you could spare yourself the tremendous inconvenience of removing your iPhone from your pocket or bag. It took several years for Apple to figure out that health sensors would be the innovation that would define the Watch. (And when they figure out blood pressure and blood sugar sensing, sales will explode more than anyone ever imagined.) It also took a while to give the Watch true iPhone functionality on its own without draining its battery by midday.
What's clear right now is that no one has cracked the AR/VR headset space in a sufficiently successful and compelling way. If Apple's headset can define itself as a uniquely successful and compelling offering as a product, it will immediately establish Apple as the innovation leader in the AR/VR headset space. No, it's not going to be a sales hit at $3K a pop, but it will serve as the beachhead product that Apple needs in this category. Everyone knows that lower prices, smaller power sources and better functionality iwll follow. Apple has a mountain of cash that allows it to play the long game when it enters a new product category, and that's what I expect will happen here. The people who are dismissing this as a failure before it even launches suffer from a lack of imagination, foresight and the willingness to take risks that innovation always requires.
It has “throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks” written all over it.
That is soooo not Apple, which is notoriously well managed and says no to a million things before saying yes to one.
Apple will foil for years on end to mail something and only when they are 100% certain that no one could possibly do any better, they prep the market and launch with a resounding impact. Major success and even segment redefinition follows.
This…is not that.
This is what a Microsoft or Google would do. Not Apple. Tech executive focus groups now, surrounded by manipulative upscale trimmings? Strange days.
Hopefully either this rumor is false - or this is one of the things Apple says no to.
I thought you were going to get rid of your wi-fi and get a flip phone. Yet here you are, posting again with what is likely wi-fi and not a flip-phone. People just don’t have the courage of their convictions anymore…
I remember when the CEO of Oculus famously touted that he would make their VR headset macOS compatible when Macs had enough horsepower. Anybody even remember Oculus because you ever hear a word about them these days much less the current state of VR headsets on the market?
You must have a short memory. Facebook announced in Fall 2021 they were rebranding as Meta and Oculus was being rebranded under that umbrella as well, after owning them for over 7 years. They just released the Quest Pro a few months ago, and the Quest 2 is very popular. Current state of VR headsets on the market? Besides those two, have you not heard of PSVR 2 which just launched a month ago?
Comments
Everything said so far, every rumor considered. All-in-all it's very VERY un-Apple-y.
I'm seeing a pattern with every single new Apple release. Apple releases something, the same people put it down as crap, overpriced, doesn't work, doesn't do anything something else already does, etc, etc and it will fail (or its already failed). They give it a month or two, maybe six, continue to push how much of a failure it is. About a year goes by, Apple keeps improving the product with software updates and it starts to sell and push others out of the market. Two, three years down the road, some of the major players are now struggling if not out of existence. A new Apple product is announced in the mean time and the cycle starts all over again for that product.
Maybe I'm just failing to see the point, but this is a cycle that I've experienced a few times:
-iPod
-Certain Macs (Depends on the category/audience)
-iPhone
-iPad
-iCloud
-Apple Watch
I'm sure I'm missing some.
I have this saved in a note so I can just copy and paste it whenever needed. It's so continuously relevant over and over again.
😀
However this thinking is moot anyway: Apple's strength is in iterations. Whether that's taking an existing product and making it good, or improving their own products over time, Apple's success comes from not giving up. I think people often forget that many 1st gen apple products were relatively limited and poor: iPod, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook Air to name a few were not instant successes, had a lot of negative press coverage and many included obvious drawbacks.
The $3000 price tag might actually work better than a $500 price tag, unless they are aiming it at a professional market. This is why I'm surprised this is Apple's approach, a company that is mainly a consumer focused enterprise. I am very skeptical - they are releasing this in a time where VR has been out for a while without fully fulfilling its promises.
I remember when the CEO of Oculus famously touted that he would make their VR headset macOS compatible when Macs had enough horsepower. Anybody even remember Oculus because you ever hear a word about them these days much less the current state of VR headsets on the market?
The biggest swing from “meh” to “hell yeah” for me was the iPad. Even viewed from the content consumption perspective alone the iPad was transformative in terms of coalescing so much of the things I personally enjoyed so much into a single, highly personalized, and comfortable device I could use nearly anywhere. I still view it more as a multimedia portal than a personal productivity device, although it can serve quality admirably in the latter domain when stuck to a Magic Keyboard and Pencil.
I’m even deeper in the “meh” hole with this rumored headset than I’ve ever been for a new Apple product. The rumored price isn’t even a consideration at this point. If you recall, the iPad also had an overblown (2X reality) price estimate prior to launch. But even if the headset is a bigger ticket item, if the wow factor is there people who are transformed from “meh’ to “hell yeah” are going to find a way to get it into their hands and strapped on to their face. If the rumors are true about Tim Cook’s insistence to get it out now, and if Tim “gets it” like Steve always “got it,” then standby for some major whiplash on the opinion front.
What's clear right now is that no one has cracked the AR/VR headset space in a sufficiently successful and compelling way. If Apple's headset can define itself as a uniquely successful and compelling offering as a product, it will immediately establish Apple as the innovation leader in the AR/VR headset space. No, it's not going to be a sales hit at $3K a pop, but it will serve as the beachhead product that Apple needs in this category. Everyone knows that lower prices, smaller power sources and better functionality iwll follow. Apple has a mountain of cash that allows it to play the long game when it enters a new product category, and that's what I expect will happen here. The people who are dismissing this as a failure before it even launches suffer from a lack of imagination, foresight and the willingness to take risks that innovation always requires.