Pema

The unquestionably, questionable rumour mill: 

1. Apple is going to buy Netflix
2. Apple is going to buy Disney
3. Apple is going to release a folding iPhone - despite the fact that the Samsung folding phone is languishing on store shelves collecting dust
4. Apple is going to release the Apple Car - When? Every other week a senior staff member from that team resigns and goes elsewhere. 
5. The Apple Vision Pro is not that good - Meta has a better product at ⅓ the price
6. Maybe Apple should buy Meta

And on and on and on. 

That's a really good point. What question does the Vision Pro answer? Every device that we currently use has been developed and evolved for a purpose: notebooks, iPads, iPhones, Apple Watch, AirPods, AirTags. They all serve a purpose that we need at some point. Some more perpetual than others. The notebook which most of us use on a daily basis, everyday. Same for the iPhone. The others more specific: the watch, earphones, tablets. 

But I must confess that I have never woken up thinking, gee, it would be of additional benefit to my work or life to experience the world through AR or VR. 

I am an author. Oftentimes I have to transport myself via my imagination to locations that I have limited or no personal experience in having been there. Perhaps the VP is such a product that can transport me virtually to complement my imagination. 

We all seem to be streaming more than actually going to the movies. And perhaps VP can enhance that experience. There was a failed attempt some years ago to extend the cinematic experience by creating movies with the aid of VR glasses, but that attempt fell flat. 3D I believe it was called. Producers had to spend a huge amount of money to create the movie experience and unless the movie merited that additional experience - sci-fi comes to mind - no one seemed all that interested. 

But having a set of VP goggles - at a reasonable price point, $1500 - will in fact enhance the home experience of streaming beyond what the QLED telly currently provides. 

Certainly many professions can and will benefit from the VP. 

But I would suggest that widespread adoption of the VP depends largely on an affordable price point to merit the benefit. If any company can ride out that wave, Apple has the time and money to do so. Until then I am watching and waiting. 

wallym said:

My engineering brain says that the hinged area is always going to be a problem.  A buddy has a samsung fold something.  He loves it, but I never can get any info from him regarding what it does that is special.  He is in the "anybody but apple" ideology.

I always question if the world will buy a more expensive iPhone, and each year I am proven wrong, so I'll bet that there is someone out there that will buy it in quantity.  I bought a top of the line iPhone 15 pro max, so I know I am one of the suckers.

Don't worry about it. I have looked at the Samsung folding phone. The few stores that carry it have a great deal of difficulty moving any at the price point. The majority of people that look at it don't see any benefit. Same as a toaster for $900 because it has transparent sides so that you can see how your toast is coming along. 
So far as the Apple foldable phone. It will come with the Apple foldable car in 2060. 

People's utter stupidity never ceases to amaze me. 

A drop test on an iPhone makes sense. I have dropped mine a few times which is why I got a protective case. Dropping a VisionPro is utterly ridiculous. The set is placed on your head and there is a strap over your skull and in back. You would have to be doing cartwheels to test its durability or stand up Yoga. 

What a ridiculous proposition.

I wouldn't want to presume to guess the appeal and market for the VP. Unlike Steve 'the clown' Ballmer who on seeing the iPhone said, 'it's sure to fail - there is no market for it'. And then went on to purchase Nokia for $12.9 Billion dollars and fire sold it for $1.9 Billion. The all time buy high/sell low. 

My feeling is that VP 1.0 will find a market with professional use. Enough will be sold to make Apple do VP 2.0 commercial edition at $1599 and hundreds if not thousands of apps. Once that happens I am in.