StudioSoup

I find the fact that some people seem to be so triggered by this to be much more of a reflection of something going on inside them than on Apple. I honestly kind of fear for our future if people have become so highly sensitized that they can’t even watch something like this without getting their feelings hurt.  Lighten up, people! 

I mean, are these rumored 2024 updates really “set to inspire” as the headline suggests? Sounds like a decent update to the base models, but not super compelling given the existing features of the Pros and the fact that they can often be bought for under $190.

While I get why they feature the "cool" looking strap which only goes around the back of your head in their marketing campaign, as if to say hey, this isn't your typical VR headset, it simply isn't comfortable.  Yes, it's perfectly fine around the back of your head and very pleasant to touch, but it causes you to carry the bulk of the AVP's weight smooshed to the front of your face and this just doesn't work well for any extended period of time.  The other included strap, while far less exciting looking since it's like a harness which goes over the top of your head, makes wearing the device orders of magnitude more comfortable.  The difference is truly night and day and I can comfortably wear the AVP for hours at a time with the more traditional "VR style" strap.

When I had my initial fit at the Apple Store they used the mono-strap and I was immediately like, whoa, this thing is super heavy and uncomfortable to wear!  It wasn't until I got home and tinkered that I discovered the relief provided by the other strap.  I think so many of the reviews complaining about weight and comfort have to do with the fact that Apple pushed the mono-strap for demos and review evaluations.  I believe this was also a big mistake.  

Sure, show the cool strap in all official Apple ads and marketing materials, but the more functional strap is the one which should come attached to the device in the box, be used for in-store test fits, and be prioritized for demos/reviews.  Comfort is key when it comes to wanting to truly use this product on a regular basis, no matter how wow the tech is.  I truly think Apple is doing themselves a disservice by not giving more priority to this simple/obvious concept.  The mono-strap is aspirational as nothing more.  Perhaps it'll actually be practical for long-term use when we're on AVP version 4 or 5 (or higher) and the device weighs far less, but we're nowhere near that point today.

This happened on my Ultra 2 recently and was crazy! It just wouldn't stop and it kept entering my lock screen password incorrectly until it locked me out of the watch!  I took video of it happening and showed it to a genius at the Apple Store who recorded the case.  Interestingly, they told me it was the first time they'd seen anything like that happen.

The absolutely weirdest part was that at one point it dialed the phone number for the Chicago Cubs box-office and then started hitting random extensions once the call connected! WTF? The crazy thing is that I've literally never called that phone number, so I have absolutely no idea where it pulled it from in order to dial it.  So weird.  I thought maybe the watch had somehow been hacked or something so it's a relief to read this type of occurrence is a known issue now.  Still doesn't explain the Cubs dial, but it's a start.

gatorguy said:

It's fairly obvious that Apple is rushing out at least something in order to claim "we do AI too, just like those other guys," and for the silliest of reasons: Prop up a stock price.

Apple the corporation doesn't get a cent more if the stock goes up, or a penny less if it goes down. But Cook and the rest of the upper management team certainly does, with much of their pay coming in the form of company stock rather than cash. Thus we have these kinds of kneejerk things announced by them now instead of the slow and steady development without broadcasting the internal baby steps that we typically expect from Apple.

It's silly when Samsung/Google/random tech company, responds to some new Apple service or product with "Hey, look what we're working on, it's just as good!" and equally as silly when Apple turns around and does the same thing.

This is kind of a silly take for a publicly traded company.  The executive team has a fiduciary responsibility to help maximize shareholder value.  Doing so requires them to carefully consider long-term vs short-term costs and gains resulting from their actions as they navigate the ship, and t's the very reason why much of their compensation is tied to long-term stock value.  Doing so helps maintain alignment of their personal financial incentives with positive long-term performance for shareholders.

Additionally, Apple has been working on AI for years... They have simply chosen to refer to it as "machine learning" instead.  These have been the baby steps, as you call them, and it's unfounded to now say they're doing anything knee-jerk or just started putting resources into AI only recently.  And putting out something open source before integrating it into their products, as outlined in this article, is also part of their baby steps.  

Apple reacts to changes in market demands and technological advances just like any other organization which doesn't want to become a technological dinosaur.  They would be doing the brand and shareholders a disservice if they didn't put significant resources into AI pursuits and there's no reason to think the fruits of those pursuits will not ultimately be integrated into their product line in thoughtful and useful ways.  Nothing about this is silly.