If anyone can bring AR to the masses, it’s Apple… right?
Many a company has taken a shot at wearable AR tech, Microsoft, Meta and Google have all already dipped their toe in the augmented pond, but none have managed to gain any real traction, and most have actually received wide criticism.
In steps Apple, with Vision Pro.
Vision Pro is a $3,499 computer, housed in a pair of ski goggles, that allows you to interact with your favourite apps and content blown up in the ‘real’ world.
“This is the first computer you look through, not at.”
I’m actually really intrigued by this product and I’d love to give it a go, but my main concern with AR and VR technology in general, is how isolating it is. Apple mentions Vision Pro’s ability to bring people closer together, and that may be true for those of us hundreds of miles apart, but this is no means a social step forward.
Maybe it’s just a British thing, but can you seriously imagine holding down a conversation with a friend wearing this, and still keep a straight face?
I can see many useful use cases though, from doctors to engineers, creatives and developers. And at a push, I can see people maybe even gaming with a friend. But if this does take off, the majority will be worn alone at home, watching a movie or doom scrolling TikTok.
Which begs the question, do we need this?
This is by no means the finished article, as beautiful and well made as I’m sure the product is. Kids will look back at this the same way I looked back at the first mobile phones. “You really wore that on your face and carried a battery around in your pocket?”
AR will make so much more sense once the technology is available to house it in a product we already use.
Maybe I’m being too skeptical. I didn’t buy into the first iPhone. It’s poor camera and lack of video recording meant my Sony Ericsson K850i was clearly the much better device….
And I’ve never had any desire for the Apple Watch. It can’t hold a candle to the beauty and craftsmanship of its mechanical rivals.
But it turns out, watch fans are not who the Apple Watch was for. Apple has sold 195 million apple watches since the first generation and yet the majority of people I know who have one, were not watch wearers to start with.
And that’s apples strength. They are arguably the best branding and marketing company in the world. Hence why they are not calling this AR. We know AR, companies have tried to sell it to us before and we didn’t want it. But this? This is spatial computing people… totally different.
So if anyone can get the general public to buy into something they don’t really need, it’s Apple, right? AR, sorry, spatial computing, may not be a mass market product just yet, but if Apple continues down this road, I wouldn’t bet against it in the near future.
Watch this space.