The Vision Pro has been praised for its impressive display quality and stylish design, but it's not without its flaws. Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP
The company hopes its track record of launching paradigm-shifting innovations and sleek, intuitive product design will encourage consumers to try its device where others have failed.
Leo Gebbi, analyst at CCS Insight, says: «Apple's advantage over the competition is that the operating system on the new headset will be immediately familiar to existing users, and much of their favorite content, services and applications will be instantly available.»
» This is logical. an extension of everything Apple has created in the past decade.”
However, the attractive price is more worrying. At $3,499, the Vision Pro will cost more than twice as much as the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the company's most expensive smartphone, and out of reach for most people.
This inevitably means the headset is likely to achieve only modest sales rather than mass market appeal. Wedbush analysts estimate that the company will sell only 150,000 devices in the first year, and will increase to 1 million in the second year if prices decrease.
UBS predicts Vision Pro could generate $6 billion in revenue for the company in the first year of sales. That's less than half the $12.4 billion in revenue the company generated from the iPad in its first year.
«Don't expect Apple to sell millions of these devices—there's simply no capacity to start. ”, says Joseph Tisdale of Enders Analysis.
“Success will come from early adopters finding new and useful ways to fit the device into their daily lives, and developers building a software ecosystem for it. A failure will be a few hundred thousand Vision Pros languishing in boxes or dragged to parties as a novelty.
Apple shares surged to a record high ahead of Monday's presentation, pushing the company's market valuation to $2.9 trillion. However, a higher-than-expected price and a late release date (the device won't be released until 2024) have caused many investors to rethink their bets.
Developers will be among the first buyers to receive the device, and Apple is hoping they will create an entirely new set of empowering apps and programs.
Apple's latest venture echoes Mark Zuckerberg's attempts to enter the metaverse, which caused bewilderment among both investors and consumers. Photo: REUTERS
Analysts at Wedbush called the fluctuations in stock prices a «knee-jerk reaction.»
They wrote: «We believe that ultimately Apple is now building its own artificial intelligence ecosystem within the iOS developer community, starting with the launch of this product, which will lead to more applications and use cases in the coming years.”
< p>Ultimately, Apple wants to turn a bulky headset into reality-enhancing glasses that will bring technology into our field of vision and, as a result, into every moment of our lives.
Getting to this stage will require significant achievements in technology, including shrinking displays, processors, and batteries to microscopic sizes.
More important, however, are the societal changes required for this new vision of the world to emerge. Are people really ready to live and work in their own universes covered by glasses?
Reviewers expressed concern about the interest in this kind of technology, describing the experience of putting on the headset as «strangely lonely». Another called the EyeSight Vision Pro's feature, which displays the user's eyes on an external display, «spooky.»
New technology is often insecure or even disgusting. But while the revolutionary benefits of the iPhone were clear, Apple would have to put in a lot more effort to create demand for the Vision Pro.
This venture echoes Mark Zuckerberg's move into the metaverse, which has raised eyebrows among both investors and consumers. However, unlike Meta, Apple isn't betting on questionable technology, and continued strong iPhone sales mean it can take a patient stance.
«It's going to take a lot of time and money to get it right, but the ultimate the goal is pretty compelling,” says Tisdale. «Apple's latest product gives us just a hint that it could one day replace other screens in our lives.»
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