Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#511

Post by Vecr » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:24 AM UTC

smoldesu wrote: post #349

zinodaur wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet they need time to ramp up their manufacturing. In the meantime - they can either artificially restrict the purchase of these things (what they are doing now), or have scalpers camp outside the stores and resell for 2-3x what apple are selling them for. If they can actually deliver on their promises - they will fucking sweep the VR market. Current VR headsets blow chunks. If the meta quest cost 10$ - people woul…

Hard disagree. Current headsets are perfectly fine for the well established use-cases like gaming and stereo/3D video. The problem is, as always, going to be shoehorning real features into a goofy form-factor. We've been down this avenue before with Hololens and it was very clear that enterprise customers aren't really interested in developing bespoke AR workflows. Even with perfect passthrough vision there wasn't an…

They still exist[0], but they leak light and apparently cause nausea and that sort of thing.

[0]: https://taskandpurpose.com/uploads/2023/01/24/army-IVAS-2022...

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#512

Post by replygirl » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:26 AM UTC

jerojero wrote: post #485

gizajob wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's not exactly perfect because I was in the mood to simply buy a basic Air, until I was pretty well talked out of it by sales staff, so instead of an easy £1099 in the till, in their attempt to turn that into £2500, they got £0. That isn't good business. Also, the tedium of nowadays knowing that all the products will be bumped in spec in 9-12 months means that instead of excitement, buyer's remorse has alread…

I wonder how representative you are of the average consumer though? I imagine their pricing structure works well to upsell people on average, which is why they have maintained it for long. Also, why would someone like you even go to the store; I had no issues whatsoever buying a macbook from their website. No reps, no nothing, I set my specs and clicked buy and a few days later had my product. I think most people wit…

i'm with you on the first two lines but the idea that a certain class of person is no longer welcome at _stores_ is pretty wild

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#513

Post by mhh__ » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:26 AM UTC

gibbitz wrote: post #24

Even if they came to my house to fit me with it I wouldn't buy it. What problem is it solving for someone other than Apple? We've been seeing this AR pipe-dream for 10+ years and it hasn't caught on. Not because the technology was bad, but because people just don't want it. What Apple is missing here is that people wanted the iPhone (a phone with an iPod built in) for years before it was even officially announced as…

People have been fantasizing over magic floaty screens in the air for decades.

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#514

Post by mhh__ » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:27 AM UTC

CrampusDestrus wrote: post #30

gibbitz wrote: post #24

Even if they came to my house to fit me with it I wouldn't buy it. What problem is it solving for someone other than Apple? We've been seeing this AR pipe-dream for 10+ years and it hasn't caught on. Not because the technology was bad, but because people just don't want it. What Apple is missing here is that people wanted the iPhone (a phone with an iPod built in) for years before it was even officially announced as…

AR is a wet dream fostered by decades of science fiction. Please don't kid everyone with this

Whats wrong with replacing 4 monitors with an AR headset?

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#515

Post by mhh__ » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:28 AM UTC

gibbitz wrote: post #24

Even if they came to my house to fit me with it I wouldn't buy it. What problem is it solving for someone other than Apple? We've been seeing this AR pipe-dream for 10+ years and it hasn't caught on. Not because the technology was bad, but because people just don't want it. What Apple is missing here is that people wanted the iPhone (a phone with an iPod built in) for years before it was even officially announced as…

Also iPod + phone is clearly not what actually made the iPhone successful, certainly not raw features at least.

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#516

Post by fomine3 » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:30 AM UTC

hghid wrote: post #197

Slightly tangential rant, but is anybody else becoming frustrated with the process of buying Apple products in Apple stores? For me, it started with the Apple Watch - I knew which one I wanted and was ready just to head down and buy one, but I was forced to sit through an entire "fitting" with patronising explanation on how to use the knob on the the side. Recently, I wanted to buy a new Phone. Again, I knew the one…

I generally agree that buying at store is annoying, but Vision Pro is a fair case to make it store only. It needs adjustment.

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#517

Post by 2muchcoffeeman » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:33 AM UTC

crooked-v wrote: post #412

gizajob wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah absolutely. Every time I’ve been in my local Apple Store, I’ve basically been talked out of purchasing, or it becomes a huge hassle of upselling and extra worrying charges, and quite frankly, stupidity and lack of knowledge from the pseudo-smart staff. All they can do is toe the party line and what they’ve been trained to say and do, which kind of falls apart when faced with someone who has used Apple computers…

I've never had the kind of experience you're talking about at an Apple Store, so I'm very confused about those anecdotes.

Maybe this is an American thing?

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#518

Post by LegitShady » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:34 AM UTC

Gigachad wrote: post #427

XorNot wrote: post #420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you get how insane this sounds as an experience though? I'm physically in the store, saying "just let me pay for your product so I can leave" and the default is to try and drag that interaction out? The existence of workarounds doesn't make it not stupid.

Not really. Apple is catering to the majority of consumers who don't arrive at the store with their exact purchase ready to go. They want to be guided and shown all the options. And if you are in the small % who don't want this. Either go to one of the other retail stores selling the product, or order it online for pickup or delivery.

It's probably actually about the opportunity to upsell. A single upsell on a MacBook to the next better specs pays for enough apple store employee time to make up for everything.

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#519

Post by Mistletoe » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:36 AM UTC

wredue wrote: post #487

ewchris wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back in 2009, buying a MBP, the salesman questioned why a CS student would want a mac over a pc. Luckily for him I wasn't considering his thoughts. I definitely didn't need that powerful of a computer and glad I switched to an air a few years later.

When I bought my windows XP computer, the salesman said “you really want a candy OS? Windows 98 is where it’s at” Yeah. How’d that turn out, guy?

“Windows 98: It’s where the blue screens are at.”

Re: Apple plans a slow, appointment-only rollout of Vision Pro

#520

Post by ReactiveJelly » Mon, Jul 10, 2023, 2:37 AM UTC

sitzkrieg wrote: post #395

gnicholas wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to buy an iPhone with minimal interaction, just use the website or app, for in store pickup. Takes no time at all! I will agree that it’s ridiculous for customers to have to wait for an appointment to buy a watch band, which I’ve seen. There were several employees standing around at the time, inexplicably.

you know, i tried this first time recently. placed order at 10am. no pickup that day. ready at 1pm next day! go to store. had to wait ten minutes after i wated at the door to checkin my appt (why). whole time employees small talking me. guy finally finds my box and shoves it in my hands and i was finally free from that cursed overpriced garbagehole

Perhaps some AI they run believes that waiting in line at midnight is the fun part of the iPhone experience