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Apple Vision Pro available for pre-order

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Re: Apple Vision Pro available for pre-order

#92
post #30
post #9

The last time Apple introduced a new general purpose computing device was the iPad, 14 years ago. This one just doesn’t feel as big. When the iPad was introduced, everyone was shocked by the very low price and the sleek form factor compared to previous Windows tablet devices. Those are exactly the weak points of the Vision Pro: it’s very expensive and very heavy, according to reports. The hands-on sessions that Apple…

The iPad and the iPhone were heavily criticized when they came out. While both were pushing some good tech, they were also going against the general wisdom of what made a product in each category.

Yes, same goes for any "first gen" Apple product in a category: The Apple I, 128k Macintosh, iPod, Apple Watch.

The thing all these first-generation products have in common (including the Apple Vision Pro) is that they are eminently skippable and usually followed by more popular, better-spec'd lower-cost models within a year or two.

Re: Apple Vision Pro available for pre-order

#93
post #84
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, the iPhone too? The iPad was called a big iPhone (especially when they showcased on stage that you can run iPhone apps with 2x magnification), but I remember there being a lot of hype for the iPhone.

Maybe for some people. A lot of people, esp. reporters and the like who loved their blackberries were heavily negative towards not having a physical keyboard.. It's kind of hard to imagine that this was the reality, given where we are today.

I'm not sure if BlackBerries were really ever a thing in Europe. All the business-type people had Nokia Communicators here (the last of which was released in 2007).

Re: Apple Vision Pro available for pre-order

#94
post #9

The last time Apple introduced a new general purpose computing device was the iPad, 14 years ago. This one just doesn’t feel as big. When the iPad was introduced, everyone was shocked by the very low price and the sleek form factor compared to previous Windows tablet devices. Those are exactly the weak points of the Vision Pro: it’s very expensive and very heavy, according to reports. The hands-on sessions that Apple…

I wonder how much of that is due to the specific nature of this type of product, and how it compares to those past launches.

With iPhone & iPad, you had products that people could very easily imagine using. The iPhone was the combination of three technologies people were already familiar with, the iPad was the iPhone, but bigger.

It is really difficult to imagine using a VR headset if you haven't used one before -- there simply isn't a frame of reference. And even if you have used an Oculus or a SteamVR headset, an interface built around eye & tracking is still completely novel.

I think a lack of mass-market appeal is something that is inherent to a product like this, which makes it a very different product from a marketing perspective than iPhone or iPad.

It makes sense to me that, rather than trying to copy-paste the iPhone or iPad launch, Apple would instead put out an exclusive halo product early, allow a few years for the public to build familiarity with it and settle on the core use-cases, all while they observe and iterate behind the scenes on a more accessible version for a wider audience.

Re: Apple Vision Pro available for pre-order

#95
post #24

Must admit, as this got closer I contemplated getting it more and more. Especially as I find myself using my laptop a lot on the couch and bed. Just the ability to have a larger screen without worrying about my physical Mac screen is a fairly large selling point, plus any other features. I assume there has not been anything about the ability to have multiple virtual Mac screens has there? That would likely make this…

Early reports are that the Vision feels quite heavy to wear. That’s almost certainly going to make it a bad choice for virtual screens for more than an hour or so.

Re: Apple Vision Pro available for pre-order

#96
Similar specs and price as XR-4 from https://varjo.com Wipes the floor with Oculus and others, but IMHO 90Hz refresh rate not enough for truly immersive VR/AR experience.

Once the initial fascination wears out, you are not going to use it as replacement for the big screen. VR/AR needs improve technically and find killer apps and must-have games.

Re: Apple Vision Pro available for pre-order

#97
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When the iPad was introduced, everyone was shocked by the very low price and the sleek form factor compared to previous Windows tablet devices. I remember history a bit differently. I recall lots of people dismissing the iPad as " just a big iPod Touch".

To a first approximation, that's what it still is all these years later. The software might be called iPadOS now but it's not fooling anyone that it's much different to iOS.

There are some specific use cases like creating digital artwork and certain gaming/video where the difference between an iPhone and and an iPad really is arguably a difference in kind. But, yeah, especially with larger iPhones (even sub-Max) I've come to see an iPad as increasingly optional for most purposes.

Re: Apple Vision Pro available for pre-order

#99
post #9

The last time Apple introduced a new general purpose computing device was the iPad, 14 years ago. This one just doesn’t feel as big. When the iPad was introduced, everyone was shocked by the very low price and the sleek form factor compared to previous Windows tablet devices. Those are exactly the weak points of the Vision Pro: it’s very expensive and very heavy, according to reports. The hands-on sessions that Apple…

> When the iPad was introduced, everyone was shocked by the very low price and the sleek form factor compared to previous Windows tablet devices.

What I remember is everyone making fun of it, including the name¹, for being “just a big iPod Touch”.

Similarly, the iPhone wasn’t taken all that seriously² on launch. The App Store wasn’t even an idea yet, let alone a reality.

That is to say this always happens: people discount a new thing and use as contrast something else which was also discounted at the time but framed as if it had always been perceived by the current lens.

I have no idea if the Vision Pro will “succeed” (however we define that), but we can be reasonably sure that the current version is the worse it will ever be. In other words, it will get better and it’s too soon to judge its impact.

¹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTzhXMbOWHE

² https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U

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