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

bloomberg.com

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

#211

Post by nostromo »

nightpool wrote: post #200
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…

Can't you also buy these products online? I'm not surprised that the in-store experience has become such a high touch affair when the customer base that would have wanted less interaction have already self-selected out by not going to the store at all

But they shouldn't assume that.

I just had this exact experience because my phone was irrevocably ruined, so I needed to pick a replacement up the same day.

The Apple Store was a very poor experience with a sales agent I knew more than trying, repeatedly, to explain to me things like backup, Apple Care, etc., etc. I also for some reason had to talk to four different people, and the only one that could actually help me was busy while everyone else in the store was standing around. It should have taken 10 minutes and it took the better part of an hour.

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

#212

Post by scarface_74 »

giantrobot wrote: post #157
smoldesu wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meta has neither of those things and still managed to sell 15-20 million Quest units. If Apple is projecting less than a million units sold this year, they're going to have a hard time catching up to Meta's install-base, let alone their MAU count.

RIM and Palm sold 15-20 million units this year. If Apple is only projecting selling a million iPhones they're going to have a hard time catching up to Palm and RIM's install base.

Yes because Apple has always chased after market share….

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

#213

Post by jeffdn »

hghid wrote: post #202
nightpool wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't you also buy these products online? I'm not surprised that the in-store experience has become such a high touch affair when the customer base that would have wanted less interaction have already self-selected out by not going to the store at all

That is true, but I'm sometimes I'm frankly far too impatient to wait for delivery.

You can frequently get same-day delivery for a nominal fee, even within a few hours! My partner’s phone broke after she dropped it one too many times at about 7:30am on a recent morning, and we had a new one in hand without leaving the house by 10:30am.

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

#214

Post by soligern »

hghid wrote: post #202
nightpool wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't you also buy these products online? I'm not surprised that the in-store experience has become such a high touch affair when the customer base that would have wanted less interaction have already self-selected out by not going to the store at all

That is true, but I'm sometimes I'm frankly far too impatient to wait for delivery.

Just order it then go and pick it up in store. High touch customer service is universally considered a good thing, but for someone like you, you can order it online or just pick it up in store.

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

#215

Post by juve1996 »

wombat-man wrote: post #36
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…

Uh, this seems a lot better than the other AR things to me. I'm intrigued but will probably sit out the first version.

It's a better iteration but doesn't solve the core problems of VR/AR.

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

#216

Post by scarface_74 »

smoldesu wrote: post #137
scarface_74 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes you’re right. If only Apple knew how to generate buzz and convince people to pay more for its products than competitors…

Meta has neither of those things and still managed to sell 15-20 million Quest units. If Apple is projecting less than a million units sold this year, they're going to have a hard time catching up to Meta's install-base, let alone their MAU count.

And Apple has single digit market share in computer sells and barely double digit in phone sales.

Are those two categories also failures for Apple?

And saying that Meta can sell more worse devices than Apple that are cheaper and losing Meta money is like saying that Android manufactures can sell more $50 unsubsidized phones than Apple.

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

#217

Post by soligern »

BoppreH wrote: post #175

I'm very confused by Apple's strategy. As an owner of the original HTC Vive headset, its word-of-mouth power was off the charts. It was a blast at parties, and many of my friends bought their own $700+ devices after trying it. Here's what won them over: - Being able to try it themselves with little preparation ("put this on your head, tighten it here, and click these buttons on the controller"). You could even use it…

It’s like getting a pair of glasses. They’re customized to your eyes and fit to your face.

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

#218

Post by rchaud »

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…

> The VR headset is a case in point - if I want to be guided through the process, then I will ask for that.

The reason this is done is to:

a) limit bad online reviews due to ill fitting headsets or unfamiliarity with the controls

b) to ensure that people looking to buy it have their expectations managed

c) to give it the upscale, prestige feeling of going to a tailor for a fitted suit. Useless theater for a tech product, but Apple loves pageantry.

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

#219

Post by sevensevennine »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #70
shipscode wrote: post #4

Having messed with VR/AR tech since the DK2, the Apple Store presence could be the killer app that VR/AR needs. The manual learning process of ordering special fit lenses, adjusting the headsets, etc would be a great fit with Apple’s store model.

It would probably consume the entire applestore floorspace with nonbuying looky loos and their product damaging children

There used to be a Microsoft store in the big mall near me. It turned into a babysitting service for parents who dropped their kids off to play with the Xbox.

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

#220

Post by threeseed »

Jarmsy wrote: post #182
BoppreH wrote: post #175

I'm very confused by Apple's strategy. As an owner of the original HTC Vive headset, its word-of-mouth power was off the charts. It was a blast at parties, and many of my friends bought their own $700+ devices after trying it. Here's what won them over: - Being able to try it themselves with little preparation ("put this on your head, tighten it here, and click these buttons on the controller"). You could even use it…

All I've seen so far suggests they're almost entirely focused on virtual 2d screens floating in 3d space, and not other virtual 3d objects at all.

They had many WWDC sessions covering 3D objects especially with the Unity integration [1] and their Reality Composer Pro [2] tool. Both were covered during the keynote. And if you look on Youtube there are countless videos of third party developers developing 3D apps.

It's just that they are positioning the device as a spatial computer i.e. something you use to get real work done. And right now for 99% of people that involves 2D windows.

[1] https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2023/10088/

[2] https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2023/10083/

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