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Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

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Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#391

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One is priced at $300 and the other is more than 10x that. I don't understand why people keep comparing the two as if they were designed with the same objectives.

Yeah it’s like saying that a Honda Civic has had many generations but it’s not as fast as the latest Ferrari.

It's more like saying that Ferrari is going to compete head to head with Toyota next year. Apple are experts in making all sorts of hardware at scale, directly and through partners. Now it's on display that they've always been ahead of Facebook which acquired a much smaller hardware maker and has had its own hardware products which flopped.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#392

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Yea 20 million cheap VR headsets that haven't taken off into the expected market at all. Any hardware company could do that tomorrow. It's easy. Just source the parts. Apple is practically completely vertically integrated. They design their own chips. They have decades of experience in consumer hardware. To make AR/VR into what Zuck wants, his hardware is NOWHERE near what it needs to be. And they don't have the chop…

> It's easy. Just source the parts. Why is that not a relevant strategy for competing with Apple? Nvidia and arguably AMD could both out-engineer Apple if you're just talking about chips here.

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Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#393
There is something quite remarkable and puzzling about the VR/AR and now SC (spatial computing) space.

All major (ad)tech companies are convinced that this is a major market that will materialize and be profitable if the right combination of hardware and software is developed.

Their VR "visions" differ but only at the margin. No matter how you execute it, we are talking about people (homo sapiens) putting a major something on their heads that dramatically takes over their visual field for the pursuit of... what exactly? That is the puzzle.

There is a missing aha moment around this type of interface that would justify the major behavioral adjustment that is required for it to be adopted as a general purpose interface rather than a gimmick.

The number of devices sold so far does not impress me. A small number of people, especially youngsters with disposable income can be sold on anything (including fake currencies).

What is missing is an indication that this is actually an empowering piece of tech that is a a major new mode in our interface with computing.

What would be such indicators? Anything really. E.g. Some leaked stories that the teams developing these devices wear them all the time because it makes them so much more productive / social / fun / transcedental / [insert something people might actually want to have].

So far at least, this is a tech that is being pushed onto people rather than being pulled. I don't think this was the case with any of the major steps in the development of digital computing but would be quite interested if people can think of historical precedent.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#394

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I would strongly recommend looking at the results people are achieving with Apple’s game porting toolkit just days after it was released. With the hardware that the vision pro is supposed to have, I seriously think it will be the best gaming headset on the market if the final product ends up living up to what was announced.

The best gaming headset on the market would have to be able to connect to a Windows PC. The M2 chip in the headset doesn't have the power to run an intensive game at 4K resolution for each eye. Even if the headset could be tethered to a Mac for additional power, the GPUs in Macs don't come close to the capabilities of the 4090, which itself struggles to support 2K per eye for demanding games. One potential solution c…

I still believe that for the masses (think console gamers and pc gamers without the gaming rig) cloud gaming will be the future.

I've been playing fps/rts/rpg games through GeForce Now on a MacBook M1 and so far there's few obvious drawbacks - good internet required, slight input lag which can be annoying for some FPS games sure, and not all games are available yet - but for those who only play a few games regularly, it's also much better than running the game on an i3/i5 Windows laptop.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#395
post #327

" By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself." Wait, I thought an Oculus does the same thing too. Its a blindfold on your face, and it doesnt matter if they are alone or in a crowd. Mark has got to be terrified. The power of Apple is the tight and efficient integration of hardware and software. Regarding battery power, I woukd not rule out versions that stream the video and o…

Pretty sure Mark was actually counting on it. It doesn't make it a good idea, but Apple tends to set the bar for status symbols. Smartphones existed before the iPhone. PC laptops existed before MacBooks. Portable digital music players existed before iPods. While not always successful, they actually add legitimacy to many of the markets they get into. Time will tell if it happens here; I'm not holding my breath.

Of course these devices existed but every time Apple raised the bar. MP3 players existed before Ipod but with limited storage. The first Ipod was really usable with its HDD. Smartphone were a thing but touch interface is what made the Iphone something unique. Let see if Apple is really bringing something new here, the jury is still out.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#396
post #256

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What other choice do they have? they literally removed the headphone jack to force people to buy them

Wires suck though, and that’s coming from a person with a few MacBook Pro MSRPs worth headphone collection. AirPods Pro are an amazing product and it’s not dorky at all, never was. The original AirPods with long stick were kinda dorky and not that great (no isolation)

that s still no reason to remove the jack

Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But they're different classes of devices in a way. It's a new (primarily) standalone computing platform vs. just a peripheral. As far as vision, Meta's ultimate goal is to be the modern version of Linden Lab while Apple is providing the next step in personal computing. Meta's product is the metaverse. Apple's product is this device bolstered by their ecosystem. Give it a couple iterations and you'll have something th…

For sure. This is the key insight imo: > Meta's product is the metaverse. Apple's product is this device bolstered by their ecosystem. One way or another, that's the bet here. 1) Apple didn't mention the metaverse at all (as far as I can remember) 2) The user experience looked great, without those moments that would make someone who was neutral think "Err, ... that's a bit .... creepy"

The technology is incredibly compelling - which is the main thing, that people are exciting about it - but there are definitely things about it that area creeping people out... I've noticed these pop up in discussions

- The isolation aspects of consuming TV/movies (Mark has a point here IMO)

- The whole taking 3d images/videos of your children with a headset on

- The uncanny valley Facetime avatars

- The external screen that gives a window to your eyes in AR mode

Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#398
post #203

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That should be taken as a hint that people don't want VR video conferencing which is the target use for Apple's headset. TBH i don't want an avatar face, real faces in a simple Zoom call are more expressive.

> which is the target use for Apple's headset Just because it can do VR video conferencing doesn't mean it is THE target use case. Reducing something as complex as Apple's headset to one of its features is disingenuous. That's like claiming the target use case of iPhone is playing Candy Crush.

that is all that apple showed though.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#399
post #325
post #270

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The $3500 price tag and closed ecosystem is self-sabotaging, so MZ doesn't need to be worried at all. Carmack's vision was a cheap device that could hit mass market, and that's where the real game still is. Also, games.

The same was said of the iPad and Apple Watch… this may be their big miss, but based on the reviews I’ll keep betting on Apple.

It seems that they nailed the hardware. Sure, the battery life can be improved, the price can be reduced through mass production. It is now mostly a question of people will accept/like carrying a head set.

I am mildly optimistic, even the initial Vision Pro won't be much more expensive than a well-spec'ed MacBook Air plus 5k display. So at least I think Vision is attractive to pro Mac users as a very portable workstation with a lot off screen estate.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

#400
post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The $3500 price tag and closed ecosystem is self-sabotaging, so MZ doesn't need to be worried at all. Carmack's vision was a cheap device that could hit mass market, and that's where the real game still is. Also, games.

But they're different classes of devices in a way. It's a new (primarily) standalone computing platform vs. just a peripheral. As far as vision, Meta's ultimate goal is to be the modern version of Linden Lab while Apple is providing the next step in personal computing. Meta's product is the metaverse. Apple's product is this device bolstered by their ecosystem. Give it a couple iterations and you'll have something th…

> $2k many will purchase in lieue of another Macbook

That’s a strong statement. Same thing could’ve been said about the iPad and IMHO that would be a more reasonable claim. There isn’t any evidence still that you can do any work comfortably l in this thing regardless of the price point

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