The Apple Vision Pro has taken the market by storm, with an initial price of $3,499 selling out instantly! According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s predictions, it is estimated that between 160,000 to 180,000 units of Vision Pro were sold during the first weekend of its release.
Since its official announcement last year, there has been high anticipation for the Vision Pro in the market. Currently, all three specifications of Apple Vision Pro, including 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, are sold out, priced at $3,499 (approximately 25,000 RMB), $3,699 (approximately 26,000 RMB), and $3,899 (approximately 28,000 RMB) respectively. Scalpers are also driving up prices, causing server crashes on the day of release.
Amidst the Vision Pro market frenzy, there is still a cooling sentiment in the industry regarding the virtual reality (VR) field. Moreover, there are diverse opinions about the future market growth of Vision Pro, highlighting various shortcomings.
Concerns about whether Apple can ignite the future of virtual reality, alter the industry dynamics of VR and augmented reality (AR), and the numerous uncertainties remain.
Ultra-immersive Virtual Reality
Local media in the United States have already published numerous reviews on Vision Pro, providing detailed technical and experiential descriptions. According to these reports and reviews, Apple’s AR headset, the Vision Pro, is both familiar and unfamiliar.
Many aspects are familiar, such as facial scanning similar to the Face ID facial recognition in the iPhone series, and the classic Apple interface displayed upon entering the device. In terms of experience, there is not much difference from other headset devices – put it on, start it up, eye tracking, and synchronized body control.
The difference lies in Vision Pro’s excellent eye tracking, which quickly achieves visual tracking. When the user’s gaze focuses on a particular application, the program highlights accordingly. Additionally, the two 4K large screens enhance immersion, with impressive detail reproduction in movies, outstanding dynamic effects, and unparalleled static effects.
According to Apple’s official website, Vision Pro boasts 23 million pixels, wide color gamut, high dynamic effects, Dolby Atmos, and low-latency lossless audio. It has a 2-hour battery life, 2.5 hours of video playback time, and can be paired with AirPods Pro (2nd generation) for a more comfortable experience.
In addition to realistic display and high immersion, Vision Pro has a noteworthy feature – Apple emphasizes that virtual reality does not mean isolating users from the world. Users can still stay connected with others during immersive experiences, avoiding the loneliness associated with electronic devices.
Correspondingly, observers can also know what the wearer of Vision Pro is doing through different states of the device. For example, when a user is viewing an application, the device emits a light blue glow, indicating the use of an application. When the wearer is fully immersed in Vision Pro, the screen becomes a transparent dim light.
Given the outstanding hardware performance, being superior to most counterparts, why the cautious evaluations from the media and industry experts?
Perhaps the still-limited battery life, lack of content ecosystem, high price, and uncertainties in the virtual reality race are sources of market uncertainty.
The Challenges of Being the Leader
First, let’s address the hardware shortcomings. Despite the many advantages of Vision Pro, the battery capacity of only 2 hours has been criticized by many. This limited battery life may struggle to support a three-hour-long movie.
Another aspect is the user experience. According to some reviews, Vision Pro still cannot escape the common problem of virtual reality devices – prolonged wear may lead to headaches or dizziness. The discomfort only subsides after removing the device.
Certainly, while users may experience dizziness after half an hour, it does not conflict with the battery life issue. The latter is still an area for improvement for Vision Pro, as Apple cannot expect users to keep the headset connected to power continuously.
Furthermore, the source of content and application usage is a significant problem. Many mainstream applications have not developed versions for Vision Pro, including Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, and others.
This is understandable as Netflix has been in direct competition with Apple in the streaming media sector. To turn foes into friends requires sufficiently favorable conditions.
Moreover, developing new applications for Vision Pro is not easy. With a small user base, it is challenging for developers to justify the effort of creating new programs. For Netflix, with its 250 million paying users being the direct source of income, providing Vision Pro versions of applications does not directly contribute to Netflix’s revenue, especially given the limited sales of Vision Pro.
Unless Vision Pro can bring in new users or help reduce subscriber churn for Netflix, the cost of developing applications for a new platform is hard to justify. For revenue-stressed Netflix, this is not a good choice.
Netflix is not the only one making such choices. While Apple hopes to broaden Vision Pro’s content sources for users to enjoy high-quality films and TV shows across the internet, stringent content copyright protection in Europe and the United States means Apple needs to offer a substantial price. In fact, not only Vision Pro, Netflix has also not updated applications for Meta Quest.
The challenges faced by virtual devices in the market are generally similar.
Up to now, the response from the application development market for Vision Pro has been lukewarm. YouTube is another content platform reluctant to “cooperate.” According to foreign media reports, YouTube has no plans to launch a new application for Apple, and Spotify has no such plan either.
According to data from consulting firm App figures, during the opening weekend, only about 150 applications were available for Vision Pro on the App Store, while there are approximately 1.8 million applications on the App Store.
This situation may be hard to change in the short term, as developers’ lack of cooperation is rooted in the long-standing issue of Apple’s controversial App Store commission fees.
Companies like Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, etc., have expressed dissatisfaction with Apple’s commission rates. Spotify has been unhappy with Apple’s 30% commission cut, and even though Netflix reached an agreement with Apple for a 15% commission, Netflix is still dissatisfied with this rate. Hence, they have been refusing to participate in the development of Apple TV applications and have long stopped subscriptions on iOS devices. YouTube follows a similar stance.
As a revolutionary product in the market, the first generation of Vision Pro is still a newcomer in the virtual reality field. The market acceptance, user feedback, and challenges existing in the virtual reality sector will influence Vision Pro’s development trajectory. Apple needs time to smoothly integrate into the market.
Epilogue
The aforementioned issues may be resolved through Apple’s efforts, but it is still difficult to conclude whether Vision Pro is genuinely welcomed by the market at this moment.
When Zuckerberg went all in on the metaverse, he probably did not anticipate the current “half-dead” state of the metaverse industry. Zuckerberg has already spent billions on his dream of the metaverse, and the outside world widely views it as a huge waste of resources and capital.
Western media, in particular, has been harsh, with many mocking Zuckerberg’s lavish spending. Foreign media states, “This kind of goal can only be achieved when the founder/CEO has absolute control over the company,” and “thanks to Zuckerberg, some people realize that when billionaires throw money around with wild ideas, the world becomes more interesting.”
Especially when Meta reported a $4 billion loss in the metaverse department within three months, the ridicule intensified. The bitter fruit of going all in on the metaverse was just tasted, followed by the groundbreaking news of ChatGPT disrupting the industry, causing Zuckerberg to miss the industry trend and Meta to be caught in a whirlwind of public opinion.
So, will the market’s reaction to Vision Pro follow in the footsteps of the metaverse?
Perhaps, looking at Apple’s successful track record of launching revolutionary products in the past, there are more positive voices in the market.
Innovation has always been a top priority for Apple and a source of market trust. From the iPhone to the smartwatch, Apple has been a leader in the industry, changing the entire industry ecosystem and even transforming the entire ecosystem of smart hardware. Now, Vision Pro seems to be the next iPhone.
When the true value of Vision Pro is fully developed, various companies will undoubtedly rush to develop new programs for the new platform. The business world is always hindsight.