Apple has launched its own take on the VR headset with the Vision Pro. Announced at the Apple Conference in Apple Park, the company’s HQ on June 7th, the Vision Pro is a combined augmented and virtual reality headset that CEO Tim Cook said will “seamlessly blend the real world and the virtual world”.
It’s a surprising addition to the market, given that the biggest VR advocate, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, gave up on his Metaverse project in January of this year to focus on AI with the launch of ChatGPT. Meta’s own headset, the Quest, has been compared to the Apple Vision Pro often, particularly its price point. The latest edition, the Quest 3, costs $499, whereas Apple’s Vision Pro will cost $3,499.
However, it has been pointed out by many reviewers that the Apple Vision Pro exceeds a lot of expectations put forth by Meta. In fact, Meta is often ridiculed for its attempt at the Metaverse, which features graphics that look like they belong in the first console generation and features that rarely aid anyone.
Hartley Charlton, senior editor of MacRumors, said he was unsure how much the headset would appeal to the general public.
“It won’t appeal to mainstream consumers at first on account of its extremely high price point and immediate shortcomings as a first-generation device, such as its separate wired battery pack,” he said.
Is VR yet mainstream enough for the Vision Pro to take off? Maybe not yet, but critics have argued that there was once a world where we wouldn’t think of dropping $2,000 on an iPhone either.
