Will Apple succeed with a device that fails to take off?

Apple has always been criticized for being “late” with hardware and features. The iPad wasn’t the first tablet, for example. Microsoft launched the tablet computer in 2001, nine years before the iPad.

Smart watches were born in 2012, two years before the Apple Watch, while the iPhone, without Bluetooth, appeared in 2007 when dozens of brands were years ahead of Apple.

butAlmost all of these Apple devices are standardone of the most successful sales, wanted by millions, an undeniable success.

And Apple hasn’t had a new product this successful in a while. That’s why the announcement of Vision Pro, mixed reality (virtual and augmented) glasses, has received special attention: Apple is entering a market where it has not succeeded anywhere.

Not as an ecosystem: Facebook has lost over $1.3 billion with its Metaverse, which does not engage users (less than 11% return); Nor as a device: Sales of this type of eyeglasses fell 54% in the first quarter of the year, according to IDC.

Facebook, together with Meta Quest, owns 50% of the market, although Sony with its Playstation glasses already has 36% of this pie.

WhatWhy does Apple succeed?So, in a company and market that looks very bleak in the near future?

Vision Pro Challenge

Wearing glasses of this type is not a comfortable thing. They are not for continuous use. Not only because of their weight and pressure on the face, but they also cause visual fatigue and dizziness.

In short, it’s not the AirPods or Apple Watch that people use (and wear) nearly 24 hours a day. What would motivate people to use Vision Pro?

Everything seems to indicate that Apple has taken a different path than what the digital eyewear market offers today, both as a product concept and as an ecosystem.

Apple is aiming for a mixed reality device that could be somewhere between Facebook’s Quest and Microsoft’s Hololens (see the box on differences between virtual, augmented, and mixed reality).

In this way, Apple will try to unite itself in an ecosystem that enhances people’s daily productivity (study, work, creativity) as well as entertainment (music, movies, games) that combines reality and virtuality, No need for manual control.

will you do that? How do they work? There are advantages and disadvantages

How is Vision Pro used?

It is comfortable and light. They compare them to ski goggles. By not having the battery (external with cable) it doesn’t weigh much. They do not need additional controls, and instead use their hands to click, drag, expand windows, and rotate objects.

Better graphics quality. The screens are micro-OLED with a resolution of 23 million pixels in 4K resolution, which is the best on the market. They also record 3D videos and take pictures. It is possible to manually select the level of depth and immersion in the environment.

work and leisure. They have access to iOS apps (more to come) for office, mail, and communications, but also for entertainment: Apple Music, TV, etc. You will be able to view excel sheets or a movie.

Difference of facts

To understand Apple’s strategy with its Vision Pro glasses, it is necessary to know the differences between the technologies:

Virtual Reality (VR): These are 100% virtual, immersive, and 3D simulated worlds and environments. People are (virtual) symbolic.

Augmented Reality (AR): Superimposes content, applications, and functionality on top of reality (eg seeing objects on a table, placing a virtual piece of furniture in a room, etc.) using transparent glasses to bring the two worlds together.

Mixed Reality (MR): Combine virtual and augmented reality. It allows you to recreate the reality around you using 3D content, apps and avatars, and is more interactive and immersive. Here is Apple Vision Pro.

Your technological advantages

They have 12 cameras, five sensors and three screens. four internal cameras that track your eyes to see what app or content you’re using or about to use (yeah, guess what); two cameras that map their surroundings to digitize them on the eye screens; The external display catches your eye when using virtual environments. Other cameras follow your head and hands (which you control and interact with everything).

A LiDAR sensor that measures areas, volumes, and the environment, which scans your face to digitize it.

M1 and R1 chip. Responsible for giving the graphical and visual power (screens in Laayoune 4K) graphics and multimedia, the best on the market.

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