Apple’s Vision Pro Is Such A Try-Hard Product

I’m not going to call it a bad product. There are a lot of people on the internet saying how it’s bad because it’s $3500 and you can get a Quest 3 for a seventh of the cost. Even I said it.

But that was before the Vision Pro was announced. In the announcement it was revealed that the Vision Pro is a lot better than initially expected. For one it has ‘3D cameras’ and it can show your eyes to the outside world in a way that is legitimately cool. Is this worth a $3000 premium over the Quest 3? I don’t know. But I wouldn’t rule it out.

It might not be a bad product. But what I will say is it’s try-hard. And here’s why.

The Fundamental Problem

Some people have compared the Vision Pro to the original iPhone. When that came out it was very expensive too. But the cost went down (until it went up again) and people realized that the iPhone was worth the price due to how much it could do. In fact Apple tries to make a similar comparison:

If you purchased a new state-of-the-art TV, surround sound system, powerful computer with multiple high-definition displays, high-end camera, and more you still would not come close to what Vision Pro delivers.

This is actually the quote that gave me the title. Because this is a common sales tactic. You say, “If you bought X and Y and Z it would cost like 10 bazillion dollars. But if you buy my product you get all that for the low low price of $3499”. And it’s always a bit slimy because ‘am I really going to buy all that stuff if I didn’t have your product?’

Especially as I’d argue the Vision Pro doesn’t really replace all those products for one major reason: the battery. The battery pack was shown a lot in all their marketing. Now it is pretty small of a battery pack but you still have to carry it around all the time. And it only gives you two hours of usage. Which is about the runtime of a movie. A single movie. If you bought a Macbook you’d get 10 hours. This thing is not going to replace your laptop any time soon.

Now there is a possibility to use it wired. But then you’d have to completely rewire your house for it. I don’t think people are willing to do that. Especially when…

It’s So Expensive

It’s $3500. Apple says

If you purchased a new state-of-the-art TV, surround sound system, powerful computer with multiple high-definition displays, high-end camera, and more you still would not come close to what Vision Pro delivers.

So let’s see about that. You can get a nice 32-inch 4K TV for $500 on Amazon. Then you can get a soundbar for $200. Then a computer with multiple displays, you could go cheaper with Windows but for a Mac Mini you’re looking at $2500. Then a high-end camera, I guess they’re talking about the iPhone. That’s another $1000. And I guess you also want a laptop which is $2000.

That’s $6200. Which is indeed more than the Vision Pro. But here’s the thing: I’m a millennial and we don’t need all that junk. So get rid of the TV and the desktop computer. Then get an iPad to use an external monitor. That comes out to… $3500, the same as the Reality Pro.

Now if the Reality Pro did offer an improved experience over a laptop and phone you could argue the Reality Pro is the better deal. And maybe you could argue that having infinite external monitors is worth it. But I’d argue that it’s easier to just buy another monitor as 4K monitors only cost $300ish. And in every other way the laptop and phone combination is superior especially as with that cost you can get 1TB of storage. How much are you going to get with the Vision Pro? 🤷‍♀️ Might have to upgrade to get 1TB.

And as you don’t have to charge a Macbook and phone as much they’re way easier to pick up and put away. This is the problem with the Occulus- Meta Quest. People buy one and use it once and never again. A much more convenient device is going to win 9/10 times versus a less convenient one. And I’d argue the Vision Pro is less convenient. Especially as the headset…

Is Also Sort Of Dystopian

One of the features of the headset is 3D video recording. Which sounds nice until you realize that in order to use it you’re going to have to wear the headset around almost 24/7.

There was this video of some guy recording their kids with the Vision Pro.

Imagine someone going, “Oh, I have to get my VR headset to capture this moment.” Like, it’s enough that we have these phones we’re addicted to. Now we all need VR headsets too.

And it’s clear this is what Apple wants you to do as they display your eyes when you can see the world. It’s a bit unsettling.

I actually had this idea for a video. There would be one person going about their day all normal. On the train, ordering coffee, that sort of thing. Then the next day they see someone going about their day wearing the Vision Pro. Then the next day someone else. And then more people the next day. Soon everyone has the headset except for the protagonist. Then one day the protagonist is gifted the Vision Pro and reluctantly puts it on. The screen cuts to black and the Apple logo appears followed by text: “You will be assimilated.” and then “Resistance Is futile.” Someone should make that. Too bad AI is not good enough yet.

I guess it’s not too different from phones but with phones we at least have the ability to put them away when we’re not using them. That will be much harder to do with a VR headset.

Final Thoughts

I’m not saying the Vision Pro is a bad product. I’m just saying it has a lot of roadblocks to adoption. And personally I don’t think it will be very popular.

Now some people will buy it. The Valve Index is over $1000. Not as much as the Vision Pro but it doesn’t come with as much as the Vision Pro. You still need controllers. I was actually surprised the Vision Pro doesn’t use controllers. It must be using cameras to track your hands. The upside is it’s much more convenient to setup. The downside is that it’s not always going to work which will be extremely frustrating.

It’s clear that Apple put a lot of thought into the Vision Pro. They must have tested it and were like, “Having controllers is a major obstacle to adoption, we need to get rid of them.” They looked at how Oculus, or Meta, and others failed and they decided to put in more stuff to work around those problems. But maybe they put in too much stuff. And maybe the Vision Pro is too much of a try-hard product.

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