Friday, Feb 02, ‘24 — the day Apple Vision Pro preorders arrived at consumers' front doors, thus marking the beginning of a journey luxuriating over a new computing paradigm with the hope that it delivers on its promise and more.
I have admired and appreciated the VR headset space from afar for quite some time now, but with the current offerings mainly geared towards gaming — and me not being a ’traditional gamer’ — the attraction was lost. Apple’s promise of a VR/AR headset geared more towards computing reignited my interest in wanting to explore them again.
However, for me, buying the Vision Pro right now would only satiate the early adopter FOMO, as I have no unfeigned need for the device given my current computing use case. Besides, the price, phew!
Hard-wear
Price aside, and although I am not currently bowled over by the hardware design footprint, I love the modularity. Apple conforming to the prevailing trend in VR headset design is likely due to technological constraints and regulations that limit their ability to explore more innovative hardware design approaches that align with their traditional thin and light design philosophy.
With that said, the hardware technology cramped inside the Vision Pro aluminium and glass housing is pretty impressive. The Apple Design Team behind the Vision Pro deserves credit and adulation. I have been marvelling at the work behind the Vision Pro as I’ve never done with any other Apple Product I’ve witnessed the birth of in my lifetime. And given Apple's penchant for iterating on hardware design, you can bet a bottom dollar a more compelling Vision Pro will set the trend in the VR/AR headset space.
Visions, Divided
The Apple Vision Pro with its attempts at pioneering Spatial Computing as we’ve never seen has divided opinions and simultaneously raised scepticism and optimism. I have loved circling between the extreme dismissal of Vision Pro to the absolute fanboyism unabashedly swooning at the prospect of incorporating Vision Pro in their daily lives. And I couldn’t be happier about the latter.
Apple’s reputation for revolutionising products in the tech industry has set the bar high that with every new product category launch for the company, people expect to be amazed and wowed beyond belief, (damn you, iPhone!). The reactions from the nerdy tech enthusiasts and the public have been mixed. It is to be expected given the niche market for VR headsets.
Despite high expectations, I recognise and respect Apple's bold move in venturing into spatial computing instead of following the trend of VR gaming headsets. Knowing your strengths is key.
As a prospective user who hasn’t yet seen and interacted with the device firsthand, and with my limited business expertise, I am not equipped with the necessary tools to forecast the prospects of Apple Vision Pro in the marketplace. But boy am I glad this product exists to offer a different computing paradigm.
I wish Apple well with its endeavours to leverage Vision Pro in revolutionising a new way of interacting with technology.
