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Apple

Why Some of Apple's Biggest Fans Are Returning Their Vision Pros 140

Apple is probably at least 18 months away from launching a second-generation Vision Pro. Based on the early response to the first version, that may be a long time for some people to wait. Bloomberg: Since the Vision Pro debuted on Feb. 2, it's become clear that the mixed-reality headset is still a work in progress. Despite the dazzling demos -- and generally positive reviews -- it can be challenging to use on a daily basis. It's heavy. The interface doesn't always work smoothly. And it's hard to forget the fact that you paid $3,500 or more for this experience. Vision Pro loyalists stress that the current model is only the first generation. It will get better in time. Don't forget, they say, that the original iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch had their quirks too. If the headset feels too heavy, you're wearing it wrong. The narrower-than-expected field of view and glare? That's normal. Now, it's true that Apple's earlier first-generation products had their issues. The initial iPhone couldn't connect to 3G networks and lacked the App Store or even the ability to cut and paste. The iPad didn't have multitasking. The original Apple Watch was too sluggish and wasn't waterproof. But I don't think anyone complained that those devices were too cumbersome, an actual pain to use or too expensive to justify keeping.

[...] Apple isn't commenting on the Vision Pro's return rate, but data from sources at retail stores suggests that it's likely somewhere between average and above average compared with other products -- depending on the location. Some smaller stores are seeing one or two returns per day, but larger locations have seen as many as over eight take-backs in a single day. [...] Based on what I've seen so far, the demos have been effective -- maybe too effective. They sell consumers on an experience that doesn't quite exist yet. Some stores are seeing conversion rates after demos as high as 10% to 15%. That's an impressive number for a product with the Vision Pro's price tag.
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Why Some of Apple's Biggest Fans Are Returning Their Vision Pros

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19, 2024 @01:10PM (#64251700)

    its the same reason metaverse is empty, its annoying, uncomfortable, expensive and not really all that useful when the novelty wears off

    • Let me know when I can sleep in a recliner and be transported to VR like Johnny Quest 96-97 series.
      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Yep, same here. Probably not in my lifetime though.

      • Let me know when I can sleep in a recliner

        This is something that ticked me off about the VRP demo. The demo was entirely scripted, and going off script wasn't allowed. So when I asked if I could try it reclining or (even better) lying flat on the floor, I was told "No".

        I also wanted to try using it with my MacBook (or their MacBook, whatever). That was also a "No".

        The demo was entirely geared toward consuming content, with no demonstration or even acknowledgment of how it could enhance productivity.

        They couldn't answer my questions about integratin

    • by ebob9 ( 726509 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @03:33PM (#64252134)

      its the same reason metaverse is empty, its annoying, uncomfortable, expensive and not really all that useful when the novelty wears off

      This is the exact same sentiment I had when I tried to use my C64 to write a school paper in the 80s (and print it on a dot matrix printer.) Load/save times sucked, interface was laggy and not well thought out. It was quicker and easier to type it on an electric typewriter

      A few years later, I got to use WP4 on an IBM PC connected to a Laser printer, and it completely changed my opinion.

      I see VR's use to most people as a similar analogous experience to the above. While you could argue that the IBM PC and Wordstar/etc likely existed when I had the "crap" experience on the C64, most families didn't have that at home. I think the general apathy for VR is a combo of bad experiences like above, combined with the lack of a true app you can't yet do nearly as well on PC.

      • by KlomDark ( 6370 )
        Interesting, I still kind of miss SpeedScript for the C64. It was really good for word processing. Still miss the CTRL-X to swap positions of two characters.
        • by Torodung ( 31985 )

          I used Paperclip on the C=64 well into college. I wrote print "drivers" for my daisy wheel printer so it could do proportional spacing.

          Not the version with spellcheck, to my professors' frustration.

          • In retrospect, glad I didn't have a spellchecker, made me a lot better speller.
            • It’s the opposite for me. Spell checker has definitely made me a much better speller. GPS maps has also enhanced my ability to find things in person without maps. You just have to actively engage in the experience rather than passively rely on the technology while you focus/multitask on other things.
          • I used Paperclip on the C=64 well into college. I wrote print "drivers" for my daisy wheel printer so it could do proportional spacing.

            Not the version with spellcheck, to my professors' frustration.

            That's funny! In 1979, I wrote that exact-same Driver for the Apple ][. Never saw anything else offered commercially (mine was done for a computer-club newsletter) that did real, beautiful, letter-by-letter Daisy Wheel proportionally-spaced output. That always amazed me; because it looked far better than the "space insertion"-type "Proportional-Spacing" functions that were available from Word Processors far and wide, even for years after that.

      • Honestly this is the best explanation. The Meta Quest 2 is still Facebook but for a cheap headset the display is just amazing. You can easily compare it to the first quest to see how much it has improved over the years.

        Problem with AR is there are very few ways you can do it that's not under a patent or requires a whole new way to display things on semi transparent lenses. I don't like Facebook but they are pushing the envelope and trying to make the most consumer grade device out there.

        PS - I still
      • by mccalli ( 323026 )
        On the other hand I used my ZX Spectrum to write out my "I must not..." punishment lines,1,000 times, with a for loop and a ZX printer. Why I wasn't absolutely castigated for being a smart arse I will to this day never know. Instead I was commended and asked to write something for an Egypt project we were doing at the time, because the ZX thermal printer was narrow enough it could look like a newspaper article. Heh.
    • Well, I think that lots of people really want VR, and would happily pay a great deal of money for VR.
      It is a shame that it is not yet possible to build it.

    • Except developers if Iâ(TM)ve learned something over the years writing software you want to be the first on development for a new platform $3500 is cheap to get in first I remember companies paying a lot more for development packages/systems many years ago
  • They'll just keep trotting out these overpriced fashion accessories and their fans will keep buying them and telling you it's the best thing since sliced bread.

    Meanwhile, I got out of that cult long ago and can only keep ignoring any and all new releases they make, happy I'm not wasting money on any of it.

    • by SchroedingersCat ( 583063 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @02:06PM (#64251890)
      If Steve Jobs was alive, he would have told them: "it is too heavy - make another one". Apple is going through another "coke salesman" period.
      • Agree. Jobs was fond of saying he was most proud of the devices Apple didn't do (read Issacson's excellent biography.) Jobs would be upset that Apple engineers moved forward and delivered such a clunker. Verge did a good review of it.
      • If jobs was alive today he would be living in a cardboard box or in an asylum. He would have spend every last penny on his stupid "thermonuclear war" against Android and lost ( i know legally they won but apple wanted like 2B dollars and got something like 200M). A narcissistic asshole like that would not have coped with losing.
        • by NoMoreACs ( 6161580 ) on Tuesday February 20, 2024 @08:15AM (#64253910)

          If jobs was alive today he would be living in a cardboard box or in an asylum. He would have spend every last penny on his stupid "thermonuclear war" against Android and lost ( i know legally they won but apple wanted like 2B dollars and got something like 200M). A narcissistic asshole like that would not have coped with losing.

          Show me on the Doll where Steve Jobs touched you.

          [eyeroll]

    • and telling you it's the best thing since sliced bread.

      I did the in-store demo, and it is way better than sliced bread.

      But sliced bread doesn't cost $3500.

      So, for now, I'll stick to bread.

  • by nevermindme ( 912672 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @01:16PM (#64251718)
    As someone who races FPV drones, we are the crowd who have been under 6 generations of headsets for the past 10 years under a 20ms see and react cycle of working, googles are hard working environment and not for everyone. We as a group have concluded the useful amount of time in that environment might be 3 hours a day, in 25 minute max chunks, for all except the crowd that would be well adapted as F1 drivers. After that even the most dedicated, most adapted, google wearing performance drops off due to everything from sweat to eyestrain.
  • Bullshit (Score:5, Interesting)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @01:16PM (#64251720)

    I have one, no way I am returning it. There isn't a better VR headset out there. I am sure Meta or (more likely) Samsung will catch up to the current AVP by late 2026 (Quest 5). But then we'll have the AVP 2 by then which will hopefully be a lot lighter than this.

    • Your experience in no way contradicts the fact people are returning it.

      But from the summary

      but data from sources at retail stores suggests that it's likely somewhere between average and above average compared with other products

      That is a vague statement, if the return rate is near average then there isn't a story of course some people return their headsets. Just like of course some people like you aren't. If its above average how much above average 1%, 20% none of this tells me anything I can use to form a good opinion as to weather in general people like the vision pros. Just like the pointless dribble about some stores are seeing 1 or 2 re

      • Plus there are many who bought one knowing it isn't in their budget, just to try it out.

      • Your experience in no way contradicts the fact people are returning it.

        But from the summary

        but data from sources at retail stores suggests that it's likely somewhere between average and above average compared with other products

        That is a vague statement, if the return rate is near average then there isn't a story of course some people return their headsets. Just like of course some people like you aren't. If its above average how much above average 1%, 20% none of this tells me anything I can use to form a good opinion as to weather in general people like the vision pros. Just like the pointless dribble about some stores are seeing 1 or 2 returns a day, how am I supposed to know if that's normal or not, then they go on saying bigger store get more returns, well of course that is what you would expect.

        And here is an Article that states that the Vision Pro Return Rate is "Pretty Low", and definitely no higher than any new Apple Product:

        https://appleinsider.com/artic... [appleinsider.com]

        So now what?

    • by taustin ( 171655 )

      There isn't a better VR headset out there.

      It still doesn't do anything I want done.

      It's a solution looking for a problem, and the only problem it can find is that Appletards have too much money.

      • Virtual tourism, immersive sports watching, large multi-screen desktop on airplane, live product demos, virtual real estate, etc.

        • by taustin ( 171655 )

          QED.

        • 0 emphasis on the one thing VR does well, cardio exercise. Didn't think I'd see the day when Apple is more out of touch than Zucc.
          • 0 emphasis on the one thing VR does well, cardio exercise. Didn't think I'd see the day when Apple is more out of touch than Zucc.

            I would imagine we'll see some exercise stuff soon. But aren't some of the body movements a bit high-g for keeping a headset in place? And then there's the sweat-factor. . .

        • by Bahbus ( 1180627 )

          Virtual tourism

          No one cares.

          immersive sports watching

          No, not really.

          large multi-screen desktop on airplane

          Boring and unnecessary.

          live product demos

          If the product isn't in my hands, it's not different than being on any other screen.

          virtual real estate

          Scam, because real estate, in general, is a scam (in the US) and still not even 1% as good as being in person.

          These aren't good use cases. These use cases don't even significantly improve over current methods. At best, the use of a VR headset gives you more privacy when doing any of these particular activities, but it doesn't improve these activities in any way. If privacy w

          • I’ve bought two different houses in different states in different regions of the country to live in I only experiences with virtual walkthroughs, static and live with realtors, before closing. I also used google street view to explore the neighborhoods. I also obviously had the professionally inspected. I made money on the first when I sold it and still live in the second, and they are both great places to live. I only moved because of work. In both instances there were minor surprises. On had kind of
            • by Bahbus ( 1180627 )

              I’ve bought two different houses in different states in different regions of the country to live in.

              This is not common enough per individual to be marked as a good use case for this product.

              • I’ve bought two different houses in different states in different regions of the country to live in.

                This is not common enough per individual to be marked as a good use case for this product.

                But it is yet another, practical, real-world application for which you have nothing other than Automatic Gainsaying as a "Response".

                • by Bahbus ( 1180627 )

                  I’ve bought two different houses in different states in different regions of the country to live in.

                  This is not common enough per individual to be marked as a good use case for this product.

                  But it is yet another, practical, real-world application for which you have nothing other than Automatic Gainsaying as a "Response".

                  Yes, it is a real-world application. I didn't say there were none. However, no, it is not practical. Otherwise, it would have been a good use case.

          • Virtual tourism

            No one cares.

            immersive sports watching

            No, not really.

            large multi-screen desktop on airplane

            Boring and unnecessary.

            live product demos

            If the product isn't in my hands, it's not different than being on any other screen.

            virtual real estate

            Scam, because real estate, in general, is a scam (in the US) and still not even 1% as good as being in person.

            These aren't good use cases. These use cases don't even significantly improve over current methods. At best, the use of a VR headset gives you more privacy when doing any of these particular activities, but it doesn't improve these activities in any way. If privacy while doing these activities is your biggest thing, then great, I cannot argue, but that isn't what you presented to us.

            That isn't an Argument, it's merely Contradiction!

        • >> Virtual tourism, immersive sports watching, large multi-screen desktop on airplane, live product demos, virtual real estate, etc.
          All of this has been demonstrably moot.
          >> porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn
          Now that's a use case.
          Does apple already allow it ?

          • >> Virtual tourism, immersive sports watching, large multi-screen desktop on airplane, live product demos, virtual real estate, etc.
            All of this has been demonstrably moot.
            >> porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn, porn
            Now that's a use case.
            Does apple already allow it ?

            Since they are just Websites, Someone will create a viewer to translate some of the many! already-existing content soon enough.

            Afterall, Apple already allows Adult-Oriented Apps like Grindr, Tinder, etc. So, if it's just a Viewer for a particular web-based CODEC, how does that run afoul of Apple's App Store TOS?

            Answer: It doesn't.

        • The only one of those things which is even close to compelling is large video screen. Not the multiple desktops on a plane thing, that's an absurd niche application. Just being able to watch a movie on a big virtual screen. Problem is, Sony has been selling that since 1996, and you can now get 1080p video glasses for $500.

          All that other shit is stuff people might do with a device they were already buying for another purpose. Even the video glasses market is pretty much restricted to frequent fliers.

      • There isn't a better VR headset out there.

        It still doesn't do anything I want done.

        It's a solution looking for a problem, and the only problem it can find is that Appletards have too much money.

        And so, in typical, narcissistic, Slashdotter-fashion, what doesn't work for you Could Not BBC Possibly work for someone else, right?

        Pathetic and Juvenile.

    • >> There isn't a better VR headset out there.
      Sure, but nobody cares.

      >> I have one, no way I am returning it.
      That is a non-clever mistake. In a short time scale, the thing will be gathering dust somewhere in your home.
      hint : it's an expensive ornament.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Out of interesting, what do you use it for?

      Also, what does Alien Vs. Predator have to do with anything???

    • by BigZee ( 769371 )
      Your implication that Apple has somehow got a lead on other manufacturers is wrong. Meta is probably the most experienced and knowledgeable of the current generation of people developing VR headsets. I do accept that Apple is trying to develop new markets for this sort of thing but I seriously would question if that market really exists or will ever exist in sufficient numbers. As to Meta, I've no doubt they could produce a headset and s/w that would be a close competitor to the vision pro and it would be f
    • I have one, no way I am returning it. There isn't a better VR headset out there.

      I am VERY interested in VR/AR. I gave up Apple well over a decade ago. Forever.

      It is a shame such tech is buried beneath an unappealing relationship with Apple.

  • by MpVpRb ( 1423381 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @01:18PM (#64251728)

    ...well funded VR projects for major corporations
    VR is hard. Even if you believe it's hard, it turns out to be harder
    The pundits, hypemongers and marketoids have been pushing a fantasy for years, the reality is more sobering
    A desktop monitor or multi monitor rig with keyboard and mouse is the only way to do serious work
    Games might be fun on the headset, and there may be other specialized uses, like movies on an airplane, but I can't imagine using one in place of a nice large monitor in my home office or theater

    • If it had the same form factor and weight as the Bigscreen Beyond you would.

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      More like decades. I remember shutter-glasses for the Atari ST and stuff like that. Never amounted to anything, but was always hyped to high heaven.

      • I remember shutter glasses, too (on the SGI for me). They were damn near useless. Remember the Virtualboy? That also flopped hard. It's been the same story every since. The "visionaries" talk about having a Minority Report GUI while the actual gear falls flat on it's face.
        • by gweihir ( 88907 )

          Indeed. There is something that makes people deeply want this stuff. Enough are stupid enough to make some nice business with gear that does not deliver on the promises. This is a scam that can be run again every 5-10 years and there are always enough suckers around.

    • ...well funded VR projects for major corporations
      VR is hard. Even if you believe it's hard, it turns out to be harder
      The pundits, hypemongers and marketoids have been pushing a fantasy for years, the reality is more sobering
      A desktop monitor or multi monitor rig with keyboard and mouse is the only way to do serious work
      Games might be fun on the headset, and there may be other specialized uses, like movies on an airplane, but I can't imagine using one in place of a nice large monitor in my home office or theater

      Have you tried it?

      You may be surprised.

    • ...well funded VR projects for major corporations
      VR is hard. Even if you believe it's hard, it turns out to be harder
      The pundits, hypemongers and marketoids have been pushing a fantasy for years, the reality is more sobering
      A desktop monitor or multi monitor rig with keyboard and mouse is the only way to do serious work
      Games might be fun on the headset, and there may be other specialized uses, like movies on an airplane, but I can't imagine using one in place of a nice large monitor in my home office or theater

      This looks promising for multi-monitor replacement:

      https://www.reddit.com/r/Visio... [reddit.com]

      Look for this to be rolled-into visionOS in 3. . .2. . .1

  • by awwshit ( 6214476 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @01:19PM (#64251736)

    Thing is too bulky during sex and falls off. Besides, there is no Shallow Hal mode, it is not making my GF look hotter.

  • by RazorSharp ( 1418697 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @01:23PM (#64251754)

    Some hot new thing that costs a bunch of money is likely to have a high return rate. You can stick it on a credit card, use it for a couple weeks, and then return it. Liberal return policies have really been a race to the bottom that makes these situations inevitable.

    However, it is also probably true that many people thought they were buying something amazing and quickly discovered that it is a gimmick. Even if this becomes a successful product in the long term, I suspect AR will have to discover more use cases, first.

    In what way would this device make my life easier? I remember when my grandfather replaced his typewriter with a Macintosh. Copy and paste alone changed everything. When I got an iPod it replaced a cumbersome load of CDs that were fragile and inconvenient. iPads make long trips with small children bearable and replaced large POS systems. If this thing is to succeed beyond niche, it needs to have a transformative use case.

    • by keltor ( 99721 ) *
      I suspect that even if this thing were the ACTUAL bee's knees, it would have a high return rate. New laptops also have high return rates. There was a rumor that the first M1s had super high return rates at some stores, like 33%+.
      • by teg ( 97890 )

        I suspect that even if this thing were the ACTUAL bee's knees, it would have a high return rate. New laptops also have high return rates. There was a rumor that the first M1s had super high return rates at some stores, like 33%+.

        Source? That sounds unlikely, for almost all users the new M1s were exactly like the old ones - just with a lot better performance and longer battery life. They didn't change the designs. Unless you ran virtual machines like me, you wouldn't miss out on anything you had either.

  • by MindPrison ( 864299 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @01:31PM (#64251776) Journal

    Just look at youtube the last few weeks, every single youtube video is a repeat of itself, same experience, same amazement over some tech demos.

    Fun until it just ain't and reality sets in, there just isn't enough stuff to use it, or even have fun with it. Sure, I can buy the "cinema" experience, it's gotta be grand for that, but it cost over 3 grand and that only makes it an expensive showoff piece, which is good enough for some, but not for most.

    Take the nearest competitor which ofc. is the Quest series. Sure, no one is playing in the Metaverse, but that's not even it, it got SteamVR, it's got Bigscreen for movie experiences, and the resolution is good enough for the same entertainment value the 7 x pricier competition have with much less FOV and smaller lenses.

    Just to make things worse, it's front heavy WITHOUT a battery in it, and you're tethered to a battery to boot, with a cable strap down your body, not most peoples idea of fun, its cumbersome, it will always remind you that you're not in a different place, much like the first generation of HTC Vive did with is clunky headset and cables you needed to untwirl every 5 minutes.

    And despite it's relatively heavy processing power, it's nowhere near powerful enough to handle VR with that insane resolution, this was the problem that the Pimax series with 8K resolution suffered, there's STILL not enough computer power in a Desktop to handle that kind of resolution, the way Apple solves it is by blurring the things you don't look at, hence lowering the resolution and polygonal details.

    And the last but most important thing, Quest has built up an entire ecosystem around their platform, and they're open to other players such as Microsoft and Steam VR, with Xbox support, All the thousands of VR games from Steam VR and Meta-store together is enough to make it a viable entertaining long-term platform.

    Apples closed ecosystem and draconian demands from their developers and "partners" - not so much. It was doomed to be a showpiece where Apple "went there" tried that, and kinda wonders where it will go, but still - closed and restricted.

    They would have had a winning chance if they opened up to the entire world, and included a few controllers to open up to Games, but Games isn't Apples thing, theyr'e so "oooh serious", and that's fine, it's a niché to be "serious only", it will sell - but the Vision Pro won't because it's embarking on an area that ALREADY is very niché, and took over 8 years to build up from scratch. And you don't built that up by starting off "closed" to the rest of the world.

  • The biggest usecases for these kinds of headsets are all AR ... but they are too scared to let any third parties develop AR beyond the trivial.

    Meta too, HTC too. Lenovo ThinkReality VRX seems the only headset of this kind which allows third party access to the cameras.

  • by King_TJ ( 85913 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @01:35PM (#64251796) Journal

    I've mentioned this sentiment in other Slashdot threads before. I was really into the Mac back around 2001. That's when I first took a job with a small business where the owner was a Mac guy, and was trying to start a business refurbishing older Macs to repurpose as "first computers for kids". (It helped that he already owned a chain of daycare centers, so he wanted to put rows of these machines in each one of them, all pre-loaded with kids' educational titles and games.)

    At that time, my only Mac experience was a brief stint with a Performa tower I bought at OfficeMax (probably around 1997) to learn what Apple was doing/selling. Since that was probably Apple Computer's low point, what I got was really an inferior machine to the Windows PC I'd been used to using. I did get to learn my way around MacOS 8.6 at least, and I liked a few of the applications it ran. But I wound up reselling it in less than a year.

    But I realized I *loved* what Steve Jobs had done to the company. Gutted the ENTIRE product line and started over, with OS X as the new operating system. Of course, these "vintage" Macs we were refurb-ing weren't that exciting by comparison. But we were basically turning them into kiosks anyway, with a menu launcher that only let kids run the choices we put on it. It was the newer OS X machines the owner had in the office and let me use that got me hooked.

    I saved up and bought a G4 MDD (mirrored drive door) Mac which was the highest-end machine Apple really sold at that time, and was off and running with it. Soon, I resold that and got a G5 tower, when those launched. And I've been primarily a Mac user at home ever since. Apple has had their good products and bad over the years, since then. (They still can't make a decent mouse, to be honest. But who cares when there are plenty of third party alternatives and they don't cost a lot?)

    So, fast-forward to recent years? Yeah, this whole "Post Steve Jobs" Mac era feels like the company has been re-imagined as a consumer electronics and media business that just happens to keep selling computers too. I keep telling myself I'm going to dump my Macs and go back to Windows and Linux (where applicable), and be done with them. (I dislike their "woke" political leanings too -- but that's always defined the brand/company since day 1, so not a reason to suddenly get upset with them about. I remember years back, even Rush Limbaugh was a Mac user and advocate. He used to say, "Hey, you have to spend your money on the company that makes the products you like, even if you don't like their politics." I think he was right about that.)

    But the whole ecosystem they built is really pretty useful and hard to let go of, at least in my experience. I've got their watch and use CarPlay with custom stereos in 2 of my vehicles that were designed to use it. I have the iPhone as well, and rely on iCal for my calendar appointments/scheduling. I used to use HomeKit for my home automation too -- but that's an area where Apple really just didn't keep up with the competition. So now I have all of that using Alexa instead. Technically less secure, but I've never had hackers that interested in turning my lights on and off....

    All of this "rambling" is to say, yeah - I've got a decent amount of Mac experience. And I can say the new product launches are largely "duds" vs what Apple used to hype up and release to great fanfare. The iPod really improved on something people were already wanting and trying to do; carry a lot of music around in their pocket on a device that could play it all back easily, and without eating tons of batteries doing it. The VR headset is an attempt to convince us we want/need something very few of us were clamoring for to begin with. And the people giving Apple the benefit of the doubt and paying this much for one are just your typical early adopters who don't want to be left out, in case it's the next big thing. Guess what? It's not.

    • Yeah, this whole "Post Steve Jobs" Mac era feels like the company has been re-imagined as a consumer electronics and media business that just happens to keep selling computers too.

      Actually, the start of Apple becoming a consumer electronics company began under Jobs. It was the moment hell froze over. [zdnet.com] If you didn't view Apple with rose-colored glasses during Apple's "return of Jobs" period, it would've seemed inevitable that they'd eventually have to take a new direction to continue to stay relevant. When Jobs returned to Apple, PCs were rapidly getting better, cheaper, and Windows was becoming more reliable. Apple's response to that was to offer underpowered machines barely capab

    • Interesting post. I personally have a different experience. I watched as Jobs re-joined Apple and welded FreeBSD, Mach, and the NeXT API into OSX. I saw him as a pretty looney salesperson (Woz was the real tech-brains behind Apple, IMO). I thought OSX was interesting at first, but turns out they didn't embrace The UNIX Philosophy very well and they were just pantomiming Open Source (anyone remember Darwin?).

      Don't get me wrong. I still think they made some decent hardware, but I owned Several 68k System 7
      • Interesting post. I personally have a different experience. I watched as Jobs re-joined Apple and welded FreeBSD, Mach, and the NeXT API into OSX.

        Maybe you should have watched something that actually happened. NeXTStep already was based on BSD and Mach. OSX was just NeXTStep fucked over a bit here and there; inferior display PDF to display PS, inferior implementation of the Dock with icons wandering around instead of being in predictable locations, etc. Apple fans ate it up while Linux users were underwhelmed.

    • by Kiliani ( 816330 )

      Reminds me of myself ... I got into Macs purchased with my own money once OSX appeared and the Macs both did things I could not easily do in Linux at that time (e.g., video) and they became useful as *nix-like boxes. Still true today, though I only have use for some Apple products (laptops, large screen iPad, and Minis). I also still chuckle that RAM aside (come on Apple, gimme RAM!), my M1 MacBook Air "test purchase" still blows my tricked out i9 Pro laptop out of the water most of the time. I actually ne

    • Which recent product launches did you not like then? AirPods? The watch? They donâ(TM)t release that many products. Your post was a whole lot of rambling and personal anecdote just to say you didnâ(TM)t like the commercials for a single product.

  • by Press2ToContinue ( 2424598 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @02:00PM (#64251876)
    They are disorienting and make you vulnerable to unanticipated changes in the physical space around you. This is stressful on a subconscious and -for many- also on a conscious level.

    There are many people who just would never wear one for these reasons alone.
  • Heavy? (Score:5, Funny)

    by CmdrPorno ( 115048 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @02:09PM (#64251896)

    You're wearing it wrong.
    Sincerely,
    Steve Jobs

    • Jobs would not have let this front heavy cable attached abomination out of the door. He chased perfection.

  • I've been following this one and I see a lot of younger people compare it to the first gen iPhone, but I think the Newton is a better example. The hardware just wasn't ready to deliver the product in a way that people would make part of their daily lives.

  • by LordHighExecutioner ( 4245243 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @02:20PM (#64251932)
    ...they saw this [slashdot.org].
  • by PPH ( 736903 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @02:39PM (#64252006)

    ... double vision [slashdot.org].

  • by organgtool ( 966989 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @03:36PM (#64252142)

    Vision Pro loyalists stress that the current model is only the first generation. It will get better in time.

    The hardware that you just paid $3,500+ for will not get better - the next generation of that hardware, which will likely cost another $3,500+ for might be better. That's not very reassuring to your current customers. Worse yet, this mentality could induce the Osborne Effect among potential consumers. Of course, Apple can weather that better than most, but it makes the future of this device even less certain, which is bad for getting third-party devs to commit.

    Don't forget, they say, that the original iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch had their quirks too. If the headset feels too heavy, you're wearing it wrong. The narrower-than-expected field of view and glare? That's normal. Now, it's true that Apple's earlier first-generation products had their issues. The initial iPhone couldn't connect to 3G networks and lacked the App Store or even the ability to cut and paste. The iPad didn't have multitasking. The original Apple Watch was too sluggish and wasn't waterproof.

    The biggest thing that will determine the future of the Vision Pro is the apps. At the moment, there aren't that many apps made specifically for a "spatial computing" experience. Instead, most of the apps are iPad apps which display inside the headset. To compound this issue, the Vision Pro is much more expensive than the other products listed and its future is far less certain. Combine that with how much more difficult it is to create a compelling app experience in VR than it is on a tablet or watch, and it's not clear if this thing will break the chicken-and-egg dilemma of having few apps due to a small userbase and having a small userbase due to few apps.

    But I don't think anyone complained that those devices were too cumbersome, an actual pain to use or too expensive to justify keeping.

    Indeed - this device is very unique with a very tall number of obstacles to overcome. If successful, Apple could have one of its biggest success stories since the iPad. On the other hand, they could also have one of the single biggest flops in the company's history. One of the few things left that I like about Apple is that they don't half-ass things - they're in all the way and there's little room for lukewarm receptions.

  • by kencurry ( 471519 ) on Monday February 19, 2024 @04:06PM (#64252244)
    Apple wants to position this tech as AR because it has pass thru video, but Vision Pro doesn't deliver as usable consumer AR(I am going by thorough Verge review BTW.)

    I had Google Glass back in the day, and I thought this would be the right direction for AR. You interacted with your local environment with your own vision (and other senses) which felt natural. They were light weight, wearable, and although "glasshole" comments were the rage, think how out-of-touch you will look with the Vision Pro on, and even weirder with those fake eyes up front.

    The Glass screen, up and to the right (right eye only) would give you meta-data on the real-world scene in front of you. Would have been awesome if it could do facial recognition on whom you were talking to and put up their name and brief bio. Or put up simple directions for the appliance your about to use, or helpful hints on the SW you are using. Huge bonus, the screen could be focused for far-sighted eyes without needing reading-glasses (I think this alone would give this tech a big and growing market.) Problem was that battery life sucked. Support sucked. Google had something but fumbled it.
    • Google had a decent idea, but like Apple, moved too soon before they could execute it. Glass needed to be invisible. Instead, Glass users looked like big dorks. And here Apple is repeating the same stupid mistake, thereby proving that they do not in fact understand style — which people believed was their competitive advantage. But Apple was doing nothing revolutionary when they created the iPhone, as proven by the fact that LG got to market with a smartphone with rounded corners and rows of icons befo

  • This Article tends to disagree with TFS, stating that Returns of the Vision Pro are about on par with any new Apple Product, and seem to be lower than Apple figured it would be.

    https://appleinsider.com/artic... [appleinsider.com]

  • EVERY new product to hit the market wll get some returns. What are the stats? 0.1% of people returning it is a lot different than say, 10%.

    Also IIRC Apple had a 10 day "like it or return it" policy, so I'd imagine there's also going to be a chunk of people that had NO intention of keeping it and just wanted one to play with a little bit when it came out.

  • But for Apple it's a cheap way of advertising their product.

  • I think this device is for developers and early adapters. Probably a lot of tech companies are looking into this device and seeing what new immersion level they can create for the wearers.

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