It's absolutely possible. But millions of people had strong reasons to use iPhones even before there were any apps, and then also before the apps were plentiful or compelling.
The customers were already there.
The challenge Apple faces with AVP is getting enough people to buy (and keep using) a device type that they weren't already buying (headsets), which is VERY expensive and limited, to accumulate enough customers for the content and software ecosystem to develop. https://mas.to/@DrewTheLoud/112276696057829298
@marcoarment@DrewTheLoud They do have a bootstrapping problem, but it's probably tough to negotiate the deals without showing off the device. I bet you could map it out by looking at the broadcast negotiations. NBA is going to expire soon, there's the 2026 World Cup, etc.
@marcoarment "(and keep using)" does a lot of work here. Apple is so big and powerful that can make linen boat shoes and outsell Timberland in a week. But they can't make people use something that has no clear purpose.
From what I can gather from all those who bought one is that the main challenge is finding a reason to pick it up. As great as a lot of it may be or may not be, most people just stop using it after a while.
I met two or three "But I use it every day!" exceptions.
@reichenstein@marcoarment I feel guilty when I don’t use my gaming handhelds in a while. But even combined they’re a fraction of an AVP. I can’t imagine buying 3.5k of kit and only picking it up now and again.
@marcoarment@DrewTheLoud VR headsets have been around for a while.. and people have made content for them.. and there are 3 things that have found a market: games, fitness-as-a-game & 3D video (almost exclusively of the “prurient” kind).
AVP is bad at games (no controllers), fitness (too heavy) and .. well.. hand tracking.. 😱
@marcoarment@DrewTheLoud
The first iPhone was awesome despite its many limitations. First usable mobile web browser. First usable AND free mobile street maps and directions (including wifi-based approximate location while indoors.) Visual voicemail. Not to mention the eagerly anticipated “wide screen iPod” and the delightful touch UI. Even the fact that you didn't have to pay for ringtones was revolutionary.
@marcoarment problem is, people don't want to use VR helmets. That's the whole problem right there. You want to use your phone and it's easy, but VR/AR are cumbersome, strenuous and AVP has actual zero killer use cases.
@marcoarment@DrewTheLoud I wanted an iPhone immediately. I might consider maybe looking into possibly getting an AVP … in a few years. Not even following it all that much, there’s no point for me personally. They’re completely different kinds of things.
@marcoarment Lots of people forget that initially, the iPhone “2G” cost $500 in a time where most people were accustomed to getting their phones free from their carrier. It wasn’t until Apple lowered the price to $199 a while later that sales really began to take off.
In a world of ~$500 mainstream headsets, I suspect the Apple Vision Pro is in dire need of that same moment.
@brianhough@marcoarment I think it is misguided to make any comparisons between the iPhone and the AVP. Apple cut the price of the OG iPhone to $400 two months after it went on sale and the iPhone 3G, which launched with an App Store (a much bigger sales driver than price cut), came out at the $199/$299 price 12 months later.
I agree with you that AVP needs to be priced well to move, but I disagree that we can or should compare it to the iPhone, which launched 17 years earlier, in any way.
@film_girl@marcoarment I totally agree that the trajectory will be totally different than the iPhone, in all likelihood - this is going to be a low volume product, probably forever. I think my main point was just that for the platform to take off in any manner, a price cut is almost certainly necessary
@brianhough@marcoarment yeah I fully agree with that, but I think even then, iPhone's price increases post iPhone 7 or so show that price isn't ever what was holding iPhone back. Apple had carrier exclusives for years (Verizon didn't get iPhone until 2011) and it was still putting BlackBerry, Palm, and Nokia out of business.
Even with an ecosystem, AVP would struggle, but I just don't think these are two comparable devices or ecosystems in any way, shape or form.
@film_girl@brianhough there's the fundamental problem with AVP that even when you do reserve the time and gather the willpower to strap it all on, which is a completely different usage than simply picking up a phone, there's still no killer use case that it does better than anything else. Great passthrough is cool but when there's nothing of note to add to it, what's the point?
@film_girl@brianhough Apple launched it without a story - they knew what the iPod, iPhone and iPad were, not to mention the Mac, and they told the audience. They don't know what AVP is, or decided not to tell anyone anyway.
@stooovie@brianhough the primary thing I would use it for would be as a home theater device. That experience is phenomenal, especially with 3D content. But that isn’t how it has been positioned. If it were sold as a home theater accessory for rich people, that would at least be honest. Instead, we’re all searching for something more to do with it.
@film_girl@brianhough right. Or a nice display but that's also not 100%. AFAIK there isn't much 3D content anymore, is there? I only have a lowly Meta Quest but at least that one has games.
@stooovie@film_girl@brianhough
I like the idea of simulating a theater movie-viewing experience even for non-3D content. But the cost, size, weight, and difficulty in sharing with others makes it unappealing for that purpose.
@film_girl@stooovie@brianhough
Even then, it will mainly appeal to the subset of the market that enjoys consuming content while isolated from others. This largely makes it a non-starter for couples, families, etc for that purpose. Also a bad time for media consumption when the quality of content is going downhill.
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