Yesterday Apple previewed its “Apple Vision Pro” at the Worldwide Developer Conference. Here are some reactions from industry experts:
Mytaverse co-founder and CEO Kenneth Landau: Today, I wouldn’t want to be one of the analysts who said the metaverse was doomed because of Facebook. Apple’s Vision Pro shows that the future of the Internet is 3D. Tim Cook cemented this theory when he compared Vision Pro to the next wave of computing, following the Mac and iPhone.
Some may say Vision Pro is just Google Glass or an Occulus, but those products weren’t as beautifully designed, and Vision Pro encompasses all aspects of computing. If, in the nineties, General Magic was the precursor to the iPhone, Google Glass was the precursor to Vision Pro.
Given the price tag, there are hurdles to companies replacing their computers with Vision Pro. After all, most computers didn’t switch to iPhones right away. Additionally, companies still use various hardware when it comes to both mobile and desktop devices. The same way you need Microsoft Word to operate on iOS and Microsoft, the metaverse will work across different hardware.
Mytaverse co-founder and CTO Jaime Lopez: The key phrase of the keynote was ‘familiar yet revolutionary. Previous headsets were difficult for consumers to use. Vision Pro perfectly balances a familiar UX reminiscent of the iPhone and a visionary new technology. It builds upon theories built by the metaverse industry over the past few years. It brings 3D assets into living rooms and workplaces and creates a 3D Internet.
This isn’t to say Vision Pro is perfect. The wire may prevent some users from purchasing the product, and the price tag will scare away many people. But Apple has a long history of lowering prices and making new hardware easier to use. Time will tell how Vision Pro changes the world.
Like the iPhone, its success will depend on the apps developers create. Luckily, companies like Mytaverse have been creating new metaverse technologies for several years.
(Mytaverse is building the Metaverse for enterprise. Founded in 2020 by Landau and Lopez, it’s a cloud-based platform that allows 3D-immersive, multiplayer workplace environments.)
From VRdirect (software company specializing in virtual reality solutions for businesses) founder and CEO Rolf Illenberger: It would be drastic to say that Apple Vision Pro will replace a computer or cellphone in the immediate future. But that day will happen soon (most likely starting with those who enjoy having a second or third monitor at their workstations). This announcement serves as a welcome bridge into the world of AR and VR by a company known for creating seamless, reliable, and integrated technology. They hit a home run today.
Apple Reality Pro’s biggest advantage is integration into the Apple ecosystem. The all-important ability to go from the iPhone, to iPad, to Apple Watch with a similar user-experience and low barrier to entry. Familiar, yet revolutionary, as the announcement put it. That’s why the VR community has been excited for this launch. That’s where we believe the potential exists to create believers in AR and VR headsets.
For VRdirect, an enterprise software developer at the forefront of utilizing VR for big-business, with clients like Siemens, Nestle and Porsche, Apple’s announcement only further solidifies a business demand that already exists by much of the Fortune 500.
The biggest companies in the world have all spent the last three years trying to ramp up and perfect their VR strategy, using the pandemic as a starting point. Now they have a piece of equipment that matches some of those behind-the-scenes conversations and planning.
Vision Pro also makes it truly easy for anyone to build a VR environment using VRdirect thanks to the device’s ability to capture and create content – a missing piece from existing devices in the market. We expect it to be a critical piece of equipment for any B2B VR/AR strategy in the short-term. Requiring no controllers and being able to be used by gestures is a killer advantage over other headsets as well.
