Henry Ford did not invent the car, but he did create a model that made the car affordable, useful, and accessible to the masses. He was also despicable racist and bigot, but that’s neither here nor there.
Nintendo didn’t create the first gaming console, but they did create a model that made gaming fun, endearing, and accessible to the masses. Now, they’re so successful that they can make a billion dollar movie as a side-project.
I make this point because technology and the products created from it don’t always become successful by their creators. Sometimes, an advancement is just not adequately refined, poorly marketed, or just too ahead of its time. We can never truly know if some new technology is ready for the mainstream until we have the benefit of hindsight.
With all this in mind, I’m still comfortable saying with confidence that Apple’s recently announced Apple Vision Pro will be a game-changer on so many levels. And a decade from now, when I might be writing something like this while using one, we may see this announcement as important as the original iPhone.
I know that sounds like me buying into mindless tech hype, which is something I’ve been guilty of before. I freely admit that I am not qualified to judge what technology is overhyped and what will truly change the world. So, do not take me as an expert in that regard.
However, I’ve seen enough major technological changes and overhyped failures in my lifetime to see certain patterns. And with the Apple Vision Pro, I genuinely believe this will change how we see computers, virtual reality, augmented reality, and reality in general.
For one, this is not Elon Musk claiming that we would have a full self-driving car by 2017. This is a real, tangible product created by Apple, a company with a proven track record of disrupting major areas of the tech industry for decades.
Apple didn’t invent the personal computer, but they were among the first to create a user-friendly model for the masses in the 1980s.
Apple didn’t invent the smartphone or the MP3 player, but they created products that were so superior to the competition that they fundamentally changed the industry around them. If you need proof, just try finding a Tower Records in your area.
This is not a company that regularly to create strange, ambitious products that the public has never seen before. This is a company that sees what’s going on within an emerging industry, poaches the talented individuals working in that industry, and creates a product that goes onto dominate that industry in its own unique way.
You can certainly make the case that Apple’s tactics in this endeavor aren’t always ethical. They’re a multi-billion-dollar tech company. You don’t have to look hard to uncover some of their less savory practices.
But when it comes to producing a product that works better than anything that came before it, Apple is second to none. And I’ve been hoping for years that someone would find a way to perfect the many flaws in the virtual reality and augmented reality fields.
I may be dating myself here, but I remember years ago when Nintendo tried to create a VR gaming console called the Virtual Boy. I even tried it at a toy store a few times. I thought it was amazing, even though it was uncomfortable at times and gave me a headache. I genuinely hoped it was the start of a new trend.
But it didn’t happen.
Over the years, other companies tried to make better VR and AR hardware. I’ve used products like the Oculus Rift and the Playstation VR headset. They’re both good, but limited. They don’t do much other than run a few niche programs and games.
But Apple’s Vision Pro promises to do so much more. It won’t just run a few distinct programs. It won’t just be a novelty meant for a few specific tasks. In the demonstration Apple released, this product promises to integrate multiple features from multiple fields, from the stuff you’d usually do on a desktop to immersive gaming to watching 4K video content.
Even if you’re very skeptical about VR and AR technology, you can’t deny that’s a very different approach compared to others in the field. And you also can’t deny that Apple has a proven track record of making clunky technology work.
Watching this demonstration, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to watch a football game with this thing. I also imagined what it would be like to play a game like Skyrim, interact with friends and family, or just relax in my bed while enjoying beautiful scenery and music.
I want to try this thing.
I want it to succeed on the same level as the iPad and iPhone, two products that have been a huge influence over my everyday life.
However, I’ll also go on record as saying that I probably won’t buy this first model and not just because the price tag is $3,500. But my reason for that has little to do with my faith in the technology or Apple. This is just how I usually approach embracing new tech gadgets, in general.
I was not among those to buy an iPod or iPhone when it first came out. That’s because I prefer to wait until the early kinks and bugs are worked out. And even for Apple’s most successful product line, there was a refinement period. Just go back and look at the features of the original iPhone. It was pretty limited in many ways. It also had its share of growing pains.
But over time, with further investment and refinement, it became more polished. By the time the third generation came along, it was so polished and so well-developed that that the value was immense, despite the inflated price. When I finally bought my first iPhone, it worked so well that it felt like a massive upgrade by default.
That’s what I hope will occur with the Apple Vision Pro. It may take several years. But eventually, it’ll get to a point where the software, the hardware, and the experience are such that it’ll exceed any alternative, present or future. When that time comes, I will gladly buy in.
Yes, I realize I may still end up paying a hefty price for the experience.
But if that experience means watching the Super Bowl in an immersive, 4K experience or reading comics on a screen that feels like IMAX, then I say that’s a price worth paying.
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