Apple introduces its first data glasses. CEO Tim Cook spoke of a “revolutionary product”. But not everyone is convinced of Vision Pro’s commercial prospects.
It’s Apple’s first new product category since the Apple Watch, which launched in 2014: At last night’s Apple developer conference WWDC, CEO Tim Cook unveiled his first watch, called the Vision Pro, to the public. Data glasses, Apple as much as want to build a new computer platform.
Apple Glasses said to cost $3,500
Visually, the Vision Pro is reminiscent of futuristic ski goggles, and Apple itself is serious about calling it a “portable ambient computer.” The headset can show digital objects in the real environment on its display. The environment is captured by a camera on the shell and reproduced on a display in front of your eyes – a principle also adopted by the game. The glasses have 23 million pixels on both screens — more than the resolution of a 4K TV for each eye.
At $3,500, Apple Glass is significantly more expensive than competing devices. According to Bank of America expert Wamsi Mohan, analysts on average expected a price cut of $3,000. For comparison: Facebook group Meta, formerly the market leader in VR headsets, last week presented its new model, the Meta Quest 3 – priced at 570 euros.
Apple Glasses Rely on Cables
Apple Glass is controlled through gestures, voice and eye movements. You’ll need a cable to use it, though, because Apple has outsourced the battery to keep the glasses’ weight down. Vision Pro is unlocked by human eye recognition, so users can also release saved passwords for online services.
An unusual feature of the device is a display on the front that shows the user’s eyes when other people are nearby. Vision Pro then appears transparent.
Tim Cook: Vision Pro is a ‘revolutionary product’
“We believe Apple Vision Pro is a revolutionary product,” said CEO Tim Cook. He firmly believes the device will change the way people communicate and collaborate. In the US, the device will launch early next year.
Apple sees a possible use for Vision Pro at work, after all, you can use it to display many large virtual displays in your field of view. Another application should be entertainment on the go with large format video. The Disney+ streaming service will be available on Vision Pro from the start.
doubts about business prospects
Critics, however, point out that Apple Group may have had bad timing. After all, Apple entered the market at a time when the ephemeral hype around virtual worlds and the object business had apparently died down and everything seemed to revolve around artificial intelligence.
According to US media reports, some top executives of Apple are not optimistic about the business prospects of computer glasses. In fact, the VR glasses business is far smaller than the smartphone market so far. Market researchers at IDC believe that sales of VR and AR headsets will only reach 10 million units by 2023. By comparison: Last year, more than 1.2 billion smartphones were sold worldwide.
Apple stock hits record high
Despite the uncertain outlook for the data glasses business, Apple shares rose to an all-time high of $184.95 at the start of the WWDC developer conference, but retreated during the session on profit-taking.
The tech giant’s stock market capitalization is approaching the $3 trillion mark. There is no more valuable company in the world. Along with hitting new all-time highs, Apple stock is also giving off one of the best buy signals technical analysis has to offer.