There’s little doubt that Apple sees the launch of “spatial computing” as its next big thing. And it has obviously invested heavily in the development of the Vision Pro. When we look at the hardware, we can see the fingerprints of the decade or more of Apple innovation all over it. From the Digital Crown, to the style of the buttons, the camera technology and the visionOS operating system all have their starts in other Apple devices.
But unlike almost every other product launch of the last decade, Apple has not started with a simpler version of its vision. The first iPhone was missing lots of important features (like copy/paste, the App Store, different size options, etc) that were added over time. Originally there was just one iPad – now there are four variants catering for different consumer categories. But the Vision Pro comes in one version – and its an all you can eat Pro version.
Here’s the thing though. We are about six months from a commercial release – assuming it happens on the timeline Apple suggested at WWDC 2023. Apple generally sticks to these timelines although the Mac Pro is about two years late and the AirPower charging mat – well, that one never even saw light of day. Apple will be carefully listening to and reading the feedback coming from the market. Remember, this is no longer Steve Jobs’ Apple where market research counted for nought.
Apple has evolved to become a consumer electronics company. There was a time when it was happy selling higher cost (and higher margin) items to a small but profitable customer cohort. But Apple today counts its quarterly revenues in the tens of billions of dollars. It is very much a mass market, albeit dearer-than-most, consumer electronics company.
And that’s what makes me think we only saw one of the products Apple will release next year. The Vision Pro will come and be priced at the USD$3,500 they suggested. That will be close to $6,000 Aussie dollars once you factor in conversions and GST.
Either at release, or within six months, Apple will release a lower cost version of the Vision Pro. I doubt the Vision Pro will require an external battery pack like the one demonstrated at WWDC 2023. And the meagre two-hour battery life will be doubled by the time of release.
We’ll also see a second headset come to market quickly. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll call it the Vision. That will give Apple a “good” and “best” product differentiation that will attract customers with a lower cost option. It will probably have an external battery pack and might use lower cost materials to differentiate it. By then, the M3 processor will be available with the Vision staying with an M2 and the Vision Pro getting a boost to an M3.
Apple showed us a vision of the Vision Pro at WWDC 2023. By the time the device is actually released, they’ll switch out what we saw and bring to market a more refined product with a lower cost option for those that can’t afford or justify the Pro-level investment.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.