Apple made a bold move at its annual developer conference by unveiling its expensive augmented-reality headset, the Vision Pro, which marks its riskiest venture since the introduction of the iPhone over a decade ago. This entry puts Apple in direct competition with Meta, the dominant player in the market. Priced at $3,499, the Vision Pro is more than three times the cost of Meta’s priciest headset, positioning itself as a premium option. Apple highlighted the headset’s augmented reality features and its partnerships in sports and entertainment. The device incorporates a new chip called R1, which boasts lightning-fast processing speeds.
However, despite the anticipation, the announcements failed to excite Wall Street, and Apple’s stock remained largely unchanged. While some investors expect wealthy early adopters to embrace the Vision Pro, they acknowledge that it will take years before it becomes a mainstream product. Apple’s device allows users to interact with content using their eyes, fingers, and gestures while also capturing 3D videos and pictures. Unlike Meta’s headsets, the Vision Pro features an exterior display that shows the user’s eyes to people in the outside world, enhancing the augmented reality experience.
Apple plans to release the headset in the US early next year, with more countries following in 2024. As Apple enters the virtual reality market, investors are curious about the overlap between Apple’s strategy and Meta’s dominance, as Meta currently controls around 80% of the AR/VR device market. While Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, envisions a virtual world, Apple’s approach seems focused on augmenting the real world. The Vision Pro will be compatible with apps from Adobe, Microsoft, and Unity, and it will support Disney+ and Apple TV+ content.
In addition to Meta, other companies such as Sony and ByteDance-owned Pico also produce virtual reality devices, collectively selling 8.8 million headsets in 2022. Unity’s stock saw a significant surge after the announcement. While Apple didn’t unveil any major generative AI products, it introduced smaller AI-driven features, such as live transcriptions of voicemails. The company also showcased a new version of the Mac Pro, now powered by its own M2 Ultra chip, dropping Intel chips from its most powerful desktop.