Apple's announcement of their new mixed-reality headset was always going to be polarizing, as everyone wants to speculate if it will be a success or not. I didn't want to write a whole thing, but here are some quick gut-check thoughts:
- The market for this feels really small. It's too expensive for most younger people and too tech-oriented for most older people. This is likely what PCs seemed like in the early 90s. It's interesting that despite gaming (especially fitness gaming) being the only kind of moderate success VR has seen, it was barely a footnote in the presentation.
- It makes sense that Apple waited until it was as small as reasonably possible and the screen-door effect was addressable. It's smart that Apple focused on mixed-reality so they could address how anti-social VR can be in a way that a phone isn't. "EyeVision" is such an Apple thing, and I'm curious if it will pay off.
- The Apple Watch had no idea what it was supposed to be for years until they realized it was a health and safety product; this feels more opinionated. Overall, I'm skeptical but optimistic because Apple has a really good track record of jumping in at the right inflection point for niche tech to go mainstream.
- Apple has launched both a credit card and a pay later service, so there are ways to get this in the hands of people who otherwise can't afford it (not suggesting this is a good thing). I think/hope my gut skepticism is trumped by Apple research.