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Apple’s first VR headset reportedly includes a fabric design, a fan, and expensive price tag. Will focus on gaming / video content
- Thread starter Kolx
- Start date
Of course it will. Though a bit easier to justify in a space with PSVR
While the bolded is true, its also because they're the only monolithic corporation big enough to confidently run a razors and blades model on something so niche. The Quest 2 is awesome and their investment in putting out an affordable, portable, untethered device that's this good has established them as a leader in the space IMO.
Apple are another big enough to do it, but it sounds like they're going for something much more premium.
I trust Apple has high potential to explore and innovate in the VR lands, though I'll probably never gonna own their headset. Can't wait to see what they're up to
Very and very. Don't look Apple's way for either openness or affordability.
Yeah I was mostly thinking about that with the combination of a high price tag will be a bummer.
Given the lousy sales figures quoted in that article (1 per day per store), sounds like expensive and designer even by Apple standards.
And you can't really say it's super niche anymore, because Quest had decent sales and Quest 2 has smashed past those figures. VR has really begun getting traction. 200,000 units is indicative of a super niche product.
if you want VR to be mass market, you want this to be good
yea it'll be expensive and out of the price range of many users, but it'll set a high standard for usability and desirability that other companies will try and match at a lower price. If anyone can solve VR that appeals to the masses - even if they can't all afford it - it's Apple. They don't innovate so much as solve an existing idea to take it over the finish line of mass acceptance.
just things like the approach to wireless, convenience, form factor, style. I expect it to go well beyond what Quest is doing. Should be simple and work really well.
Might have a dumb case tho
yea it'll be expensive and out of the price range of many users, but it'll set a high standard for usability and desirability that other companies will try and match at a lower price. If anyone can solve VR that appeals to the masses - even if they can't all afford it - it's Apple. They don't innovate so much as solve an existing idea to take it over the finish line of mass acceptance.
just things like the approach to wireless, convenience, form factor, style. I expect it to go well beyond what Quest is doing. Should be simple and work really well.
Might have a dumb case tho
No strong feelings on Apple's approach, but someone other than Facebook trying to make mass market VR is important if you care about it existing long term. Facebook ain't gonna just keep making Quests for fun.
Probably for comfort, and to reduce moisture/sweat build up in and around the unit. Which might be particularly welcome if the materials are very fabric-y. Not for cooling the SoC.
Could also possibly use it to simulate wind-like effects against your face.
Wholehearted agreement.
Also, Apple is peerless in chip design. Regardless of whether the headset is successful, it will likely set a standard for tailor-made AR/VR processing.
Agreed, we need technology to advance, costs to reduce, and API/protocols to homogenize enough until an Oculus-like device gets to 150, which would be a reasonable price for a "fancy controller". Also, I wonder if Xbox will ever have support for VR games, since things don't get mass market until don't hit consoles typically. But last time I checked, at some point last year, Phil said they're not gonna support it because it's not as simple as adding compatibility to a new device, he kind of hinted that'd you'd need to consider the possibility of adding such kind of input devices from the get go (design stage maybe?).
I think that with Apple Arcade, Apple has shown that they have the ability to work with excellent devs and get excellent results. Not too worried about their ability to continue that with VR.
In sales? Absolutely.
In quality and performance? Dem apple chips gonna set a new standard for mobile VR.
Same. I think Apple can influence the AR world dramatically with glasses.
People hate on Apple but fail to realize that they control a large part of the tech culture landscape and how products are "accepted" by the general public.
I'm all for them shooting for the moon and trying to significantly upgrade the user experience.
I probably won't buy one myself till years later when they go way down in price or all the best new features get copied by others, but Apple may as well try and bring in a whole new VR audience by trying something new.
I probably won't buy one myself till years later when they go way down in price or all the best new features get copied by others, but Apple may as well try and bring in a whole new VR audience by trying something new.
quest and quest 2 both have fans. If you're trying to get the most from low wattage SoC it can run hot. Even noticeable - in quiet moments you can hear it kick in
Whichever it is, the last thing that VR headset market needs is another set reversing the trend of falling prices.
Although Apple has a knack for getting people to pay a ton more than they otherwise would for other products so who knows...
They are more focused on AR for sure, but VR is a requirement for Apple and any other competitors, as it's a spectrum. AR and VR are twin technologies and go hand in hand.
Obviously Facebook has failed at comfort. But I think people are setting themselves up for real disappointment if they're expecting this to crush what Facebook is doing.
Quest 2 is light years beyond any other HMD (including the over-hyped Index). I know a lot of people can't get themselves past Facebook, but their engineering division is absolutely amazing. They're spending billions per year on R&D and it shows. Also shows in all the people they've hired over the years. If you ever remotely dabbled in that field, the vast majority have been employed by Facebook at one point or another.
I don't think a lot of people understand just how far beyond Facebook is over everyone else in this field. And I'm sure we'll see Quest 3 in 2022. I'm also quite certain they'll have hand/body tracking be a thing with the next iteration too. I expected upgraded cameras for Q2 (since we knew their were controllers floating about that supported them), but you can book it for Q3.
And a lot of this stuff can only be refined with real world usage in high volume. I think it's completely absurd to expect V1 to compete with Q3 in the tracking realm. I think Apple will be good, and probably have a more exotic screen, but people shouldn't expect something that blows Q3 out of the water. Because there will still be areas Q3 is still better. Just because it's been on the market so many years and keeps using that data to refine things.
The AR capabilities of this device (assuming they've nailed it) will be far better than any AR glasses they release in the next 5 years or even beyond.
Passthrough AR is going to be leagues better than seethrough AR for a long, long time.
Performance will go to Apple mobile wise but it will lag behind what quest can do connected to a PC.
Content wise it will be no contest. Quest by an absolute mile.
Rumors have suggested for a while that the Apple headset will have 4K per eye and a very powerful chip. I think from a pure specs standpoint, it will probably not be beaten by Facebook in the same year, just because Apple are going to price this at a premium.
That said, I imagine that Facebook Reality Labs is ahead of Apple in VR R&D for the important things that need solving beyond just specs. Maybe - Apple are very secretive so we'll see.
There's limits what you can do. 4k per eye means increased batterry use, weight and heat.
I wouldn't make that assumption so quickly. If Apple can make a product sufficiently compelling, there is a whole bunch of app store devs that will be looking to augment their apps to function in or with VR functionality. Apple could quickly overtake Quest and everyone else in volume of content available. Like, in less than 12 months.
Underestimating Apple's ability to make content available for their platforms is the height of foolsihness. As for connection options, there is no reason at this time to assume that the device could not connect to computers.
Apple selling an expensive VR headset? Surprise of the year...
You can bet your ass that consumers will lap this shit up, just like they do with every new iPhone.
You can bet your ass that consumers will lap this shit up, just like they do with every new iPhone.
Fair enough yeah. I have to admit I have not looked at Apple Arcade much
It doesn't mean increased weight, unless they utilize a bigger battery for that very reason. It's possible that they internally render at a lower resolution or use some optimization tricks - foveated rendering, maybe? Who knows.
Sure, it's going to draw more power faster without any tricks used, but no standalone VR headset is intended to be an all-day device yet. People aren't going to be asking for a 10 hour battery life until headsets are a lot smaller.
I imagine with VR being as small a market as it is, all devs would be on board with porting their software unless there is an exclusivity agreement. Plus there's that idea that Apple customers are willing to buy more content.
hell yeah
"the best, or nothing" - the benz folk had it right
There is a reason the App Store gets Premium software over Android - Apple users spend the most on apps
I personally don't have a ton of faith in anything Apple gaming related. Their stance on backwards compatibility and the tepid reception of Apple Arcade to me shows they aren't all that serious about getting as involved as Facebook, Sony, or Valve are.
Plus unlike the Quest this thing probably won't be able to play PC VR games, and I seriously doubt that Mac VR games are going to suddenly take off. As a result this thing will probably be a Quest competitor priced like the Index without the library to back it up.
This too. I'm sure the chip will be a beast but if they can't get the price down over subsequent generations I don't see a future for it.
Plus unlike the Quest this thing probably won't be able to play PC VR games, and I seriously doubt that Mac VR games are going to suddenly take off. As a result this thing will probably be a Quest competitor priced like the Index without the library to back it up.
This too. I'm sure the chip will be a beast but if they can't get the price down over subsequent generations I don't see a future for it.
