Opinion
Apple’s Vision Pro just isn’t visionary
by Samuel Buchmann
Steve Jobs tells me about Vision Pro
13.6.2023
Translation: Elicia Payne
What are Apple’s AR headsets supposed to be good for? The Apple founder unknowingly answered this question 18 years ago – which even to me, a sceptic, was convincing.
«Headphones are a miraculous thing. You put on a pair of headphones and you get the same experience you get with a great pair of speakers, right? There’s no such thing as headphones for video. There’s not something I can carry with me, that I can put on and it gives me the same experience I get when I’m watching my 50-inch plasma display at home. Until someone invents that, you’re gonna have these opposing constraints.»
The aforementioned excerpt can be found at 2:30 in the following video.
Makes sense! The Vision Pro is to video what headphones are to audio. Apple has built exactly what Jobs wanted in 2005: headphones for video.
The analogy is so simple and apt at the same time, making me less sceptical about the whole thing. Until now, I was unsure whether Apple’s entry into AR would be a success. Whether the Vision Pro solves a problem. It seemed technically revolutionary to me, but not visionary in its application:
The reason for this assessment the morning after the keynote presentation was Apple’s marketing. The Californians mainly showed the headset being used at home. People sitting in their living room watching a film on a virtual TV. People standing in their office and working on a virtual monitor. The Vision Pro is presented as a replacement. Headset instead of home cinema. Headset instead of computer.
Apple’s AR chief Mike Rockwell even justified the high price by saying, «If you purchased a new state-of-the-art TV, surround-sound system, powerful computer with multiple high-definition displays, high-end camera and more, you still would not have come close to what Vision Pro delivers.» With this explicit and unfortunate comparison, Apple shoots itself in the foot.
But the Vision Pro doesn’t have to be a replacement, just a supplement. The headset won’t shine for the private user at home, but on the go. For example, in situations which Apple presents as a side option at most, such as on a plane, in a hotel room or in a campervan.
The AR technology is supposed to be Apple CEO Tim Cook’s big hit. It therefore seems ironic that his predecessor Steve Jobs, of all people, introduces me to the Vision Pro. I wonder if Cook knows the interview excerpt? Surely he must. I wonder if the comparison Jobs made will find its way into a marketing campaign? Probably not. Wasted potential. I don’t need a replacement for my TV or monitor. Headphones for video I want, though.
Header image: Screenshot Apple Keynote
Samuel Buchmann
Senior Editor
Samuel.Buchmann@digitecgalaxus.chMy fingerprint often changes so drastically that my MacBook doesn't recognise it anymore. The reason? If I'm not clinging to a monitor or camera, I'm probably clinging to a rockface by the tips of my fingers.
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