Entrepreneurs developing augmented and virtual reality apps and games are optimistic that Apple’s new headset will turbocharge adoption of the technology, much like the iPhone did for mobile computing in 2007.
Apple unveiled the Apple Vision Pro on Monday after a lengthy development process. The new AR/VR headset is equipped with advanced sensors and cameras and is controlled by voice and gestures. Powered by “visionOS,” the headset is Apple’s first foray into spatial computing, or digital technology that can interact with the real world. The company showed off a number of use cases, including playing video games, watching movies, conducting work meetings, and more.
“The launch of Apple’s Vision Pro headset should be evidence to developers and investors that spatial computing is here to stay,” said Dirck Schou, CEO of augmented reality job training startup Taqtile.
Other tech giants including Microsoft and Meta have rolled out their own AR and VR headsets over the past several years but widespread adoption remains sluggish. Some believe Apple’s entry will change that.
The headset is priced at $3,499 and will be available next year.
“This marks a new era for Apple being the first new product line in almost a decade and the first 3D interface for the company that has many use cases and apps within the Cupertino ecosystem that should distinguish the Vision Pro from the competition such as the Meta Quest,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note.
We reached out to Seattle-area entrepreneurs building AR and VR tech to get their quick takes on Apple Vision Pro and its potential to drive the market forward. Read on for their answers.
Joe Michaels, chief revenue officer at HaptX
- “I’m not going to lie. I got a few tears in my eyes watching the WWDC reveal of Vision Pro today. It was just beautiful to see how much care and thought they’ve put into this device. For eight solid years, I’ve been evangelizing VR/XR, dreaming about what may become possible in spatial computing. Today it felt like Apple took a huge step toward the dream.”
- “Sure, it’s only a starting point, and I hope over time enterprise versions of Vision devices will be compatible with more sophisticated touch feedback options like HaptX. But it’s so wonderfully Apple to respond to all the recent negativity over XR with a product that screams ‘damn the naysayers, just ship something so cool we’ll make a new market.'”
Forest Gibson, co-founder of Pluto VR
- “It’s all about virtual screens. While most others in the market are trying to build social virtual worlds, Apple is betting that the Vision Pro’s first killer use case is virtualizing many of the screens we encounter in our day-to-day lives. Bringing in 3D models into your space was framed almost as an afterthought because how many people actually have 3D models to work with?”
- “What they announced today is a new foundation, solving many of the issues plaguing the AR/VR market, while at the same time integrating it with their current offerings, bringing most/all iPad apps along with it. They aren’t trying to pitch us some sci-fi future, but show us how we can interact with all of the stuff we already have in an innovative new way.”
- “As the name indicates, this is not a consumer device, but a professional product targeting designers and developers looking to get into spatial computing. I, for one, will be getting the device as soon as it is released.”
Dirck Schou, CEO of Taqtile, and Lance Williams, vice president of marketing
- “Taqtile has been heavily invested in this technology since working with Microsoft on the launch of the original HoloLens in 2016 where we saw the potential of a hands-free, head-mounted computer to revolutionize the way deskless workers could do their jobs. The ecosystem learned in subsequent years that this technology is really hard.”
- “Apple stated in its launch today that the Vision Pro is the single most complicated personal computing device ever created — and it looks to be just that. However, in typical Apple fashion, it also looks to be a refined, elegant, and highly functional expression of what an extended-reality headset can be.”
- “Our belief is that today’s news from Apple represents a long awaited watershed moment for the augmented reality industry. The Vision Pro device is chock full of fantastic tech that we will take advantage of right away. But we believe today’s single most impressive achievement was that Apple brought spatial computing to the masses in a way that made a very complex technology feel approachable, simple, and familiar. We expect this device to break down adoption barriers in headsets much like the iPhone did for mobile computing almost two decades ago.”
