i wouldn’t normally be concerned since any company releasing a VR product with this price tag is obviously going to fail… but it’s apple and somehow through exquisite branding and sleek design they have managed to create something that resonated with “tech reviewers” and rich folk who can afford it.
what’s really concerning is that it’s not marketed as a new VR headset, it’s marketed by apple and these “tech reviewers” as the new iphone, something you take with you everywhere and do your daily tasks in, consume content in etc…
and it’s dystopian. imagine you are watching youtube on this thing and when an ad shows up, you can’t look away, even if you try to they can track your eye movement and just move the window, you can’t mute it, you certainly cannot install adblock on it, you are forced to watch the ad until it satisfies apple or you just give up and take out the headset.
this is why i think all these tech giants (google meta apple etc) were/are interested in the “metaverse”. it holds both your vision and your hearing hostage, you cannot do anything else when using it but to just use the thing. a 100% efficiency attention machine, completely blocking you from the outside world.
i’m not concerned about this iteration as much as people are not hyped about this iteration. just like how people are hyped about the next apple vision, i’m more worried about the next iterations with somewhat lower price tag and better software availability. i hope it flops and i know it probably won’t achieve any sort of mainstream adoption even if it’s deemed a success because it probably can’t get less bulky and look less dorky, but the possibility is still worrying. what are your thoughts?
There are so many flaws with your take I don’t even know how to reply.
I will just say that:
$3,500 is not a price that only rich people can afford, at least in the US. Many middle class folks can afford it with ease.
It isn’t Apple’s fault that YouTube has ads. That is Google’s doing. Apple themselves are privacy focused and I never see targeted ads on any Apple app. The only places I even see ads are in the app store and in the TV app, and the TV ads are limited to promos of upcoming shows or movies.
People are constantly bashing Apple for their premium prices and walled garden while forgetting that nobody is targeting the folks who want a privacy oriented experience without ads blasting everywhere.
I switched to iOS because I got tired of Google watching my every move and I got tired of worrying if every app I download from google’s app store has malware or not.
hey no worries i’ll be interested to hear what you have to say if you think about it more. my point wasn’t just apple bashing i just don’t think adoption of this specific product will not be good, regardless of who its custodian is.
also just a point if you can spend 3500$ on this you are either financially irresponsible or absolutely rich, both in the US context where more than 50% 60% of people are living paycheck to paycheck, and in the global context where the percentage of people that can afford this with ease is basically a rounding error.
$3,500 is definitely not something middle class people can afford with ease. Most people can’t afford a $500 emergency expense, let alone dropping 7x that much on an entertainment device.
Plus, $3,500 is enough to buy a 70" TV, and all the consoles and games for the consoles and a laptop and a smartphone. Spending that just so one person can use it at a time is not a smart financial decision.
And if you’re gonna use it for work, $3,500 can buy you a laptop and two widescreen monitors, which will give you way more extra screen space.