[sssilver]

I will never understand the decision-making process that led to "Let's build an awesome VR headset that can't do gaming".

I would love to replace my monitor with Apple Vision Pro for programming and productivity. I would gladly pay $1000 for that.

But at $4000 it really needs to put me in a Microsoft Flight Simulator cockpit.

[kingleopold]

It's the same decision-making process that tried to do a electric car for years, and canceled it after spending time and money. In that exact timeline, China made great electic cars and new brands, Tesla advanced and Spacex launched dozens or more rockets. Apple is so far from any big new tech, they and market don't even realize it.

Apple had more money and influence than combination of all of them, yet failed with car and VR. Why would anyone think they can't fail much much bigger with AI and LLMs ?

[nilkn]

For me, the economics are the exact opposite. I'd pay $1000 for a good gaming VR headset, but not $4000 -- because gaming is just a hobby that isn't really worth that much to me. Gaming VR headsets have been around for well over a decade, I've "been there, done that", and it's just not something that's worth that much money to me. However, I have no problem paying $3500+ for something that creates a new category of productivity and entertainment experiences for me.

Besides that, I actually disagree that the Vision Pro is not good for gaming. It's not good for traditional VR gaming, but using apps like Portal it's phenomenal for, e.g., playing existing PS5 games on a massive virtual screen, which in many ways I actually enjoy more than VR gaming, which is far too limited in comparison.

[bigyabai]

The market spoke. The overwhelming majority of people don't want to pay $4,000 for a tethered AR experience. You're the minority.

Conversely; the grandparent comment is still right, Apple could have made this a real VR headset without compromising any part of the AR experience. Apple knew that Hololens was a total failure, they saw the pushback on Google Glass, they should have known that people would feel like an idiot buying one of those headsets. Instead of trying to recoup the missed opportunity, Apple doubles down and pretends that those experiences are beneath them.

Anyone with a $300 headset can stream games to it. AVP isn't unique for that, it's was already outsold by the Index and it's eschatologically destined to be outsold by user-respecting headsets like the Steam Frame. It's downright impossible to imagine a world where Vision Pro outsells the Quest.

[nilkn]

The overwhelming majority of people don't want any VR device available today at all.

I'm perfectly fine being the minority for now. You say that as if you think I'd have a problem with that. That does absolutely nothing to sway my thinking, which is based on my own principles, not a popularity contest at a single moment in time. You are dramatically underestimating my personal comfort maintaining an unpopular perspective for an extended period of time (years) based on fundamentals.

> Anyone with a $300 headset can stream games to it

No thanks. This is, of course, technically possible, but the quality is so astoundingly low compared to the Vision Pro that, for me, it would be a waste of time. You're welcome to do this if you so please with your time.

[bigyabai]

I'd imagine that you do have a problem with it. You're reliant on AR experiences, which are reliant on install bases, which the Apple Vision Pro has none of. There is currently no incentive to produce software for this dead platform like there is for iOS or iPad, so much so that you're bragging about streaming games that the hardware could run natively - if Apple respected their users.

It's no skin off my back when you pay $3,500 for that type of mistreatment. Whatever "principles" that led you down that path aren't going to make the Vision Pro a more enjoyable experience. You're virtue signalling a platform that everyone predicted would be a failure.

[nilkn]

Couldn't care less. I'm not reliant on anything you just imagined I'm reliant on that supposedly doesn't exist, yet somehow I'm reliant on it. I use the Vision Pro for Mac Virtual Display, movies / entertainment / reading / browsing, and occasional game streaming from the PS5. Those use cases alone justify the product for me.

[maxgashkov]

There is very silly but very simple reason for that. If they let you run MSFS on the Vision, there will be a non-insignificant amount of tiktok videos showing uninitiated people puking after a half an hour in it. There is no breakthrough in Vision that will resolve the nausea issue present in every VR headset, so they're keeping it AR first as the only way to protect against that.

[robertoandred]

Who said it can’t do gaming? All the regular graphics APIs are supported.

[benoau]

> I will never understand the decision-making process that led to "Let's build an awesome VR headset that can't do gaming".

FOMO, someone else being successful in VR (and now in glasses) is a nightmare scenario for Apple because it's not their platform. They've got a lot to fear from someone else owning the platform, having written the playbook on how that platform would be controlled and exploited at everyone else's expense.

Imagine if Apple doesn't make their glasses: Meta keeps selling truckloads of them, as they get more powerful the smartphone becomes an optional accessory and then an unnecessary one, eventually they become an alternative to a smartphone and an app platform for third party devs.

It's the same story with VR, Apple does nothing and risks Meta or Steam building a viable platform where people want to use software instead of on their iOS devices, until the hardware can replace iOS devices entirely. (although VR is certainly more of a moonshot)

[what]

In what world has meta been successful with VR or glasses?

[benoau]

Their VR is a flop now but Apple didn't know that when they did the AVP.

Meta are selling millions of glasses and growing so it's looking like a hit.

[whywhywhywhy]

Same decision making process behind making a VR headset out of heavy materials like glass and aluminum

[wvenable]

Or making a VR headset that has to be tethered but still put all the compute on your face.