I won’t be buying Reality Pro. That’s partly down to the anticipated price, but also because I haven’t yet found either augmented or virtual reality to be in any way compelling.
Cute, yes. Impressive, also yes. But I can’t remember the last time I used an AR app, and while I did buy a VR headset, I also can’t remember the last time I dug it out of the back of a drawer …
For me, AR ‘gives great demo’
AR definitely has a wow effect the first time you use it. I still remember when I was looking at a new coffee machine purchase, the ability to see it in my kitchen on my iPhone really impressed me. I’ve done the same with potential furniture, and it definitely provides an interesting way to look at home decor.
But for me, the novelty wore off pretty quickly.
Steve Jobs famously said that a touchscreen Mac “gives great demo” – but the actual experience of using it isn’t so great. I kind of feel that AR gives great demo.
The novelty of VR also quickly wore off
I felt much the same about virtual reality.
My first ever experience of it was at a Tutankhamun exhibition, where you could don a headset to experience walking into the tomb, and I really enjoyed the experience. I subsequently bought what was then branded the Oculus Go, again because I was curious about VR and wanted to see how much it appealed in regular use. The answer was the same: not much.
Right now, my view is “wake me up when we have a Star Trek-style holodeck.”
I do see future potential
Of course, VR tech is still at a rather early stage in its development, and AR is an even newer tech which has barely registered in the awareness of non-techy consumers. It would be as foolish to dismiss either based on today’s implementations as it would be to bet against Apple.
The Apple Glasses concept, for example, has distinct appeal for me. It would be great for navigation, whether walking, cycling, or driving. If embedded in sunglasses, I could see me wearing them while out, and finding it a very convenient way to read notifications and short messages.
I can also see more interesting uses. I have a condition known as mild facial aphasia, which makes it very hard to recognise faces. A pair of glasses with face recognition, which would overlay names, would be enormously valuable! I’m sure there are countless other conditions which would be helped by this type of tech.
Then there’s gaming. I’m not a gamer myself, but I do occasionally use X-Plane on my Mac, and can see that VR would make for a great flight simulator experience, and I’m sure that gamers will enjoy VR and AR combos.
It’s also possible that Apple will create a truly amazing experience by doing it so much better than anyone has to date.
I won’t be buying Reality Pro
Whether the $1500 or $3000 rumors are correct, I won’t be buying one. And honestly, I don’t think Apple expects me to: The first model is going to be geared primarily toward developers, so that they create apps which make it more appealing to the rest of us.
The second version will be less eye-wateringly expensive, but I still suspect I won’t be buying one.
A 3rd-gen headset, yeah, probably
If I had to guess when the appeal/price lines will cross for me, it will be about the 3rd-generation – when there are enough apps to give it sufficient appeal to justify what will by then be a much more affordable device (for Apple values of ‘affordable,’ of course).
Of course, I was wrong about the Apple Watch – but that was a much cheaper experiment! I’m also not sure it would today pass Warren Buffett’s $10k test: If someone offered me $10k to forsake my Watch, I’d probably take it.
If you see me queuing up for a second-gen Apple headset, feel free to point and laugh. If you see me doing so for Reality Pro, please shoot me.
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