Apple Vision Pro’s Moonshot Strategy

When Apple introduced its AR Kit software at WWDC in 2017, I had the opportunity to chat with Apple CEO Tim Cook after the morning keynote at a private event later that afternoon. I asked him about his thoughts on AR, and he said he believes AR technology could be one of Apple’s most important products one day. He also confirmed that the company was committed to delivering a robust AR experience in the future.

That’s why Apple created the AR Kit and was taking a leap in building the software for a new AR device that, when ready, would have hundreds, if not thousands, of apps available when it shipped. Tim Cook also told me that the AR device needed to be more like glasses: modest and acceptable to everyone.

So when reports started coming out around 2021 that Apple was building a VR-like Google, you can understand my confusion, given my earlier conversation with Tim Cook.

Through my interactions with optical glass suppliers, battery manufacturers, wireless radio vendors and others, I am aware of the need to improve these products and perfect the technology needed for immersive AR/MR experiences in the form of glasses . It becomes clear that the development of advanced AR/MR glasses is still a few years away, at least.

We now know that Apple, wanting to play a major role in creating a mixed reality experience, instead decided to make a “moonshot” product first.

While the Vision Pro isn’t selling in big numbers, largely due to its $3,500 price tag, it may not be the product that helps Apple bring AR/MR to the masses. But it is fulfilling an important role in the world of XR spatial computing.

A major role is that it has put XR and spatial computing on the map for business and consumer users. Millions of people have seen an XR space computing future thanks to Apple offering free Vision Pro demos in Apple stores.

Indeed, as I mentioned recently in my Augmented World Expo column, all of my industry-leading XR headset panelists welcome Apple to this market. They feel that Apple is a vital ambassador to help consumers understand the role of the XR headset in the metaverse.

Second, making a moon product with so many great immersive 3D features, including VR and AR in a single headset, shows people the art of what is possible today. Yes, it’s in an expensive headphone format. However, it serves as a tool to encourage software developers and educate potential users on how virtual technology will deliver a game-changing experience over time.

The third important thing is that Apple has used the creation of Vision Pro to help it begin building an advanced ecosystem of software and services. Eventually, once the technology is ready for prime time, Apple may bring true AR glasses to market.

Apple has clearly used the creation of Vision Pro to help it design new hardware, software and services that will allow it to create more powerful headphones. These headphones will be lighter, cheaper and ultimately in the format of the glasses that Tim Cook described about seven years ago.

As a headphone salesman told me at AWE a few weeks ago, expect Apple to be a formidable competitor. He also believes that Apple’s Vision Pro, showing the art of what’s possible, will help the company and others eventually grow the market for spatial computing.

Disclosure: Apple agrees in Creative Strategies research reports along with many other high-tech companies around the world.