Is Apple's Vision Pro a Failure?

One year ago, Apple officially launched Vision Pro to the world. It was first introduced during WWDC 2023 but in early 2024, it is finally in the hands of the public. The product received rave reviews. Some even call it the future of all computing and lament that after Vision Pro, the 60-inch OLED TV looks like a quaint device.

One year later, how is Vision Pro doing? Did it make a dent in the universe? Let’s find out.

Current State of Affairs

Throughout 2024 since the launch in late January, these are the changes Apple made

• Availability in more markets, but not enough: When launched, the Vision Pro is only available in the USA. Since then, Apple has rolled out to several high-income markets such as Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and UAE. However, it is not widely available, like some EU states still have no Vision Pro.
• Fitting is still a thing: Apple highly recommends you scan your face and try out the Vision Pro in the store. Unlike other Apple devices like the Mac or the iPhone, Apple is actively trying to demonstrate the concept of spatial computing. Such a demo, while impressive, will take around 30 minutes to finish. Apple is marketing the decision to purchase the Vision Pro as a big, life-changing decision for you, unlike buying the Mac or the iPhone
• Big name apps are not there: The best feature of the Vision Pro is the ability to create a 100-inch 4K display and put it on the ceiling. It’s a game-changer for content consumption. Somehow, two of the biggest content consumer apps, YouTube and Netflix are noticeably absent from visionOS, the operating system that runs Vision Pro. Other big-name apps like Spotify are also not available. The decision is political since every app that can run on iPadOS can also run on visionOS, so you have to actively opt-out during the app build process not to have a visionOS version of the app.
• Money is a major issue: After showing the impressive features of the Vision Pro and visionOS, the other thing that made consumers’ jaw drop is the price: starting from $3,500 and if you need glasses, it’s another $150. If you need bifocals or astigmatism correction, you are out of luck. Tim Cook said that the price reflects Vision Pro as an early adopter device. As the saying goes, “The future is here, it is just not evenly distributed”.
  

  

• Crackgate: It is one thing to design and test your device in the lab, but putting it out in the wild is where you will find the real test. The Vision Pro has this issue, that if you drop it or mishandle it, the bridge on the outer screen will crack into two. Some users have dubbed it the crackgate.

Next Steps

Tim Cook has admitted in an interview that the Vision Pro in its current form and price is targeted at early adopters. His sales target is around 1-2 Vision Pro per Apple store. There are 272 Apple stores in the USA and with the launch in late January, Apple, at minimum, is targeting around 89,000 units sold in the USA for the first year.

In other words, Apple is field-testing its equipment for paying customers.

Of course, Apple’s first foray into spatial computing / virtual reality / augmented reality might be a fumble for some, but also a learning opportunity. Here’s what Apple could have learned from the first Vision Pro

• Get developers onboard: The major sticking point is despite Vision Pro being the ultimate content consumption device, like putting a 100-inch 4K display at the ceiling of your bed, major app vendors like YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix are noticeably absent on visionOS. This has nothing to do with technical issues since all those vendors have iPadOS versions of their apps and will work seamlessly on the visionOS, but, despite one year on, the politics of it all has not been resolved.
  

  

• Accessible: While visionOS has been designed for people with special needs, accessible in this case is the price point for the masses. One of the reasons why the iPad, iPhone, and AirPods are a smashing hit is the price point that people are willing to pay. The $3,500 is aimed at people with deep pockets and who are tech enthusiasts. Apple is famous for killing their darling products to ensure the next viral product succeeds, the Vision Pro has to compete with the MacBook Pro in terms of price, performance, and utility.
  

  

• Availability: Another issue with the Vision Pro is the global rollout of the device or the lack thereof. Narrowing your market to rich, wealthy economies where there are people will buy the Vision Pro, but Apple needs to ensure that the device will be on everyone’s head for it to succeed.
• Weight: The Vision Pro itself is a very impressive device. But it is heavy. If you want people to use the device for hours doing real “work”, Apple needs to make it light. Yes, aluminum feels a lot more premium and some say durable, but it is a lot heavier than plastic.

Conclusion

Apple is playing the long game with the Vision Pro. There are many examples where a product might not be successful for a company on paper, but it leads the way to bigger innovations and ultimately makes a lot of money for the company. The closest example would be the Volkswagen Pheaton, which is Volkswagen’s attempt to make the ultimate saloon that rivals their higher-end competitors like BMW and Mercedes.

Ultimately, the Pheaton which was introduced in 2001 stopped production in 2016 after disappointing sales. But the platform that built the Phaeton was used to jump-start another Volkswagen company. In the end, the Pheaton platform made a lot of money for Volkswagen through the sister company Bentley although the original product itself is a failure.

In time, technologies that built the Vision Pro might work out for Apple although the Vision Pro is considered a commercial failure.