Ever since the Apple Vision Pro came out in February of this year it’s been subject to a lot of attention, good and bad. But according to Bloomberg’s Apple insider Mark Gurman, Vision Pro wasn’t even the company’s original vision, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Apparently, Apple’s current Mixed Reality headset came about due to the limitations of technology today. The company actually wanted to make AR glasses, which would’ve been a much more socially accepted form factor for a wearable XR device. Vision Pro was, according to Gurman, a “compromise of sorts”.
But you know what’s really taken off in the last year? Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, which recently also got Meta AI support. Though Meta is also working on AI-powered AR smart glasses, the Ray-Ban glasses sold so well that the company restructured its XR division to focus more on similar wearables.
The Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses didn’t have AI at launch. | Video credit — Meta
Though non-AR smart glasses won’t nearly have the same wow factor as the Vision Pro, there’s a number of reasons I think it’d be a smart move:
- More people would wear them out in public
- Lack of a display will make them more affordable
- It will get more eyes on the XR industry
- It’s a relatively untapped market which Apple can take advantage of
I’m all for Apple releasing a competing product to the Ray-Ban glasses. Apple is a big name, and such a product will get a lot of attention similar to Vision Pro. Also, we can always use more competition between the big companies. It’s a win-win for everybody else.
Maria Malik is your guide to the immersive world of Virtual Reality (VR). With a passion for VR technology, she explores the latest VR headsets, applications, and experiences, providing readers with in-depth reviews, industry insights, and a glimpse into the future of virtual experiences.
