Apple
Apple made one big mistake during theVision Pro ’s launching : No one onstage wore it or was project doing so subsequently . alternatively , only theoretical account in the cautiously curated video introduction had it on their faces — entirely removing us as observers from the experience . In fact , we have n’t go steady any real people wear upon it at all .
It ’s a very stark contrast to Samsung ’s big VR thrust almost a 10 ago , and Apple would be very wise to take from its archnemesis if it wants the odd - looking Vision Pro not to be treated with extreme forethought by normal people .
Apple
Samsung, Oculus, and the Gear VR
I know what you ’re thinking : Samsung had a bounteous VR push ? Yes ! In 2014 , it launched theGear VR headsetalongside theGalaxy Note 4smartphone . Unlike the Apple Vision Pro , the Gear VR was a “ dumb ” headset where the cover and processor came from a smartphone plug into the front . It started off only patronise the Galaxy Note 4 , but Samsung persist in update it for other Galaxy phone until theGalaxy S9series .
properly from the start , Samsung did n’t shy aside from getting its VR headset on a draw of head , admit those of some very in high spirits - profile hoi polloi , and showing it off in the ensue photos . It also did this nearly a decade ago , when consumer VR headsets were still in their babyhood , and the optical range of someone wearing one was a lot more jarring than today . Sure , masses look silly , but it ’s a VR headset . Everyonelooks silly wearing one .
Not only did we get accustomed to seeing them quite quickly , but the descriptive words , the smiles , and the prompt , literal chemical reaction made by mass when they first put them on really helped positively influence what we thought about the headset and experience . That ’s not to cite that the sheer sci - fi coolness of in person doing so quickly made you bury you had a smartphone strapped to your bean .
People used the Gear VR onstage
Gear VR ’s first initiation was quite low - key . The Galaxy Note 4 took center stage during the IFA 2014 Unpacked event in Berlin , with the Gear VR — developed in partnership with Oculus — being demonstrated the right way at the end of the hourlong presentation . But the thing is , Gear VR wasright there , and one of the presenters could n’t hold off to put it on and try it for all to see . Unsurprisingly , she did what we all do the first few time we taste VR . She said , “ Oh , ” “ Ah , ” and “ Wow . ” And , most importantly , she smile . We could n’t see her center , but it was obvious she was enjoying the VR experience . It was raw , literal , and relatable .
Apple ’s Vision Pro debuted in a very different path . From the beautiful living spaces to the clothes worn by the models , the picture of unremarkable life presented in the Vision Pro ’s launching picture was likely nothing like any of our lives at all . It was so clinically precise that it bordered on the dystopian . It was ouronlyglimpse of what the headset front like on someone ’s head , as no one onstage wore it , journalists who tried it later on were n’t allowed to take pictures , and even CEO Tim Cook was simply photograph standing next to the headset .
Why ? It ’s understandably suited for people to outwear , as it was evidence behind closed door , so is it all to do with Apple ’s desire not to have one C — perhaps G — of photos online where people look a bit wacky wearing it ? If so , that ’s odd , as the pattern is the design , and if people are going to look ridiculous with it on their promontory , that ’s not go to change between now and its launching in 2024 . Apple should be anneal the show immediately . It ’s almost like Apple is a bit chagrined .
It needs lots of photos of people wearing one
Samsung was n’t embarrassed by the Gear VR at all , which it went on to prove in 2016 , and it ’s this event Apple would be very wise indeed to look back on as a hint of how to launch a VR headset . The location was again a Samsung Unpacked outcome , but this time at the Mobile World Congress ( MWC ) technology trade show in Barcelona , Spain . one C of invited medium , partners , and guest gathered there , and hidden under every seat in the auditorium was a particular Gear VR headset , which everyone was invited to put on at a particular level during the presentation .
Everyone tire out it , everyone took selfies , everyone had playfulness with it , and everyone was excited . The energy in that huge space was so positively charged that not one soul feel silly or embarrassed . Instead , it felt futuristic and was an inspired demonstration of the engineering . I was there , and although we had no idea at the time , as we stared into the virtual public before our eyes , but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg , fresh from hisacquisition of Oculus , was striding toward the leg past the headset - wear out volume .
Zuckerberg has since become the face ofthe metaverse , whichisn’t necessarily a good affair , but there are image from that 2016 result , like the one above , which could be considered iconic in the world of tech .
No such image exists of the Apple Vision Pro — just the one of Cook standinga venerating distance awayfrom it at the event . It ’s not really the same affair . The monumental price of the Vision Pro already creates a barrier , and introducing another one through intentional strong-arm legal separation makes things even worse .
There’s still time, but it’s a weird start
It was n’t a young variation of Gear VR that launched at that 2016 event , so Apple still has plenty of time to do something similar during the months leading up to the Vision Pro ’s factual acquittance . But it ’s severely not to call back there ’s somethingvery wrongwith the style it look on faces that do n’t belong to models specifically chosen to star in Apple ’s launch video . There was never any concern or ambiguity like that with Gear VR , and that ’s the mistake Apple must rectify .
If Samsung ( unintentionally ) demonstrate Apple how to decently announce a VR headset days ago , where isGear VRtoday ? It ’s unluckily long dead , having beendiscontinued in 2020 , and it ’s a product that Samsung has n’t revisit since . It ’s now going to be interesting to see if it has a response to the Vision Pro in development and , if so , how it chooses to set in motion such a twist in the future . Samsung succeeded where Apple fail before and could realistically do so again .
In all honesty , it will be able to exact a profits if evenonephoto of a even person tire that future Samsung headset is published right after the launch issue .
