TheVision Pro headsetis poised to be one of the most significant products Apple has insert in year , and it has the potential drop to set in motion a new era of success for the company . But at the same time , there ’s a danger that it could end up cannibalize the Mac line by giving plenty of masses something that could replace their computer altogether .
That means Apple has got to be very careful with how it handles the Vision Pro . It no doubt wants as many the great unwashed to bribe it as potential , but it want that to bump without having to sacrifice sales of its other gadget . How on earth is it going to do that ?
The Mac killer?
aright from the word go , Apple has been busy hyping the Vision Pro ’s capability . The caller call it a “ spacial computing machine , ” suggesting we need to completely reimagine what a information processing system is in the first place . The product ’s sky - high-pitched $ 3,500 price tag end and copiousness of high - end material and technologies give it an undeniably bounty feel , far beyond what we ’ve watch from even thebest VR headsets .
At the same time , Apple has claim that the Vision Pro will be able to do a host of tasks you ’d unremarkably perform with a laptop or desktop computer , from play and telecasting call to writing written document and browse photos .
To be vindicated , Apple did n’t explicitly put the Vision Pro and the Mac head - to - foreland during its reveal issue , nor has it ever said you may go ahead and ditch your Mac . But the comparison is obvious if you search at what both product can do . And that ’s apparently what Meta is trying to do with theQuest Pro .
The risk of infection , then , is of users asking why they need to bother with a Mac . If the Vision Pro can do 99 % of what a Mac can , why not just get the headset ? Of course , things are a picayune more complicated than that .
The ‘buy them all’ ecosystem
Apple is an ecosystem company , and that intend all of the devices it makes set perfectly together . Like every other business , Apple want you to buy as many of its intersection as you’re able to , but the manner Apple has craft its ecosystem makes that a much more tempting outlook than it is with many of its rivals , since everything click together seamlessly .
If the Vision Pro lives up to its hope , it might blur the bound of those products . sure as shooting , it ’s expensive , but you could pump thelatest MacBook Proso full of extras that it cost a walloping $ 7,199 — double the price of the Vision Pro . If you ’re prepared to expend that much — and if the Vision Pro does everything the MacBook does and more — getting a headset instead is n’t such a bounce .
Yet , despite the similar power , it seems to me that Apple is try out very firmly to ensure youdon’tforsake the Mac for a Vision Pro , or frailty versa . To me , the term “ spacial computer ” implies something freestanding from a regular computing machine , and Apple has explained the way you may expend the two products together . In realness , they can do many of the same thing , of course , but Apple does n’t require you to ditch one for the other just because of that inconvenient fact . It need you to see them as complementary .
retrieve when Apple said the iPad can exchange a microcomputer ? The company has n’t done that with the Vision Pro , and I think that ’s merely because it wants you to buy a Vision Proanda Mac . And right now , there are some very strong reasonableness why you might not want to ditch your Mac for a headset anyway .
Deliberate positioning
As things stand , the Vision Pro can only really substitute a Mac in theory , and even then , only in certain limited scenario . If you desire to observe pic , work with multiple displays , or conduct TV call , then it might make gumption on the surface . But would you give $ 3,500 just to do that ? A cheap MacBook would be just as subject .
And what about if you give videos ? Or dally thebest Mac gameswith a computer mouse and keyboard ? Or work with data - heavy numerical models ? In those case ( and many more ) , chances are you ’re going to need a Mac .
Apple has also determine to launch its gamy - end , high - price headset first while keeping therumored chintzy modelback for another time . That could be a very calculated gambit to insure the Vision Pro does n’t impact Mac sale too heavily by establish it as a premium gadget manner above what most Macs cost . After all , you’re able to buy a Mac mini for $ 599 — you ca n’t say that about the Vision Pro . When the cheap headset launch , though , that differentiation could be much harder to enforce .
I ’ve got no question that the Vision Pro is going to be an unbelievable machine , and maybe it could exchange a Mac for for some people . But if Apple is go to turn it into the company ’s next big matter , it ’ll have to convince a lot of people that it ’s not only beneficial than their survive tech , but can supplant it entirely . base on what we ’ve determine so far , that ’s unlikely to happen until the cheaper Vision Pro get a line the lightness of twenty-four hours .
