Top line
Apple unveiled its $3,500 Vision Pro headset on Monday in its first major foray into the world of virtual and augmented reality, though the iPhone maker prefers to use the phrase spatial computing joining rivals like Google, Microsoft and Meta which offer similar devices with mixed levels of success and some high-profile failures.
Main aspects
Meta entered the VR/AR market with its acquisition of headset maker Oculus in 2014, but in 2021, Facebook officially changed its company name as part of a larger effort to move towards building the metaverse.
The headsets Meta made previously under the Oculus brand hold the largest share in a relatively small market, having reportedly sold more than 20 million headsets to date.
Despite its success, Meta’s most recent foray into the more premium segment of the VR/AR headset market has been a rocky one, with the $1,500 Meta Quest Pro suffering negative reviews and weak sales, prompting the company to cut its price of $500 in just four months. after its launch.
Google was the first major tech company to enter the AR realm, first unveiling Google Glass to the public in 2012, but it was only made available to a limited group of people for $1,500 a year later.
Due to its high price and limited app support, the glasses have never caught on with consumers and have also faced severe social backlash, including banning various public establishments over a variety of concerns, most notably its camera that could record video.
Google briefly focused on offering a revamped version of Glass as a corporate product for factories run by companies like DHL and Boeing, but sales of the product eventually shut down completely in March of this year.
Microsoft first showed off its augmented reality headset, the Hololens, at a Windows 10 event in early 2015, which, unlike Apple’s Vision Pro, projected its images onto a transparent display instead of using cameras frontal.
While Microsoft is showcasing many consumer-centric features like playing games, video calling, and watching TV, Hololens are targeted at developers and commercial uses and are priced at $3,000.
A revised version called Hololens 2 priced at $3,500 was revealed in 2019 and the technology is being tested by the US military, but the product’s fate remains nebulous following the project head’s departure from Microsoft last year. year and the restructuring of the unit .
Several other companies like Sony, HTC, and Valve have released versions of their own VR headsets, but most of these devices have been primarily focused on gaming and need to be paired with a video game console or gaming PC to work.
What to watch
Earlier this month, Meta unveiled the Meta Quest 3, the successor to its best-selling headset to date. While it doesn’t match Apple’s offering in terms of fidelity or technology, the Quest 3 will come at a significantly cheaper price point of $499. Unlike Apple headphones, however, the Quest 3 has a heavy focus on gaming and will also be backwards compatible with apps and games designed for Quest 2.
Tangent
In addition to Google Glass and Hololens, both Google and Microsoft have launched various smaller VR products and platforms. In 2014, Google showed off Google Cardboard, a foldable cardboard and lens kit that can be paired with any smartphone to watch VR content. A more sophisticated version of this platform was launched as the Google Daydream in 2016 which replaced the cardboard kit with a plastic and fabric shell that could house a smartphone and be used to watch VR content. Both Google products have been discontinued. Microsoft tried to establish a VR and AR standard for Windows with its Windows Mixed Reality platform in 2017. The platform was not tied to a specific headset and instead could be used by any Windows compatible VR or AR headset to consume content or play games . .
Further reading
Apple introduces Vision Pro AR/VR headset, its first major new product in nearly a decade (Forbes)
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