- Apple’s new Vision Pro headset signals the mainstream adoption of augmented reality and the metaverse, based on strong preorder sales and the company’s history of disruptive hardware.
- Spatial computing displays digital imagery over real-world views, avoiding VR side effects. This makes it more accessible than VR and gives Apple an easier path to widespread adoption.
- In 2007, the iPhone revolutionized consumer tech despite its high price. The Vision Pro is even more expensive but already has over 200,000 preorders, suggesting it will be hugely successful like the iPhone.
Apple’s Vision Pro launch signals a new era for augmented reality and the metaverse. The spatial computer’s strong preorder sales and Apple’s track record with disruptive hardware point to mainstream adoption on the horizon.
What is Spatial Computing?
Spatial computing displays digital imagery overlaid on the real world. This allows users to see their surroundings instead of being fully immersed in virtual reality. The technology avoids VR side effects like nausea and disorientation. Spatial computing’s accessibility gives Apple an easier path to widespread adoption.
2007: The iPhone Changed Everything
The iPhone revolutionized consumer tech and made Apple the world’s most valuable company. At launch, it cost over $700 and sold 270,000 units in week one. The Vision Pro costs nearly five times more at $3499 but reportedly has over 200,000 preorders. In 2007, Apple sold 14 million iPhones for $630 million in revenue. By 2021, iPhone revenue will hit $200 billion.
Everyone Will Be Wearing Computers
Wearing computers in public may seem far-fetched. But many doubted touchscreens before the iPhone. Today we spend huge amounts of time staring at screens. Augmented reality could help people be more present, overlaying graphics without distraction. AI and cameras even enable natural eye contact between headset wearers.
