VR headset news from apple this week?

Polar

Apple might not have a lot of choice if the EU gets their way. Here is some deeply sexy legislation. Paragraph 41 is particularly hot. ;-)

ibins

Yeah I know there are quite a few discussions, about this topic in the EU. But at the moment there are a lot of voices on both sides so it is pretty undecided.

And the paragraph you postet is entirely to circumvent the appstore tax. It says nothing that apple has to allow any software or to run on their devices, or that they have to allow 3rd parties to install software they like.

The only thing it says is that apple would not be allowed to prevent app developers from implementing 3rd party payments circumventing the appstore payment system and therefore the apple-tax.

And even if this gets further that apple would have to allow a way to legally install 3rd party software on their devices this is just the EU. So this still would only work on devices sold inside the EU, apple will never open more then they have to by law. And I am pretty sure their will be no such laws in US or Asia.

argyle43

Polar Paragraph 41 is particularly hot. ;-)

at first I read that as paragraph 14, went and read it and exclaimed, WTF this shit isn’t turning me on at all! Luckily I checked back here to see you actually said 41…

withy

ibins t says nothing that apple has to allow any software or to run on their devices

has to allow ME to run any software on MY device.

Fixed that for you.

Padarak

If they release a VR headset, their target group are Quest 2 users. At least triple the price with slightly better optics and very limited in software. A Quest 2 without Facebook tracking is already 800$ plus 180 per year

I am not very excited tbh.

ibins

Padarak If they release a VR headset, their target group are Quest 2 users. At least triple the price with slightly better optics and very limited in software

So exactly not the Quest 2 users. The target for the Quest 2 was to make VR accessable for everyone.
Usually Apple does not target "everyone" but the premium audience.

petermc

ibins I agree with that to some extent but I’d say iPhone is not just targeted at premium users, a ton of ordinary people have them including me. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a potential Apple VR headset being bundled in as part of phone deals like they do with iPads. It’s something I’d consider as I really don’t like having to sign up for Facebook to use the Quest 2. I’d love to be able to close that account down. Do we have a price point for it?

ibins

petermc I agree with that to some extent but I’d say iPhone is not just targeted at premium users, a ton of ordinary people have them including me.

The Iphone is completely targeted at premium users, even their "mainstream" SE variant is 500+ when most people buy phones in the 200-300 range.

This of course does not mean that only super rich can afford one, but it is definitely the premium part of the market.

The only kinda mainstream product they have is oddly enough the Ipad, that goes always quite low in the price range, and even has often a better bang for the buck then similar priced Android devices.

petermc Do we have a price point for it?

We do not have anything besides rumors that apple might work on something like that, but we do not even have a confirmation on that.

petermc

ibins maybe it’s just an anomaly then but a ton of people I know have iPhones and none of them would be described as wealthy. It definitely feels like a hugely popular phone used by the masses rather than only the rich and famous. The phones aren’t cheap, I agree, but most people in the U.K. (not sure about elsewhere) don’t pay upfront for their phone. They pay for it over a 2-3 year contract which covers the cost of calls/data plus the phone itself. This makes these phones affordable to the average person especially if you buy an earlier version of the iPhone. Not sure what it’s up to now but let’s say the latest one is iPhone 13, I would usually buy the 11 or 12 rather than the latest one as they are cheaper.

justsomedude101

I feel like you're both right imho: Apple has a lot of products that are targeted towards mainstream users (iPhones, Airpods, iPads, even their Macbooks/Airs), but they ALSO have certain items that are very clearly targeted to "professionals" and the wealthy: their Mac Pro is a 5x overpriced machine targeted pretty much exclusively at those who work in videography and studio production, their $5k XDR display is absurdly expensive but also fantastically useful for those in photography and editing, their Airpods Max are...I don't know, pretty high-end noise cancelling headphones that AFAIK aren't any better than comparative Sony's/Bose for 1/2 the price.

Which isn't to say I have any idea how a potential Apple VR headset would turn out on the spectrum, but my instinct is definitely towards the "higher end" side.

ibins

petermc maybe it’s just an anomaly then but a ton of people I know have iPhones and none of them would be described as wealthy. It definitely feels like a hugely popular phone used by the masses rather than only the rich and famous.

Sure average people still can buy premium products, and most of them do buy some. Some buy premium cars, some buy premium sound systems for their home, and some buy premium phones.

Nearly everyone with average or slightly above average income can save some money to buy some premium products they want.

I think the Iphone market share is about 15% which is huge for only delivering to the premium segment, but still far from mass market.

petermc

justsomedude101 totally agree with this. Some of the stuff they produce is most definitely not for the average person. I was just using the iPhone as an example of an Apple product which is used by the masses.

With VR (assuming they do actually have something in development) it will be interesting to see what they go for. Has Quest 2 raised the popularity of VR enough for others to dip their toes in the mass market or will Apple just be looking at a really high end thing for business people? I don’t know how big Quest 2 has been, I just know it’s what got me into VR finally as it became affordable.

withy

ibins Some of this may the difference in market share worldwide vs US. Apple is only 14-15% of worldwide market share, while in the US it is >50%. For the US consumer, the iPhone is ubiquitous, not a luxury item.

Honkster

ibins The iPhone is about 15% of the global market, but over 50% of the North America market. So mass market in USA.

From what I have read, the AR/VR headset includes a number of cameras. My speculation: In AR mode the viewer would see the real world but with overlays. Some of the cameras could be used to record/broadcast VR from the viewer's perspective. Which would indeed be revolutionary.

argyle43

Apple has often been the company to make things mainstream by taking a product that is klunky and difficult for anyone but the very technically savvy to use, and transforming that into an experience people didn’t know they wanted or needed. Who knows what if anything they are doing in this space, but if anyone is going to make AR/VR cool and easy to use, it will be Apple. Maybe that’s this year, maybe it’s five years from now.

beetjack

Honkster The iPhone is about 15% of the global market, but over 50% of the North America market. So mass market in USA.

From what I have read, the AR/VR headset includes a number of cameras. My speculation: In AR mode the viewer would see the real world but with overlays. Some of the cameras could be used to record/broadcast VR from the viewer's perspective. Which would indeed be revolutionary.

I know Apple always create the best products, and let us see how they fluent the VR technology

spanker

apple - january '23? 8k headset 2000bucks is the latest rumor with M1 chip

could be good stuff coming and maybe very soon

google announcing immersive stream for XR to AR/VR headsets

i might wait...if JAN was the drop-dead month of arrival(should be out for THIS CHRISTMAS). if they just announce it's coming? that means next christmas??

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