Apple's AR Moment

The competition is on for Meta

Meco is a distraction-free method of managing all your newsletters away from your box. Add your newsletters and enjoy mindful reading of your quality email newsletters - including this one! Sign up here.

Friends,

A couple of weeks ago I covered what just happened - the second biggest story of the year. I was a little off, but Apple’s gauntlet to win at the AR/VR game has been well and truly thrown down with Apple Vision Pro. And it’s going to be a competition between Apple and Meta in a long race for dominance. Apple very much positioned themselves as the the very high end version with Zuckerberg’s Oculus as the product for the masses. But despite the chasm in price between the two products, this is very much the iPhone moment for augmented reality.

While Meta was once the sole major player with a consumer mixed reality device, it now assumes a role akin to Android's position in the mobile market. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had long aspired for Meta to be the Android equivalent in mixed reality, offering an operating system for device manufacturers unable to compete with Apple.

Although Apple's Vision Pro headset has garnered praise, its current limitations as a tethered and expensive device underscore that both Apple and Meta are far from achieving the lightweight standalone mixed reality glasses that originally sparked this competition.

As the technology progresses, Meta and Apple are projected to converge on similar functionalities, while their underlying philosophies may still diverge. Meta places emphasis on the Metaverse - gaming, enterprise, and social connections, whereas Apple's Vision Pro appears to function as an individual's personal computer - a different kind of future.

For Meta to win, open source is going to be the play. In light of Apple's entry, Meta now faces formidable competition, initiating a protracted battle between the two tech giants. This rivalry will test their commitment to unproven technology while navigating the pressures exerted by Wall Street. Nevertheless, with Apple's participation, mixed reality gains increased credibility, validating Meta's position in the industry.

There are still many skeptics in this AR/VR world. Like the metaverse, it’s ahead of its time. Apart from the corporate world and the very rich, who has 3.5K to mess around on a whim. Even though Oculus is cheaper, it’s about equivalents. It’s the same price as a personal computer.

While Vision Pro boasts impressive technical features, such as iris scanning and eye-tracking, its purpose and target audience remain unclear. The potential use case of replacing large TVs with the headset's virtual display is logical, but with affordable 4K TVs available, the high cost of the device makes it more of a novelty item. The success of Apple Vision will depend on its ability to create a new category of device that offers unique and compelling features surpassing existing devices like laptops and smartphones.

The initial excitement surrounding these technologies in science fiction, where the boundaries between digital and physical worlds were blurred, has diminished in the face of the dominance of tech giants and their controlled platforms. I’m still bullish on AR/VR - but the game of affordability and ecosystem will be key to mass adoption. Meta’s range of Quest headsets are priced between £300-£1,000, compared to Apple’s upmarket offering which will cost $3,500 when released next year. Yet Meta have only sold 20 million devices globally, so there isn’t quite the demand for this….. just yet.

Mark Zuckerberg displayed a dismissive attitude towards Apple's latest innovation, failing to acknowledge the nuances surrounding their developments. Undeniably, the Vision Pro comes with a hefty price tag. Nevertheless, it would be premature to assume that it will remain expensive indefinitely. In due time, we can expect Apple to introduce a non-Pro variant, such as the 'Vision,' which may not be priced at $500 but will align with Apple's philosophy of not aiming to be the cheapest option. And I don’t think it is far-fetched to anticipate a future $999 product that embodies Apple's perfected technology, optimized software, and streamlined supply chains, as they have consistently done in the past.

Currently, Meta has the advantage of operating in a distinct market segment, shielded from immediate competition with Apple due to the significant price difference. Similarly, while Zuckerberg rightly observes that the initial iteration of the Vision Pro appears primarily focused on single-player experiences, we must not discount the potential for Apple to evolve in this regard. The impressive screen technology that Zuckerberg dismisses as expensive holds great promise for delivering exceptional social experiences if Apple chooses to venture down that path. Alternatively, it is plausible that some of Apple's millions of developers may seize the opportunity to create innovative social features, transforming the device into a social powerhouse.

Zuckerberg's dismissive stance fails to recognize the subtleties of Apple's advancements. Apple's potential to refine and diversify its offerings over time cannot be disregarded. The astounding social potential of the Vision Pro, often overlooked by Zuckerberg, has the capacity to redefine the way we engage with technology. It is essential to embrace a more comprehensive perspective, understanding that technology evolves and surprises us, just as the iPhone did.

If you didn’t watch the video above, go back and watch it. It make complete sense. And I do believe this is a moment - the AR Moment - even if others don’t. I may not be able to buy it - but I will want to see it!

Stay Curious - and don’t forget to be amazing,

Rahim

Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew (it's free): There's a reason over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew - the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn't have to be boring...make your mornings more enjoyable, for free. Check it out!

Here are my recommendations for this week:

Now

Become a Finance Homie: World's most interesting finance newsletter, getting you caught up with what went down each week across private equity, investment banking, and the public markets. Subscribe

1. Generative AI and the future of HR - A chatbot may not take your job—but it will almost certainly change it. Here’s how to start thinking about putting gen AI to work for you. + How to Use A.I. to Automate the Dreaded Office Meeting

2. I Think I’m Going to Be Sick - The ride technology at amusement parks has become more sophisticated. For ride-goers prone to motion sickness, the outcome can be messy.

3. A Map of AI for Education - How education will change and what’s happening right now introducing a new map of the current state-of-the-art Also see: New A.I. Chatbot Tutors Could Upend Student Learning

4. A psychology expert in Finland, the No. 1 happiest country in the world gives the real meaning of life in 5 words - the bigger question isn’t about some cosmic meaning of life. It’s about how to find meaning in life. What makes life feel worthy and valuable to you? Also see: Don’t let them fool you

5. The Wild Story of the Psychic, the Sheikh and the $90 Million Diamond Heist

   This is the previously unreported inside story of how the former Prime Minister of Qatar became the victim of one of the world’s biggest – and weirdest – jewellery heists.

Next

Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew (it's free): There's a reason over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew - the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn't have to be boring...make your mornings more enjoyable, for free. Check it out!

1. Why AI Will Save the World - A way to make everything we care about better. Also see: What will GPT-2030 look like?

2. How AI art killed an indie book cover contest - Science fiction and fantasy authors are struggling with AI-generated media — and formulating strategies to deal with it. Also see: The AI In The Writers’ Room and With the Internet Full of Fake Drakes and Eminems, Who Gets Paid?

3. They plugged GPT-4 into Minecraft—and unearthed new potential for AI - A bot plays the video game by tapping the text generator to pick up new skills.

4. Lung cancer pill cuts risk of death by half, says ‘thrilling’ study - Taking the drug osimertinib once a day after surgery reduces chance of patients dying by 51%, trials show

5. Scientists Hacked Human Cells to Make Insulin, And It Reversed Diabetes in Mice - Scientists have repurposed human stomach cells into tissues that release insulin in response to rising blood sugar levels in a breakthrough that promises an effective way to manage conditions such as type 1 diabetes.

Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew (it's free): There's a reason over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew - the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn't have to be boring...make your mornings more enjoyable, for free. Check it out!

If you enjoyed this edition of Box of Amazing, please share and help me grow this group. If you share it on Twitter or LinkedIn, please tag me so that I can thank you.