Apple Vision Pro has been garnering overwhelmingly positive attention from nearly everyone in the AR/VR industry. But one man in particular does not feel threatened (yet) by Apple’s first spatial computer.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, addressed Apple Vision Pro in a companywide meeting today that was seen by The Verge. Zuckerberg affirms that Apple Vision Pro doesn’t offer any “magical solutions” that Meta engineers haven’t already been working on. Zuckerberg particularly criticizes Apple’s decision to ship Vision Pro with a separate battery pack in addition to its price, pointing out that it’s seven times more expensive than Meta’s new Quest 3 headset.
“Their announcement really showcases the difference in the values and the vision that our companies bring to this,” reads a portion of the meeting’s transcript. It is evident that Meta’s philosophy is to go for quantity over quality when it comes to VR, as Zuckerberg adds that Meta wants to make the technology “as accessible and affordable to everyone as possible,” in what is also another nudge at Apple Vision Pro’s price tag of $3,499.
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Another sticking point for Zuckerberg is how Vision Pro is apparently more isolating than what Meta envisions for VR, pointing out that most of Apple’s demos for its headset “showed a person sitting on the couch by themself.” In contrast, Meta seeks to make VR “fundamentally social,” in what Zuckerberg touts as a “philosophical difference” between Apple and Meta. Meta’s Quest headsets are envisioned by Zuckerberg as tools allowing the masses to “interact in new ways and feel closer in new ways.”
Ultimately, Zuckerberg doesn’t throw Apple’s approach to VR entirely out the window, adding that it “could be the vision of the future of computing” before acknowledging that “it’s not the one that I want” for Meta. “It’s going to be a fun journey,” adds Zuckerberg, who admits that Apple’s foray into VR hardware makes him “even more excited and in a lot of ways optimistic” for Meta’s future.
Apple Vision Pro Release Date and Availability
Apple announced its Vision Pro headset and accompanying visionOS software platform on Monday during the WWDC 2023 keynote. The headset will be available early next year initially in the US only, with prices starting at $3,499. Details on availability have not been shared with the public, as more details are expected to be announced closer to the headset’s launch next year.
