In a meeting with his employees, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly had a discussion about the Apple Vision Pro headset launch and said it “could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want”.
During the companywide meeting, Mark Zuckerberg said that Apple’s device didn’t introduce any major advancements in technology that Meta hadn’t “already explored”, reported The Verge.
He also stated how Meta will be able to reach a larger user base due to the Quest 3 headset’s lower pricing of USD 499 as compared to the Vision Pro’s USD 3,499 selling price.
“I think that their announcement really showcases the difference in the values and the vision that our companies bring to this in a way that I think is really important,” Mark Zuckerberg mentioned.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, the Quest headset is about “people interacting in new ways and feeling closer” in addition to “about being active and doing things”.
“By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself,” he said about Apple’s ‘Worldwide Developers Conference’ keynote event.
“I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want,” he added.
The iPhone maker unveiled the ‘Apple Vision Pro’ headset in June 2023, which seamlessly blends the digital world with the real one around us.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook, during the launch, said that the new headset “seamlessly blends the real world and the virtual world”.
The headset, which has a two-hour battery life, has a price tag which is considerably higher than virtual reality headsets currently available on the market.
Apple also used the phrase “augmented reality” to describe the functionality of the new device.
Augmented reality, also known as mixed reality, is known for superimposing virtual objects around its users, thus enabling the latter to mix reality with virtual reality by looking through a screen.
“It’s like your phone but right in front of you – big, bright and bold, wherever you are,” BBC technology editor Zoe Kleinman wrote about the Apple Vision Pro headset.
“In letting you do things like watch videos of your family blowing out birthday candles or immerse yourself in your photography by making your panoramic photos life-size, she says it is pitched as a device which is very much about being part of your daily life”, unlike many other headsets on the market geared primarily towards immersive gaming,” she said.
“Users can access apps, watch movies, and write documents in a virtual world. But so far, there is little evidence of a big market for this kind of wearable tech. It’s still at the end of the day a VR headset,” she stated further, while adding, “Apple is going to have to have an awful lot of content to throw at this when it ships early next year. And of course, the other thing is the price point – USD 3,499 is a lot of money.”
Image Credits: Apple