Apple Vision Pro Just Killed Zuckerberg's Metaverse

Is Apple Vision Pro the End of Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse? Apple dropped a bombshell last week with the announcement of their latest innovation: the Apple Vision Pro. This mixed reality headset is arguably Apple’s most significant product launch since the original iPhone and it’s generating quite a buzz.. But not everyone is happy about the product announcement – especially Mark Zuckerberg. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is now facing even more of an uphill battle as Apple’s entrance into the mixed reality space puts the two companies into direct competition with each other. Meta has been in the virtual reality space for years ever since it acquired Oculus in 2014, so Apple’s Vision Pro is direct competition for Zuckerberg’s Meta Quest headsets and vision of the metaverse.

The rivalry between Apple and Meta is nothing new. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg have been making subtle jabs against each other’s companies in the media for years now. And Apple’s even made moves in the past to hurt Meta’s business like when the company made major privacy changes in iOS version 14.5 that crippled ad tracking and by extent Facebook’s advertising business. But the rivalry is now more intense than it’s ever been due to the announcement of Apple Vision Pro since this is arguably the first time the two companies have directly competed with each other. So which company is likely to come out on top of the mixed reality headset wars wars?

To dive into this question, let's talk about how Apple and Meta are approaching their headset businesses differently. And to do that, we need to understand the distinction between augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse vision is based on virtual reality. Virtual reality, or VR headsets are meant to replace the user’s real world environment with an immersive, computer-generated environment that replaces the physical world. It’s like being transported into a simulated reality that’s no longer in the real world. You can see that design approach come through in all of Meta’s promotional footage for the metaverse where they are showing off unrealistic and computer generated worlds. It's all about escaping reality and diving into a totally fictional environment.

Apple’s Vision Pro on the other hand is designed with more of a focus on augmented reality. Augmented Reality or AR, is focused on adding digital information or virtual objects onto the real world creating a blended physical and virtual environment. Users can see and interact with their surroundings with the additional digital content added to it. You can see how this is the design philosophy behind the Vision Pro in Apple's promotional material for the Vision Pro where they emphasize the seamless integration of virtual info into your everyday life.

It’s worth mentioning here that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has as far back as 2016 said that he believes that augmented reality will be much bigger than virtual reality. And he’s also been publicly critical of Meta’s vision for the Metaverse. So while Apple and Meta are both competing directly in the virtual headset market, they have very different ideas about what these headsets should actually be doing.

I think this difference in philosophy between augmented reality and virtual reality will ultimately be the deciding factor in whether Apple or Meta comes out on top. Personally, I'm inclined to agree with Apple that augmented reality will be preferred by most people and have more mass appeal.

I think the biggest barrier to mass adoption of headsets is that people generally don’t want to be completely disconnected from their physical environment. I think a lot of people are generally uncomfortable with the idea of being alone in a room with a device covering your eyes and projecting images directly into them. So the heavier you lean into the idea of completely replacing the physical world, the tougher I think it becomes to get interest from most people as mass adopters. So I think Apple’s focus on supplementing the physical world with digital information is more in line with what people want than Zuckerberg’s vision of a fully digital world in the Metaverse.

But another difference between the two companies' approach is the price difference between the products. Apple’s Vision Pro headset is starting at $3,499. The Meta Quest Pro on the other hand which is Meta’s highest end headset starts at $999. And on the lower end of the spectrum the meta quest 2 is only $299. With that hefty price tag on the Vision Pro, it's pretty clear that Apple has their sights set on enterprise customers and developers. They've packed a ton of functionality into the Vision Pro, making it ideal for work applications. On the other hand, Meta Quest is priced for the consumer and its applications are more focused in that area with a strong emphasis on gaming and entertainment.

[YinLawn]

Apple's vision pro is amazing. In the meantime, meta is still trying to add legs to their avartors.

[tbud]

In fact this is the best move for meta, advertisement for free from apple, people who want vr and can never afford 4000$ will only buy meta and will be happy. Now because of apple more people know of this tech.

[lawrencecarpenter]

The vison pro is not competing with the quest. In the lex Friedman podcast with mark Zuckerberg, zuck says seince apple can draw in many people to virtual reality but their price is outrageous the quest sales are going to spike

[garypranzo]

Apple pushing VR, META has a sub $300 well established platform and Apple has a $3500 experiment. Think META will be ok for some time to come.

[bisbee]

Considering what an uninspiring, buggy mess the so-called metaverse is, I think just about any product Apple put out it would have beaten the snot out of Meta. Its really nothing to boast about. That said, the Vision Pro looks pretty cool - assuming it actually lives up to the hype.

[panamapalace]

Zuckerberg should send Cook a 60k bottle of wine as a thank you gift. Meta was failing miserably and VR was only popular with a small audience. Apple will pump new blood into the AR/VR tech space. I see Meta catering to gamers and Apple catering to developers and working professionals. I can literally see a near future of people performing jobs with AR headset and multitasking as if they were working on their laptop. IMO the vision pro will replace the laptop in 20 years. If apple ever decides to release a vision headset for $1000 with controllers made specifically for gamers, that will spell the end of Meta as a company.

[rawar]

You really don't know about the technology you're talking about do you? The meta quest 3 and pro are all about augmented reality.