It is such amazing technology with many applications, but I don't think it is going to be as easy as the iPhone where the product was basically responsible for creating mainstream demand for smartphones.
The unique challenge of AR/VR is that people inherently can't socially experience why they want it in the same way they can experience why they want a computer/smartphone/tablet/watch/etc by witnessing someone use it. Hanging out with a group of friends and seeing someone pull out their iPhone and and lookup the restaurant everyone wants to go to, call and get reservations and then pull up turn-by-turn directions is a very relatable moment that sparks some envy.
Hanging out with a group of people where one person has a vision pro and no one else can see what's on the other side of the glass seems a little weird at best and extremely awkward at worst.
Every other type of consumer electronic device you can see and get a sense of the feature the person across the room is using and the benefit they are getting out of it. With AVP and other VR headsets all you see is a box hugging their face while randomly grasping at the air with their thumb and forefinger. I think the only place that is going to create mass envy is flying coach on a 2+ hour flight.
This isn't being negative on the tech, as I do think that VR/AR will ultimately be successful as it matures, but it is going to take awhile for people to actually see and experience the features and benefits.
I agree, it's a really odd bit of marketing given how much awareness screen time and the negative impacts of always connected devices and consumption are having on general wellbeing. There will be more than a few people turned off by that. I think it is a mistake to feature use cases where a smartphone/tablet would be a better/more convenient substitute. The guy pulling up his whole work setup at the kitchen island so he can make his kids' lunch I didn't get in the launch video either. Why? So you have easy access to urgent work email and messages while taking 10 min to slap together a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches? What's the iPhone in your pocket for then? Why would you even be trying to work on a Keynote presentation in that situation? It presents AVP as the world's most efficient device at enabling adult onset ADHD and unhealthy work/life balance...
Having in on while packing your suitcase makes no sense either. Anything she could be doing on there, up to and including the unexpected Facetime call, would be a least 4x easier on a handheld device in that situation.
It's a device you're going to use when you are alone 99% of the time. That they are trying too hard to play up the 'socially acceptable' aspects makes it even more weird. Why not lean into the amazing spacial computing aspects? Showing the people watching a movie at home and on the plane are the most compelling thing in the commercial. It's cool. Dude's triple-screen in the kitchen is actually really cool if you show him enabled to create the ultimate work from home battle station in the den. Can we show someone running through vacation photos and videos, organizing and selecting some to post to social media from the comfort of the couch? How about a video editor using it as a 150" display with his MacBook Pro? Focus and meditation? Where are the games?
Until multiple people wearing a Vision Pro headset can share a virtual environment, focus on why the solo experience is so awesome that I'd still feel cool using one.
