Apple Vision Pro will generate public interest in mixed reality headsets, but people are more likely to buy a Meta Quest, suggests Meta’s Vishal Shah.
FACTS
Meta’s VP of Metaverse, Vishal Shah, told Bloomberg about the upcoming Vision Pro launch on February 2: “One of the benefits we’ll get when Apple releases their devices is that people will be able to see it and try it and use this thing.”
Shah suggests that Apple customers might be inclined to buy a Quest instead because of the Vision Pro’s high price. “Maybe I can’t, and shouldn’t, buy a $3,500 device — but I can find something that’s more affordable.”
Shah goes on to say: “If we wanted to build a $3,000-plus device, we could do that. That is not our strategy. Our strategy is to make the device as accessible as possible.”
CONTEXT
The Meta Quest 3 mixed reality headset costs $500, while the older Quest 2 costs $250. But in terms of specifications, use cases, and functionality, the devices are difficult to compare to the Apple Vision, which has a starting price of $3,500.
Meta Quest is primarily a game console and fitness device, while Vision is advertised as an all-purpose computer that can be used to work and view pictures and movies in high quality.
The author of the Bloomberg article, Dave Lee, believes that fitness and health could become a killer app that will allow Meta to successfully differentiate itself from Apple. Vision Pro comes with an external battery and has not yet been positioned by Apple as a fitness device.
OPINION
Shah is right that Meta and Meta Quest in particular, will benefit from the hype surrounding Vision Pro. The question is in which direction the market will develop in the long term.
Will people be using headsets to replace monitors and computers in five to ten years? If so, Apple would certainly have an advantage because of its tight ecosystem integration. Will headsets remain primarily for gaming? Then Meta would probably have an advantage.
Vision Pro and Meta Quest are two very different products and one cannot replace the other without losing something. It is very likely that the product strategies will converge in the future and there will be more overlap in functionality and price.
This news is republished from another source.
