Apple dives into AR/VR: Triumph or Regret?

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

It is a well known fact that one of the top notch big box players, Apple, doesn’t jump into markets very often, but its recent investment in AR/VR has left its competitors and us fans wondering what the reason behind such a sudden decision is. Or what did they see in AR/VR’s future that piqued their interest in investing in it? Read on as we unveil all of these aspects in this blog.

Foundation

Apple’s interest in the AR/VR realm is not sudden at all; it dates all the way back to 2017, when Apple launched its game-changing software development toolkit, ARKit, allowing developers to create customized AR games and applications for iPhones and iPads. With many e-commerce platforms and game developers falling in love with the increased engagement ARKit brought them, Apple has shown keen interest in and commitment to the AR/VR field. Apple has made acquisitions of quite a few startups that have been working on AR/VR, and namely,

• PrimeSense
• Metaio
• Flyby Media
• Vrvana
• Mira

Apple has been gearing up for the whole decade, working on AR and VR behind the scenes all the time.

Why This industry?

Ever since Meta released their Metaverse Headsets, sales for the VR headsets haven’t been successful, and the anticipated rise in VR market hasn’t happened. The reason for this is that no one has acknowledged the actual potential in this industry, and if exploited in the correct way, the profit could increase by folds untold. Apple is the ideal candidate to pull this off and boost the AR/VR industry, given its history of brilliant inventions. As of now, sales may not be as high for AR and VR products, but with the right product and target market, Apple might be in luck for a huge turnout in the long run.

Plans for the future

When Apple’s watch was first released, sales weren’t as high in the first year. But what Apple did was research why and what caused these results. They repositioned themselves, partnering up with Nike, once they understood that customers were exploiting the watch for fitness purposes the most. And this in turn boosted the sales of Apple’s watch in later years. Apple expects the same thing with its headsets as well. They anticipate about $100k in sales for the first year overall, which might not be much, but it’s expected to generate far greater revenue in the upcoming years. This is, of course, the worst case scenario. Once the initial product is launched on the market, it plans to release less expensive modified variants of the same, catering to customer demands.

Apple’s Vision Pro

Apple announced its brand new AR/VR headset during WWDC this year on June 5th. Since then, there has been a noticeable increase in interest in its debut. Vision Pro is known to have its own OS called VisionOS, and the most exciting thing about Vision Pro is that it’s controller-free.

You can access and control everything with your eyes, hands, and voice. With the 4K screen and other features it has to offer, it stands as the most powerful AR/VR headset known to mankind yet.

Conclusion

Industrialists are skeptical that the product will succeed in the market since the AR/VR market declined the previous year, but it’s never about the timing; it’s always about “what” they are delivering.

With an amazing product like Vision Pro at hand, Apple might just be able to spark the mainstream excitement required to revive the industry, which Meta hasn’t been able to do so far.

Credits: dork_boy | Dhanalakshmi @E-Cell ABV IIITM