Gimmick or a Futuristic Tech?

When was the last time you bought a gadget just because it was good for your use? Although we would all like to think that our decisions are unbiased, there is always someone or something that influences our purchasing decisions. It could be MKBHD rooting for Apple products or Jerry telling you that Apple doesn't use too much titanium in its iPhone 15 Pro Max. Your friend might ask you to check out that cool new smartphone. A good example is the *whole* line of Apple products.

No matter if you walk past YouTube Reels, TikTok, Instagram Shorts or any other video streaming platform, you will see people wearing this futuristic looking “Apple Vision Pro”, right? Apple has managed to add everything from XrOS to the R1 chip to countless sensors, the majestic EyeSight display to a processor capable of powering a 16-inch Mac, all in a headset that users can wear and enjoy of a seamless augmented reality experience that Apple calls “Spatial”. Computing'.

What if I told you it’s just a trend? The technology may be futuristic, but Apple is more likely leveraging its age-old strategy to make its product stand out as a status symbol and using internet influencers to channel the same vibe.

Apple Vision Pro: gadget or revolutionary technology?

Apple Vision Pro, the Cupertino-based giant's answer to the Meta Quest Pro series VR headset, made its announcement late last year. It's only been a few weeks since the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro went on sale and to be honest, it seems like it's everywhere. Whether you check your YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or any other place, you'll find countless videos of people displaying the futuristic gadget on a subway train, on a bus, on a plane, or even on a dresser. just to name a few.

Vision Pro is a $3,500 space computing headset that has spent around $20 billion on R&D and for good reason. Apple had to create everything from the software development kit (ARKit) which today gave us more than 600 Vision Pro compatible applications. Apple developed ARM processors for the Vision Pro that could power a 16-inch laptop and yet they're on the headset. Countless sensors monitor and contemplate your every move to make changes to the spatial environment (since Apple doesn't want us to call Vision Pro an AR or VR headset). So, the hefty sum of $3,500 justifies all the technology needed to create it, right?

However, Apple is far and away known as a technology company that uses its products as a “status symbol” rather than just a gadget. iPhones, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra, AirPods and Macbooks are all part of Apple's identity as a technology brand where if you have it, you have all the money in the world or at least it does. is what the user seems to have.

In the age of virality through reels and short-form shorts, Apple was able to don the hat of a tech company making futuristic gadgets with the Vision Pro allowing users to do almost anything while sitting on their couch. It's more like you're not holding an iPhone (as a status symbol anywhere), but the Vision Pro is talking.

Okay, Vision Pro can do a lot of things, but hey, at a quarter of the price, you can do a lot of things with VR headsets like the Meta Quest series. It seems Apple fans can do anything to get their hands on a trending Apple product, even if it sets them back $3,500 with little incentive once you buy it.

The general sentiment is that Apple won't sell too many Vision Pros due to the exorbitant prices. Next thing you see, the second generation Vision Pro is almost half the price and sales numbers would eventually skyrocket. Apple's strategy could be to further exploit demand while limiting supply, creating a whole new category of users who would watch Apple Stores as Apple restocks Vision Pros and then stock them in a few days or so.

What do you think of Apple Vision Pro? Do you think this is a futuristic gadget that can satisfy many of your use cases or rather just a virality product thanks to videos on TikTok and Reels disguising Vision Pro as gold dust ?

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