Apple has finally entered the virtual reality arena with the announcement of their highly anticipated new headset and augmented reality platform, Vision Pro. During the company’s recent event, CEO Tim Cook referred to VR and augmented reality as “profound technology” with “revolutionary” potential, putting it in the same league as the Mac personal computer line and the iPhone. This marks the first major device launch by the company since the Apple Watch nine years ago.
What sets Apple’s “spacial computing” system apart is its fluid interface that picks up on signals and movements from a user’s eyes and hands, as well as Siri voice recognition. This is a departure from many existing VR setups that require the use of physical controllers along with headsets.
In anticipation of the event, Apple’s stock hit an all-time high, gaining 2% to just shy of $185 before pulling back in mid-day trading. Shares have risen almost 40% in 2023 to date, several times the increase of the benchmark S&P 500.
While Sony and a division of ByteDance have made serious efforts in VR hardware, Meta Platforms has made the highest-profile bet on the emerging sector. It renamed the company from Facebook to reflect its new strategic focus and has pumped billions of dollars into its Reality Labs unit.
Despite all of the investment, VR and the metaverse have not been unanimously proclaimed as the life-changing evolutionary stage that its boosters see it as. Total sales of headsets in 2022 dropped 21% from 2021, totaling 8.8 million, and fell by more than half in 2023, down 20.9% from 2021.
While the headset stole the show, Apple also revealed a wide range of offerings, from new laptops and AirPods to iOS updates. FaceTime figured prominently, with updates to Apple TV and iOS enabling users to use it on a big screen and leave video voicemail messages.
