If you are into that type of thing you might have tuned into Apple's WWDC event yesterday to get a first look at their new VR/AR headset - or, what they are calling their new spatial computing device. And if you are like me, you would have been pretty shocked by the price at $3,499 (or about $5,000 Canadian, my home country.) You would have been really disappointed in the tether wire necessary for longer-lasting battery power. And then you would have gone online to all the exciting but sometimes negative comments about the new device, but particularly the price.
As someone noted online, 'That's a lot of money to buy a bit of technology that lets you watch TV in a new way'.
But here's a reminder that there were scathing reviews on the original first versions of the Apple iPhone, TV, Watch, and iMac. Keep in mind that companies that build the future, such as Apple, aren't afraid to take on the big bold leaps of the imagination necessary to get to the future - because that's the only way to build the future.
With that idea in mind, some perspective on yesterday's announcement is helpful. The team over at CultofMac (which essentially reports on the cult that is fans of Apple - of which I am one), quickly put up a blog post to put things in perspective.
People might be squawking about the $3,499 price tag of Apple’s new Vision Pro headset, but let’s put things in perspective. When Apple introduced the Macintosh — the first computer with a graphical user interface — it cost an eye-watering $7,400 in today’s dollars.
The Apple II — the first truly “personal computer’ — proved even more expensive. In 1977, an Apple II with maxed-out memory (a whopping 48KB of RAM, yes kilobytes) cost the equivalent of $14,400.
Throughout its nearly 50-year history, Apple has successfully introduced a string of groundbreaking computing platforms. It started with the Apple II, the first personal computer for the masses (which coincidentally launched on this day in 1977), followed by the Mac’s graphical user interface, the iPod’s scroll wheel, and then the iPhone’s revolutionary multitouch input system.
In each case, the breakthrough was a new input method.
Even the iPhone, which introduced the world to finger-based computing, was initially predicted to be a failure when it launched in 2007, mostly based on its lack of a keyboard and its price.
Apple initially priced the iPhone at $499, at a time when most mobile phones came free with a carrier plan.
Pundits said no one would buy it. Steve Ballmer, then Microsoft’s CEO, famously predicted the iPhone would bomb.
“That is the most expensive phone in the world,” Ballmer said at the time.
Adjusted for inflation, it would cost about $720 today — slightly cheaper than the current iPhone 14, which starts at $799.
Apple’s always had pricing woes
In 1998, Steve Jobs launched the iMac, which went on sale for $1,299. Again, this price point was criticized as being way out of line with competing machines from rival PC-makers.
Jobs defended the price by saying: “No PCs are in the price range. But people are seeing the value at these prices, and our goal is to continue to lower prices on products like iMac. Part of it relates to how much of a necessity you think these devices are. And a lot of people are starting to feel that having a personal computer, especially one that is able to deliver as robust an internet experience as the iMac can in the home, is an essential utility. An iMac costs about as much as heating a New England home in the winter, a lot less than an automobile. We’re not in the sweet spot totally, but we’re getting there.”
Of course, the iMac went on to become Apple’s fastest-selling computer — and one of the best-selling computers of all time.
Even at $3,500, Apple’s Vision Pro headset looks like a relative bargain
CultofMac, June 5,2023
And then there is the fact that by finally jumping on board, Apple is establishing a foothold to define the trend - and their new world of '3D spatial computing' will certainly do a lot to define the trend. Simply watch the introduction video to get an idea of the future that they see.
Want to dig into the potential trends that might play out here? Go back and re-read Trend #17 of my "23 Trends for 2023" series, where I wrote about "non-immersive VR/AR." Part of what Apple was announcing yesterday with augmented reality (AR) fits into that trend analysis - even though it's still a headset.
People made fun of the original iPhone.
"The iPhone will be a major disappointment." Advertising Age
"The iPhone isn't the future. It isn't a revolutionary mobile device ushering in a new era." TheStreet.com
"There is no likelihood that Apple can be successful in a business this competitive. These phones go in and out of style so fast that unless Apple has half a dozen variants in the pipeline, its phone, even if immediately successful, will be passé within 3 months." Dow Jones' MarketWatch
And famously, established phone pioneers like Motorola, Blackberry, and Nokia dismissed the iPhone. It was a threat.
Oops.
Futurist Jim Carroll remains somewhat dismissive of the V in "reality" but is a fan of the A in "reality", believing there is more opportunity in 'augmented reality' than with 'virtual reality.' To make sense of this, go read Trend #17 of his "23 Trends for 2023' series.
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