While Vision Pro has failed to set the market on fire – and is officially labeled as “not a mass market product” – the big question is how Apple plans to create a commercially viable product in the space VR/AR, if that’s even possible. Ultimately, the most appealing option for the general public would probably be a pair of thin glasses with smart technology built into them, but the state of the technology and Apple’s own developments mean that this probably won’t appear until a few years.
There are, however, signs of progress. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, knowledgeable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says Apple recently launched a group study to explore its options in the smart glasses market, a sign of real intent. (This follows what was described as a technology survey earlier this year.) Such groups preceded the launch of AirPods and HomePod, as well as Vision Pro itself.
Rather than soliciting public opinion, Apple restricts group discussions to its own employees. This may seem less enlightening, but allows the company to keep tabs on future developments and prevent them from reaching the media… in theory. It is not clear how Gurman obtained his information about the proceedings in this case.
The groups discussed their feelings on currently available smart glasses, which include Snap and Meta products. Apple is late to this market, as is often the case – one of Cook’s mantras is “Not first, but best” – but these companies haven’t figured out the formula yet. Indeed, as Gurman observes, their products are far more limited in terms of AR functionality than Apple anticipates.
So the question becomes: Should Apple pursue its own more ambitious plan and attempt to replicate the Vision Pro’s capabilities in a much smaller chassis? Or should it just create “a glasses version of its AirPods,” as Gurman puts it? This is the dilemma that focus groups are meant to solve.
Whatever conclusion is drawn, we won’t officially know for some time. Gurman says five years is the minimum before Apple will be able to create a “true set of AR smart glasses” that meets its expectations. But Apple is not alone in this, with Meta and Snap experiencing similar issues with their own prototypes. Wherever the market is going, it’s not going there yet.
