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Apple is about to enter an entirely new product category with the upcoming Reality Pro headset. The mixed reality headset has been detailed in several leaks and rumors over the past few months. It’s the first time Apple has entered a new product segment in a long time, and that’s what makes it so interesting.
However, I think most of us have been looking at this launch the wrong way. The Apple Reality Pro VR headset isn’t trying to disrupt an existing industry, instead trying to carve out a whole new niche for itself. The Apple Reality Pro VR headset will not replace Meta Quest, it will instead replace your entire computer.
Apple’s lofty VR plans: playing the long game
Apple is no stranger to entering — and revolutionizing — existing product markets. We’ve seen the company do this time and time again, whether that’s changing the face of MP3 players with the iPod or wiping the then-dominant BlackBerry off the face of the earth with the iPhone. Apple tends to wait until it’s confident it can deliver a product it thinks is the best in the world. That doesn’t mean it always delivers a completely complete product from the start, but it’s been good at customizing the product and playing the long game.
Example: the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is the last major product category introduced by Apple. It was a very skeletal product at launch, but Apple repeated it well enough to make it not only the best-selling smartwatch, but also the best-selling watch of all time. Today, the Apple Watch seems almost unbeatable, not just in terms of smartwatches, but growing into the most ubiquitous watch on the wrist in general, which wouldn’t have been everyone’s prediction when it launched in 2015.
I think Apple plans to take a similar path with its Reality Pro VR headset. The VR space has been around for a while, but it still feels undercooked and progress seems haphazard. We can’t say “VR is the future” with as much confidence as we did a few years ago. Meta and Oculus, while fairly successful in terms of hardware, seem to have succumbed to an untested belief that the world is ready for life within the so-called metaverse. With relatively weak competition, the VR segment is ripe for Apple to disrupt, and it doesn’t even need to do well on day one.
Apple’s AIO model
This brings me to my point: I don’t think Apple wants to compete with existing VR headsets on the market. So far, nothing indicates that Apple wants to compete with the Meta Quest line. For starters, the Apple Reality Pro VR headset will likely cost between $2,000 and $3,000, which is the $1,500 (now $1,000) launch price of the MetaQuestPro. That’s the first major indication that the headset will be a premium option… or an entirely different class of VR.
I think the Reality Pro will follow what I call Apple’s AIO model. Apple has done it time and time again. The iMac? An all-in-one device, where the chipset and monitor are integrated in one device. The iPhone? We all remember Steve Jobs’ iconic keynote where he introduced the iPhone and called it “an iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator” in one. Apple likes to reinvent things and make one device to do the job of several, and I think the Reality Pro will be just that.
We know this will be a pricey model, and we know it will be powered by Apple’s own silicon, likely an M2 family chip. The question is, why should it be an M-series chip and not an A-series mobile chip? Adding an M2 chip to just a headset seems excessive, doesn’t it? That is, of course, unless Apple has much bigger ambitions for the headset than just being an entertainment device, but also a productivity device.
What is a Computer? Apple’s silicon conundrum
It’s probably because this won’t happen just be a headset. Apple aims to make the Reality Pro the ultimate computer, not just an input/output device. The $3,000 price tag makes a lot more sense when you get a computer that you can wear on your forehead rather than just another headset. The M2 chip would also make more sense if this device is going to do more than just act as a head-mounted display.
Apple has solved the question “What is a computer?” ask before with the iPad, and I think he will ask again with the Reality Pro. We’ve seen early attempts to get AR glasses off the ground (an area Apple is also keen to master eventually), and a big selling point is that you can use them as a computer screen replacement. Apple silicon has a solid mix of performance, energy efficiency and solid thermals – and could work thrillingly well, with the right operating system and software, in a device that integrates all existing computing principles into one.
But are we there yet? Possibly not. The headset we’ll see at WWDC 2023 is likely a debutant with some shortcomings and a far cry from Tim Cook’s original vision, as we’ve heard from some recent reports. Cook doesn’t like the idea of being “tied to a computer,” so it’s possible that the ultimate goal is to have no cable at all. Apple Silicon’s development journey will be a major factor in bringing this early VR headset to a point where it’s a “go anywhere” computer.
A Hideo Kojima headset?
Legendary game designer Hideo Kojima has been spotted in Apple Park, fueling rumors that he may be part of the Reality Pro announcement. While this may or may not be true, it begs a question: Could the Reality Pro eventually become a standalone gaming machine?
It will take serious effort from Apple to lure game developers to this new platform, but it is necessary. VR has a deep connection with gaming and Apple can’t ignore it. I doubt Apple wants the Reality Pro to be VR goggles that plug into your Windows gaming PC, so the other option is to have solid first-party support. AAA gaming on Mac is something Apple has struggled with or effectively ignored before. Could Apple VR have the power to change that? If its Macs still fall short of gaming PC standards, could Reality Pro also be the missing piece in Apple’s gaming puzzle?
Of course, there’s a chance it could crash and burn, and we never see any of those things materialize. Apple is not immune to failure. However, Apple’s expertise in disrupting market segments and crafting its own product niches is unparalleled. It is uniquely equipped to make this pipe dream a Reality™, and for the sake of VR and all who love it, I hope it does.
