In a recent company-wide meeting, Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Meta, expressed his views on Apple’s Vision Pro headset, considering it a highly expensive product that fails to offer any “magical solutions.” As reported by The Verge, Zuckerberg highlighted Meta’s own virtual reality Quest headsets as being more affordable and focused on bringing people together.
Zuckerberg expressed concern over Apple’s promotional videos, which he believed showcased people being isolated, a potential reality in the future that he did not endorse. He commended Meta’s efforts to develop virtual reality headsets that fostered social connections. He further discussed the technical aspects of Apple’s Vision Pro, noting that the company had made trade-offs to achieve a metal design, unlike most other VR/AR headsets that utilize lightweight plastic builds. The Vision Pro headset lacks an in-built battery to reduce weight, which Zuckerberg also mentioned.
Zuckerberg mentioned that based on his initial observations, there were no revolutionary solutions in Apple’s headset that Meta’s teams hadn’t already explored. He highlighted Apple’s decision to incorporate a higher resolution display, which significantly increased costs and energy requirements, necessitating the use of an external battery and wired connection. Although acknowledging the design trade-offs, he suggested it might be suitable for the specific use cases Apple intended to target.
Despite these critiques, Zuckerberg expressed optimism about the metaverse project with Apple entering the space. He believed that the future of AR/VR headsets would be an intriguing journey. However, he emphasized that Meta’s vision of the metaverse focused on creating a virtual world where users could design their avatars, while Apple aimed to offer augmented reality by overlaying images on real-world objects. Meta’s Quest headsets primarily cater to gaming, while Apple’s Vision Pro headset, at least in its first-generation iteration, appears more focused on content consumption and productivity.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, also commented on the Vision Pro headset in a recent interview. He emphasized that the headset could perform all the functions of iPhones and Macs, and more. When asked about its availability to the average consumer next year, Cook noted that it would depend on the global financial situation. He justified the high cost by highlighting the headset’s top-notch displays and powerful M2 SoC, which drive the device, acknowledging the associated technological costs.
Zuckerberg’s criticisms reflect the divergent visions and priorities of Meta and Apple in the realm of AR/VR headsets, while also acknowledging the trade-offs and costs involved in developing such advanced technologies.
