Why Apple's VR /AR Headset Could be the Next iPhone - Medium

For years, the iPhone has been Apple’s leader product. But caller changes suggest that things won’t beryllium that mode for overmuch longer. Is Apple’s caller headset poised to instrumentality its place?

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When you deliberation astir Apple, you apt deliberation astir the iPhone. And that’s due to the fact that it’s the company’s leader product. It laid the instauration for an epoch successful which pocket-sized computers are the norm. And for years, its driven the bulk of Apple’s sales.

So erstwhile reports surfaced that, for a little infinitesimal successful time, Apple was worthy much than Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet combined, there’s nary uncertainty that the iPhone had played a large role.

But the iPhone’s glory days whitethorn beryllium implicit due to the fact that successful 2019, things started to change. For the archetypal clip since 2012, the iPhone brought successful less than half of Apple’s full sales. The iPhone was increasing up and its booming maturation was slowing down.

Apple has a estimation for being innovative, but erstwhile it comes to the iPhone they’re not innovating enough. Except for the caller addition of the dynamic island, the changes to the iPhone person been incremental wrong the past fewer years.

When there’s small to nary quality betwixt each model, users person nary crushed to marque a costly upgrade. And upgrades are what bring successful a ample chunk of Apple’s iPhone sales.

Apple is successful request of its adjacent large happening — a technological leap that the institution tin usage to its advantage. Something that volition thrust the adjacent decennary of maturation arsenic did the iPhone.

And Apple has apt recovered this adjacent large happening successful its mixed world headset.

For years, it’s been rumored that Apple is moving connected a headset that features some virtual and augmented world — blending carnal and integer worlds.

It’s speculated that it volition look similar Meta’s VR Quest headset. But the plan volition beryllium sleeker and much lightweight. It volition person high-resolution OLED displays and a twelve cameras.

Users volition beryllium capable to interchange headbands. And arsenic is the lawsuit with the Apple Watch, users volition link it with the iPhone.

When you see what Apple has been moving connected for the past fewer years, this isn’t hard to believe. In 2015 and aboriginal 2016, the institution began hiring radical with expertise successful AR and VR technology.

And Apple has made respective acquisitions. In 2018, they purchased Akonia Holographics, a institution that makes lenses for augmented world glasses.

Apple has filed galore world headset-related patents. They’ve been moving precocious AR tools into the iPad and iPhone.

And successful 2021, the institution introduced new assistive interaction features. With this caller update, users tin power their Apple Watch with elemental manus gestures–the benignant of exertion that would brace perfectly with an augmented world headset.

This mixed-reality headset falls into the class of wearable devices. And this class has a batch of potential.

Because successful the aforesaid twelvemonth that the iPhone was lagging down successful sales, wearable devices similar the Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats headphones were picking up the slack.

According to Tim Cook, these products are the size of a Fortune 150 company. And they’re attracting caller customers.

For years, the iPhone has been the first-ever Apple merchandise that radical purchased. But by 2020, galore customers were entering Apple’s ecosystem done the Apple Watch.

As much details look astir Apple’s headset design, features, and its $3,000 terms tag, critics are weighing in. They accidental that the headset is excessively expensive, that it volition lone entreaty to a tiny audience, and that there’s nary request for it.

But then, these are the aforesaid criticisms that the archetypal iPhone received earlier it disrupted the marketplace successful 2007 and changed the world:

Bloomberg’s Matthew Lynn wrote,

“iPhone is thing much than a luxury bauble that volition entreaty to a fewer gadget freaks.”

Steve Ballmer, the erstwhile CEO of Microsoft was quoted arsenic saying,

“Five 100 dollars, afloat subsidized, with a plan?! I said, ‘That is the astir costly telephone successful the world! And it doesn’t entreaty to concern customers due to the fact that it doesn’t person a keyboard!’”

And successful their nonfiction entitled “The Futurist: We Predict the iPhone Will Bomb” a Tech Crunch contributor said,

“That virtual keyboard volition beryllium astir arsenic utile for tapping retired emails and substance messages arsenic a rotary phone.”

As companies similar Google, Microsoft, and Meta merchandise their ain VR headsets and glasses, they would bash good to support a adjacent oculus connected Apple.

Because if Apple tin get this conscionable right, meaning if the institution tin nutrient a headset that feels arsenic comfy arsenic AirPods, looks arsenic stylish arsenic the Apple Watch, and is arsenic well-branded arsenic Beats headphones past it whitethorn get the accidental to relive the glory days of the iPhone.

Question: What is your sentiment of Apple’s mixed world headset?