In the week after Apple announced its $3,500 Vision Pro VR headset, the company’s stock hit a record high. Despite the product’s unaffordability, there is a market (or at least an interest) in Apple’s premium wearable technology. However, unlike the smartphone giant, Meta lost billions in their virtual reality department in 2022. And they expect to lose even more cash on VR throughout 2023. The companies sell their augmented/virtual reality headsets at vastly different price points (the Meta Quest Pro starts at $999.) But how else are Apple and Meta approaching the VR war differently?
Apple, Meta, and their different approaches to VR and AR technology
The headsets are the first and most obvious difference between the two tech giant’s approaches to virtual reality. Apple has always offered expensive high-end gadgets that pump out some serious power. The Vision Pro VR’s eyewatering $3,500 price point means the headset boasts impressive (and premium) hardware.
The Vision Pro operates on an array of sensors and cameras, giving the headset unmatched spatial awareness for VR/AR goggles. And it runs on a dual-chip design using Apple’s M2 and R1 chipsets for seamless real-world interaction. In other words, you’ll shell out more than you would for a MacBook Pro but get what you pay for. The Vision Pro is for enthusiasts who want the highest-end virtual reality hardware they can get their hands on.
On the other hand, Meta’s range of headsets can cost as little as $300 or up to $1,000. You can spend the money for the Meta Quest Pro to receive a higher-end experience. Or buy a Meta Quest 2 to get yourself in the virtual door. Though the Quest headsets are more than serviceable, Meta can’t produce the high-end hardware that Apple can deliver.
Digital ecosystems, software, and userbase
Apple’s suite of offerings is so successful in part because of its vast software ecosystem. Because they have a hand in every corner of consumer technology, Apple products can all seamlessly interact with each other. The Vision Pro headset is just an extension of iOS devices, and vice versa.
According to Statista, Apple dominates the smartphone sector in the United States with a 53% market share in March 2023. They have access to an inherent user base already interested in their hardware products. In contrast, Meta is best known for its various social media and messaging platforms. The masses won’t be able to drop two months’ rent on an unnecessary piece of consumer tech. But those who can, can natively interact with the rest of their friends who already own iPhones.
Both Apple and Meta say their VR headsets provide access to a new way of digital interaction. However, the social media giant wants to bring users into a completely artificial world with their metaverse. However, the iPhone maker is more interested in having users interact in the real world with its augmented reality capabilities.
Apple has a massive advantage in the consumer tech hardware market.
The metaverse (and its inextricable ties to blockchain technology) is in its infancy. Pew Research reports experts agree that the metaverse will become increasingly intertwined with our everyday lives in the coming decades. Though, no one knows what it will look like when that time comes. However, according to Ethereum blockchain co-creator Vitalik Buterin, Meta’s version likely isn’t the answer we seek.
Apple hasn’t shown off any sort of virtual world for Vision Pro users either. But what they do have is the most robust online app store in the world. And they have an array of tools for third-party developers ready to help them expand Vision Pro’s software offerings. Both companies focus on interconnectivity in the digital age. But they come at it from two different approaches.
Unfortunately for Meta, they cannot compete with Apple’s dominance in the consumer tech hardware market. What sets the Vision Pro apart from the Meta’s Quest line isn’t only the premium technology in the headset. It’s the intangibility of a massive, loyal user base for Apple’s other hardware offerings that Meta cannot overcome.
