Well, Apple went and did the thing. After years of rumour, speculation and anticipation, the company finally unveiled its first new product category since 2014’s Apple Watch with the announcement of the Apple Vision Pro. The AR and VR headset, which currently costs a steep $3,500 and has a tentative launch date of early 2024, is Apple’s first big step in making the idea of spatial computing a reality.
At the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, Apple finally got rid of the long-awaited mixed-reality headset, and the Web3 community was certainly struck by how its introduction could profoundly impact the evolution of the metaverse and crypto art. area. This is what people say.
Excitement and praise for Apple Vision Pro
Well-known figures in both the Web3 and VR worlds have expressed their enthusiasm for Apple’s latest product announcement. Reddit and Web3 finance company Seven Seven Six founder Alexis Ohanian, Oculus VR founder Palmer Lucky and Gmoney were all excited about the headset and its capabilities.
Get rid of privacy screens on commercial flights?
And the easy AR/VR shift should make it more viable in the home. A great feature in AR/VR gaming is the ability to hand a unit over to another person and play together seamlessly IRL. https://t.co/nsoQP8HO63— Alexis Ohanian
(@alexisohanian) June 5, 2023
The Apple headset is so good.
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) May 14, 2023
— gmoney.9dcc.eth (@gmoneyNFT) June 5, 2023
Not everyone in Web3 is convinced
Amongst the fanfare and praise was a healthy amount of skepticism from both artists and builders in the NFT sphere. Post-photography mage Roope Rainisto was among those concerned about how apps in the Apple Vision Pro workspace would look and fit into a user’s field of view. Others felt that Apple’s copy-paste way of projecting its apps into physical space lacked the imagination needed to really capitalize on the promise of spatial computing.
Furthermore, Chana Kanzen, founder of London Women Leading Web3 and head of Rug Radio Partnerships, praised the technology but expressed skepticism about the fit and comfort of the goggles.
The info density here is always a funny question.
Imagine how big this Excel window is in your eyes… How big a comparable monitor would be.
The content looks – cramped?
Unless it was done only for the purpose of this demonstration video. pic.twitter.com/gCONwZLYOz— Roope Rainisto (@rainisto) June 5, 2023
Apple’s new headset – yes, the technology is great and exciting, but I still feel like we won’t see adoption from these companies until we can integrate VR into lightweight, breathable goggles that are comfortable to wear for long periods of time to carry, mobile and compact is to be hoped for.…
— retAlice
(@inNFTland) June 5, 2023
What’s Web3 without satire?
NFT community members were quick to hone in on some of the more humorous aspects of the announcement, highlighting both the high price of Vision Pro and how crypto rapiers might use the tool.
when you find out it’s $3499 pic.twitter.com/mXJCfSWboe
— 𒐪 (@SHL0MS) June 5, 2023
The Apple Headset is extremely cheap. I stopped ordering coffee for a week and have already bought two.
Passive income changes your life
— ThreadGuy
(@notthreadguy) June 5, 2023
And of course, the community couldn’t resist using Vision Pro as a lens to comment on the recent lawsuit filed by the SEC against two of the largest crypto exchanges in existence, Binance and Coinbase.
She reads the SEC Vs Binance lawsuit pic.twitter.com/jcgJwE0KDw
— Jonah
(@RealJonahBlake) June 5, 2023
With an early 2024 release date in the works, the wary and hopeful alike will have to wait to see exactly what Apple brings to market, but the possibility of the world’s largest tech company by revenue standing a serious shot at spatial computing is nothing to scoff at.