Apple’s Initial Soft Launch and Sales Forecast Changes
In just a few weeks, Tim Cook will take the stage for one of the most highly anticipated WWDC keynotes, fueling excitement with the anticipated debut of Apple's inaugural AR headset and a flurry of rumored announcements. Adding to the anticipation, Palmer Luckey, the founder of leading VR headset company Oculus, took to Twitter and lauded Apple’s MR headset device as "so good," further intensifying the buzz surrounding its launch. Despite its likely price range of $2,500-$3,000, positioning it as a premium contender, the device increasingly appears to be a formidable competitor to Meta's VR headsets, which retail at $1,000, and other rivals falling within the $300-$900 range.
However, in a significant revision, Apple has drastically decreased its sales projections for its highly anticipated mixed-reality headsets by approximately two-thirds. Initially aiming to sell around 3 million units annually, the iPhone-maker had recently scaled down those estimates to about 1 million. The latest update reveals that the company has further reduced the potential sales projections to 900,000 units. This adjustment raises concerns regarding consumer demand, particularly in the midst of uncertain economic conditions, specifically for a high-end VR device.
Apple’s VR/AR Focus
With this product launch and future VR Vision plans, Apple aims to revolutionize the VR/AR sector by introducing a range of features that go beyond the capabilities of existing VR headsets, despite the potential adjustment in sales projections. One particularly intriguing feature is the ability to seamlessly switch between AR and VR experiences, powered by a new operating system called "xrOS." Notably, this innovation enables AR FaceTime calls, displaying a realistically rendered video of the headset wearer. Additionally, Apple has been quietly developing an AR software environment, fostering opportunities for the company and other developers to create immersive applications. These advancements are likely to contribute to improved sales in 2024 and 2025, especially with the potential launch of newer AR/VR headsets by Apple.
Update Post WWDC
Apple Vision Pro was launched at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference with a price range quite a bit higher than what most insiders expected. Priced at $3,499 this headset while seemingly revolutionary, is certainly looking to be limited in terms of adoption due to exorbitant price. Another question raised was on the potential content limitations of the device at launch. However, Apple has partnered with Disney to bring support for AR-enhanced content on day one when the headset is available next year. It has also announced support for several apps including Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Adobe Lightroom, Microsoft, Word, Excel, and Microsoft Teams. This seems better at the onset than what a lot of insiders were predicting as well. So, while the launch might see limited adoption, Apple’s Vision Pro certainly looks to be a revolutionary device.
Is VR the new focus area for Apple?
Yes
No
VR/AR Will be a secondary focus. Not the main focus area
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