tech The Apple Thread

[VOSS]

3 minutes ago, Bloo said:

The problem is I’m doubtful that we’ll see a massive decrease in price. If this were $1000, then I could see it taking off. But the amount of hardware needed to make a good XR headset is just too costly and the use cases are too simple, IMO. Watching a movie, taking a FaceTime call, editing a Word document, and browsing the web are such uninspiring use cases. I can do all of them on my iPad, my iPhone, and my MacBook. I think XR devices need a compelling use case that set them apart from the standard devices in the tech landscape in order for people to feel compelled to buy it. Until that happens, it feels like it’s more so only going to be bought by bigtime tech enthusiasts with money to burn.

I assume this is the lowest spec device they felt comfortable releasing, so it's not like they're going to come out with a $1k non-pro version next year. And there's only so much they can achieve through economies of scale. I wonder what their plan is price-wise.

[shelven]

22 minutes ago, Bloo said:

The problem is I’m doubtful that we’ll see a massive decrease in price. If this were $1000, then I could see it taking off. But the amount of hardware needed to make a good XR headset is just too costly and the use cases are too simple, IMO. Watching a movie, taking a FaceTime call, editing a Word document, and browsing the web are such uninspiring use cases. I can do all of them on my iPad, my iPhone, and my MacBook. I think XR devices need a compelling use case that set them apart from the standard devices in the tech landscape in order for people to feel compelled to buy it. Until that happens, it feels like it’s more so only going to be bought by bigtime tech enthusiasts with money to burn.

If they can get it down to $2000 with a significantly more appealing form factor, I could see that being pretty widely accepted. Based on my gut reaction to the WWDC stream today, I think the movie/TV use will be the biggest draw of this device. If they market this as an innovative media device that also happens to let you make video calls, edit documents, browse the web, etc. (which doesn't seem that far away from how they're already marketing it), I start to see how less tech-obsessed (but albeit still financially well off) people start to justify the purchase. If you're single and want a TV, why pay $1000 for a 55" TV that you have to physically set up and keep in one place, when for $2000 you can essentially buy a TV whose size is customizable, you can watch from anywhere, tunes out your surroundings for better immersion, and it also doubles as a computer? 

 

And then on the other end of the spectrum, for people who have MacBooks but only use them for basic web browsing, social media, document editing, etc., I can see them eventually switching to this when it's time to replace their MacBook. Like you said, a lot of what the Vision Pro does is something that can be done on a MacBook... so why have a MacBook at all if you can pay a bit more for a device that essentially does everything you do on your MacBook anyways, but way cooler?

 

I'm definitely with you that a lot needs to happen before this product goes from a tech enthusiast niche to a more mainstream product, but I don't think a massive price slash is one of those things that needs to happen. I think a better battery, a slimmer build and a moderate price decrease will start to look enticing to a lot of people.

[Bloo]

16 minutes ago, VOSS said:

I assume this is the lowest spec device they felt comfortable releasing, so it's not like they're going to come out with a $1k non-pro version next year. And there's only so much they can achieve through economies of scale. I wonder what their plan is price-wise.

Oh for sure. A $1000 version of the product is extremely unlikely. iPhones were expensive when they first came out at $500. We pay roughly double for them nowadays. I don’t see this product going down anytime soon. I imagine there’ll be some cuts they can make to the hardware to have a cheaper version though (the outward-facing screen to show the person’s eyes can go tbh). 

1 minute ago, shelven said:

If they can get it down to $2000 with a significantly more appealing form factor, I could see that being pretty widely accepted. Based on my gut reaction to the WWDC stream today, I think the movie/TV use will be the biggest draw of this device. If they market this as an innovative media device that also happens to let you make video calls, edit documents, browse the web, etc. (which doesn't seem that far away from how they're already marketing it), I start to see how less tech-obsessed (but albeit still financially well off) people start to justify the purchase. If you're single and want a TV, why pay $1000 for a 55" TV that you have to physically set up and keep in one place, when for $2000 you can essentially buy a TV whose size is customizable, you can watch from anywhere, tunes out your surroundings for better immersion, and it also doubles as a computer? 

 

And then on the other end of the spectrum, for people who have MacBooks but only use them for basic web browsing, social media, document editing, etc., I can see them eventually switching to this when it's time to replace their MacBook. Like you said, a lot of what the Vision Pro does is something that can be done on a MacBook... so why have a MacBook at all if you can pay a bit more for a device that essentially does everything you do on your MacBook anyways, but way cooler?

 

I'm definitely with you that a lot needs to happen before this product goes from a tech enthusiast niche to a more mainstream product, but I don't think a massive price slash is one of those things that needs to happen. I think a better battery, a slimmer build and a moderate price decrease will start to look enticing to a lot of people.

I agree. I can see this catching on. But I can also see this flopping. It will depend on rollout. Some things need to come about. A better battery, a more moderate price, etc. But, I also think a lot is going to rely on Apple being able to demonstrate the wow factor of this thing and I think the WWDC failed in that regard. Live demonstrations are necessary. The pre-filmed demos just don’t land as well for a new product launch, in my opinion. Regardless, other 3rd party developers investing in making a solid app ecosystem will be crucial. Whether 3rd party devs are convinced Apple Vision will take off and is safe enough to invest time in… that’s a separate question and part of why it’s so complicated to guess how well this thing will do.

 

The product isn’t out for another year. So I imagine a lot of things about the product will change between now and then. 

 

Nonetheless, I am excited to see what the hell happens because I do think this is a big moment in tech. Apple entering this market is a possible game changer and it’ll be cool to see the reactions—both positive and negative. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a *new* product line from Apple come into the forefront (no, HomePod does not count).

[Sergi91]

I Love the check in feature 

 

[Zeferino]

I’m only excited for the journal thingy 

[khalyan]

The Apple Music changes are fantastic. Finally catching up to Spotify’s animated artwork, but doing it better. And iOS is getting crossfade too, so two of my most wanted changes are finally coming

 

The headset looks awesome too.  I also never really understood the appeal but I get it now. Hopefully the pricing will mimic flatscreen TVs that were incredibly expensive when they were first released but slowly got cheaper over the years. I could picture myself paying $1500-$2000 for something like this in a few years. 

[Starshine]

4 hours ago, Bloo said:

Oh for sure. A $1000 version of the product is extremely unlikely. iPhones were expensive when they first came out at $500. We pay roughly double for them nowadays. I don’t see this product going down anytime soon. I imagine there’ll be some cuts they can make to the hardware to have a cheaper version though (the outward-facing screen to show the person’s eyes can go tbh). 

I will assume the cheapest Vision will be $1999 in 2026. And eventually a $1099 Vision SE/Air that is a viable successor to the iPhone in 10 years, a glasses form factor that already has the matured app ecosystem, and can be subsidized with 2 year contracts for 6G connectivity or whatever. The use-cases in public are still untapped, but I see massive potential.

 

The tech in this sort of makes the foldables sort of laughable idk, those go for nearly $2k.

[CBC]

9 hours ago, Bloo said:

Not entirely. The rollout of the actual Pro Mac devices (e.g., Mac Ultra, MacBook Pro) focused on Logic, Final Cut, and Xcode benchmarks. There was also some numbers thrown about forward passes with TensorFlow. Those are things pros would care about. They’re not the most pro demonstrations, for sure. But they’re a far cry from bragging about being able to do FaceTime and browse the web with Safari.

 

This, as is, is not being pushed as a pro device. Otherwise they would demonstrate the software it can pull off to integrate into pro workflows. It has non-pro hardware (e.g., the M2) and no native pro software. So yeah, it’s a bit of a mismatch between it and its price.

wait you're right.... let's see what they do until release they still got a year 

[Sergi91]

For those of you going back to school 

https://twitter.com/macrumors/status/1665462067678281728?s=46&t=7Sx2_6LQ63D7nVNdzaazHw
 

 

[whiteferrari]

Recently got a 14PM after having a 12 Pro for years and returned it  please Apple go back to thin & light phones that thing is CLUNKY

[Leptine]

Got the Apple Watch Ultra, despite having watched tones of videos about it, it looks so much better on person and I'm actually surprised at the fact that coming from a serie 4 44mm it doesn't feel big at all, just heavy which I like, love the titanium color-feel.

[kweenofxanax]

Thinking of getting the AirPods Max, what colour do some of you have? or think is cute?

I'm stuck on either Silver or Blue 

[Sergi91]

I would like to get a Mac Mini but not sure which one to get (8gb or 16GB). 
I mainly going to use it for homework and social media. I might occasionally also use it to edit videos and okay the upcoming City Skylines2 game. 

[Starshine]

22 hours ago, kweenofxanax said:

Thinking of getting the AirPods Max, what colour do some of you have? or think is cute?

I'm stuck on either Silver or Blue 

I have the Space Grey, but wish I got Silver.

 

I heard Silver stains easily though.

[Tiziano's Boy]

Upgraded my iPhone 11 to an iPhone 14 Pro 256GB in Gold, the Max version was at least £10 per month more expensive.

[Cheers]

iOS 17 seems kinda cool

[Hurem]

I'm pretty sure I'm about to get the new Macbook Air 15. Was thinking about getting MBP 14, but after considering the price difference, plus the fact that I mostly use my laptop for browsing and maybe Photoshop, I think Air 15 is the way to go.

 

Does anyone here have the Air 15? Is it worth it?

[Mystical]

So did the Vision Pro hype kinda die down? 

[Tiziano's Boy]

Got my new iPhone 14 Pro but I’m feeling quite nauseous at the moment, is it because I’m not used to the 120Hz refresh rate or is it the OLED screen? , I came from an iPhone 11.

[sh0ckw4ves]

10 hours ago, Hurem said:

I'm pretty sure I'm about to get the new Macbook Air 15. Was thinking about getting MBP 14, but after considering the price difference, plus the fact that I mostly use my laptop for browsing and maybe Photoshop, I think Air 15 is the way to go.

 

Does anyone here have the Air 15? Is it worth it?

It's not entirely the same, but I had an M1 MBP and took it back to get an M1 MBA as performance wise they're the exact same but you definitely get better value for money, portability and battery from the Air models. 

 

I saw someone use the MBA 15 on the train the other day and it looks so nice, but it is a little big if you plan on taking it around! Have you got a local Apple Store? It might be best to go see the size of it in person.

 

40 minutes ago, Tiziano's Boy said:

Got my new iPhone 14 Pro but I’m feeling quite nauseous at the moment, is it because I’m not used to the 120Hz refresh rate or is it the OLED screen? , I came from an iPhone 11.

It's probably the refresh rate, the same happened to me. If you put the phone on low power mode it'll drop the refresh rate so you can see if that makes a difference for you but now I've had 120Hz going back feels super sluggish

[Hurem]

44 minutes ago, sh0ckw4ves said:

I saw someone use the MBA 15 on the train the other day and it looks so nice, but it is a little big if you plan on taking it around! Have you got a local Apple Store? It might be best to go see the size of it in person.

I saw it in an Apple Store the other day and completely fell in love with it.

 

Ordered Air 15 in Midnight

[sh0ckw4ves]

Just now, Hurem said:

I saw it in an Apple Store the other day and completely fell in love with it.

 

Ordered Air 15 in Midnight

They look so good I am so tempted  Enjoy it sis!

[Starshine]

8 hours ago, Mystical said:

So did the Vision Pro hype kinda die down? 

The reveal and tech influencer demos were curated, just to describe the tech breakthroughs, the experience and try to entice developers to steer the direction it's going to go; sort of like how people made the Apple Watch a health device. In its 1st gen, people were uncertain of what the purpose of an Apple Watch was.

 

It won't really be talked about til its release (which apparently you would need to make appointments for to even purchase the thing). And less than 200k will be available and the demand of it will surprise people making headlines.  

[Hurem]

My MBA 15 in Midnight just arrived and it is absolutely gorgeous!

[Cesar]

i wish i didn’t buy the MBP 16” and waited for the MBA 13” instead. it’s so big and heavy to carry anywhere with me