Zuckerberg unimpressed with Apple Vision Pro evokes Steve Ballmer moment

In a recent all-hands meeting at Meta's Menlo Park campus, CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the highly anticipated announcement of Apple's Vision Pro headset. With a mix of curiosity and confidence, Zuckerberg shared his thoughts on Apple's Vision Pro headset, shedding light on the fundamental differences in values and "vision" between their products.

This meeting marked Meta's first all-hands gathering since 2020, making it a significant platform for discussing the evolving extended reality (XR) market. Zuckerberg acknowledged the competitive threat posed by Apple but his nonchalant remarks highlighted Meta's unique approach to the metaverse and its dedication to accessibility, affordability, and social interaction.

During his address, Zuckerberg confessed his curiosity about Apple's latest headset, noting that he had not yet had the opportunity to try it out.

"From what I’ve seen initially, I’d say the good news is that there’s no kind of magical solutions that they have to any of the constraints on laws of physics that our teams haven’t already explored and thought of," he said.

Apple Vision Pro headset features a 4K screen and supports 3D playback, backed by a spatial audio system. To Zuckerberg, this seems like a different approach with increased costs.

"They went with a higher resolution display, and between that and all the technology they put in there to power it, it costs seven times more and now requires so much energy that now you need a battery and a wire attached to it to use it. They made that design trade-off and it might make sense for the cases that they’re going for," he continued.

Zuckerberg also pointed out that the fundamental divergence lies in the values and vision each company brings to the VR space. He emphasized Meta's commitment to accessibility and affordability, noting that they have sold tens of millions of their popular Quest VR headsets.

Zuckerberg said that Apple's announcement showcased a different perspective, with their demo videos featuring individuals passively engaged in VR experiences while sitting alone on a couch.

"Every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself. I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want," he remarked.

He concluded by saying "Our vision for the metaverse and presence is fundamentally social. It’s about people interacting in new ways and feeling closer in new ways. There’s a real philosophical difference in terms of how we’re approaching this. And seeing what they put out there and how they’re going to compete just made me even more excited and in a lot of ways optimistic that what we’re doing matters and is going to succeed. But it’s going to be a fun journey."

As Meta gears up to launch its upcoming Quest 3 VR headset later this year, priced at $500, the company will undoubtedly face heightened competition from Apple. However, it remains to be seen whether Zuckerberg's remarks at the all-hands meeting showcase his confidence in Meta's unique vision and approach or turn out to be something like Steve Ballmer's "iPhone moment".

(Source)

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