Anyone want a set of ski goggles?

[Luseth 1,991]

So apple just announced their augmented reality headset with the hope they can muscle in on the vr market. They only cost a measly kidney at $3499 -

 

[Tar-Eruntalion 517]

It seems companies are completely out of touch with reality, who is going to pay that much for an AR headset when AR and VR are still in their infancy?

[Luseth 1,991]

I wont lie it does look brilliant but considering most countries on the planet are in a cost of living crises I dont see how anyone could afford that

[James 1,628]

1 hour ago, Tar-Eruntalion said:

It seems companies are completely out of touch with reality, who is going to pay that much for an AR headset when AR and VR are still in their infancy?

 

I'm sure they'll get plenty Apple fanboys and 'Tech' promoters pushing it.

[Luseth 1,991]

So I have seen a few more videos of this the last couple of days and the tech itself is actually quite exciting, what it's capable of I mean admittedly they do still look odd and I don't think that will change anytime soon.

 

I don't think there are many of us that have experience with VR tech here? But if you have you will know that it is exciting (especially when you first play it) and it's a form of gaming just like no other.

 

This headset is the first of the new generation of headsets, it's where the end goal is and that $3499 premium is so that you can be the first to experience it. The goal one day is essentially the riddance of a lot of our tech in the home and this is the first taste of it. Who need's to spend a grand on a tv, half a grand on a games console, however much on a great audio system to compliment it, another grand on a laptop or tablet device if you can just buy one of these and it does everything that they can do in one device? It sit's on your face so you don't need to find space for that tv in your lounge, you can conjure stuff in the air right in front of you (I mean as a designer of many things, not just work related I can tell you that excites me). If you notice on the videos as well there is a dial that allows you to block out what is going on around you and essentially turn it into a vr headset elsewhere so you could escape to other realms or worlds.

 

That said it is still in it's infancy, this product is priced at a premium for those who can afford it and one to experience the future. It is still years away for the likes of us (unless any of you are extremely wealthy and keeping it quiet) but it's quite exciting really especially when you consider how quick ai could advance (admittedly that is scary in itself).

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

VR has literally come nowhere since Half Life Alyx and still the majority of publishers are still unwilling to take a risk and there's nowhere near enough specialist developers in this field. The Quest 2 has really driven sales as a great entry-level piece of kit and has captured exclusives like Resident Evil 4 VR but even then, it's not really grown much  Facebook themselves are burning over $10bn a year on AR and VR as part of their Metashite and they've come out of it with nothing more than something weaker than VR chat.  Apple are just trying to get ahead and they will just end up with technology that is heavily under-utilised and then deemed a waste of money flop. If they had a string of compelling software to immediately push boundaries then it would be an eye opener but as per, it'll be a fad that YouTubers and some celebs schmooze over and then it'll be back in the box for the foreseeable. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,079]

For the first proper AR kit to be available to the wider public, it was likely always going to be on the steep side. It does and will look like the future - AR is where all gaming developers and most other tech people say we will be in 5-10 years. So for that reason, I can start to understand why we're seeing the first one now hit the market can be a good thing and at the same time the price be astronomically out of reach of so many of us which is disappointing.

 

Seems more of a technical statement to the outside world that Apple still matter more than anything else.