Speaker 1: You all have lots to say about Apple's mysterious mixed reality headset. So let's talk about what has you excited and what has you worried. In a previous video, I asked for your comments and questions and boy did you deliver. So we are going to have ourselves a viewer comment episode of this week's Apple Show, and I think it is the perfect timing for a little reflection of what people are feeling about the future of Apple because Hot on News stands this month is this GQ interview with Mr. Apple himself, CEO Tim Cook, and we get a bit [00:00:30] of a closer look at where his head is at while he leads Apple, which is arguably the most powerful company on the planet, worth somewhere between two and 3 trillion. So yeah, I think he deserves a magazine cover. And in this article we learned that every morning when Tim Cook wakes up at 5:00 AM he's reading through every email.
Speaker 1: The public sends him the good stuff, the complaints, all of it. So Mr. Cook is a man who likes to hear from the people, and I think that's a really great way to stay grounded as a leader. So today I am plucking through your [00:01:00] comments to help Mr. Cook have one more thing or shall I say one more source of customer feedback so he knows what is on our minds with virtual and augmented reality, not that cook, whatever, confirm or deny the existence of such a VR product. As journalist Zach Baron writes in his story, but Cook does talk about the potential of such a device. So I think he would like some of your feedback as Apple gears up for maybe revealing this new product to the world this summer. [00:01:30] I'm Bridget Carey, and this is one more thing. Let's all keep in mind.
Speaker 1: The headset is still an unknown product. Nothing is confirmed, let me say it again. Nothing is confirmed and we don't know what kind of twist apple's gonna put on VR or ar. The touchscreen phone already existed before the iPhone. The MP3 player already existed before the iPod, but Apple always does its own twist. Whatever this is, should have its own flavor for virtual and augmented content or so you would hope otherwise this will be [00:02:00] boring and sad. Our knowledge right now consists of stitching together anonymously sourced reports and analyst expectations. It seems the first version might be a blend of VR and AR and it might look like ski goggles and it might have, you need to wear a battery pack and it might not even need you to hold anything in your hand to control it. A few of your comments brought up how you really do not care about vr, but you do see potential in augmented reality and that is when you can see the room around you, but digital stuff just kind of floats on top of the real world.
Speaker 1: Philip [00:02:30] Lim writes, I have been waiting for Apple AR glasses for so long. Why vr? There are so many standalone ones already. Yeah, I feel ya. It's hard to get excited about VR right now. Stevie feels the same. He writes, don't care if it's vr. VR is isolating and it makes me sick. If they make it nausea free and includes some sort of social aspect, then maybe I consider trying it. But Apple isn't known for social experiences. Dude, Steve. I think Apple actually is [00:03:00] focused on social experiences to get us hooked on its products. FaceTime is a big example of that. Bloomberg reported that Apple is trying to get some sort of realistic FaceTime in these headset things so you can see yourself and the other person in front of you, but it wouldn't be cartoony. It sounds like magic. I have a whole video about it speculating on how that tech could work.
Speaker 1: So you can check that out later. But yes, I think social is the way Apple has to go here and I agree that VR is isolating and social also seems to be where Cook's mindset [00:03:30] is at. If you flip through the recent GQ story, the author brings up iPhone addiction and what iPhones are doing to our brains and Cook responds by talking about the importance of having tools to put the phone down. Cook says, my philosophy is if you're looking at the phone more than you're looking in somebody's eyes, you're doing the wrong thing. Alright, so if this shapes how he sees a headset, then maybe it's more of a tool for connections. A few of you wrote in that you are hoping for [00:04:00] powerful creation tools and that makes sense since Mac computers are great for creators. So you can extend that idea to a headset.
Speaker 1: Aje. Deb Nath writes, if this device is marketed as a powerful tool that enables people to create new experiences rather than just consume, people will buy it. Imagine if the headset makes it super easy to make your own animated 3D movies, suddenly everybody will have a story to tell and the comment continues by pointing out that we're seeing that now with [00:04:30] generative ai. I think that's a good perspective to keep in mind when this could be something expensive. It's a pro tool of sorts in the VR in AR world, but later versions could come down in price. It also matches up with reports we saw from Bloomberg that lower cost versions of a headset may be delayed for another year or so. It may take a really lightweight design in version two or three before it catches on to a wider audience user. Elliot Hochberg wrote an essay practically about [00:05:00] all the problems apple's up against with vr and yes, there are a lot of issues Elliot writes, until we have something, what amounts to a set of glasses on your face?
Speaker 1: I don't think you're really gonna make the penetration that something like the iPhone has made and handsome I nine said the same. It has to be glasses to become mainstream and handsome. Added that they had VR sickness from the Psbr two for the past few weeks. Sorry to hear that. We all know that is going to be a real issue. Not everyone agrees that AR is the future [00:05:30] user. Zoom Dog 31. Awesome screen name by the way, clearly knows a thing or two about tech history. Zoom dog rights. I am afraid very few people will think it's normal to wear something like this. It was weird 10 years ago and it's gonna be weird 10 years from now. Yeah, I think that's why I'm fascinated by this whole thing. How does Apple make wearing a headset feel natural? An extension of yourself really. Let's look at history. Not every Apple product is a slam dunk in the first year. Apple Watch [00:06:00] faced tons of criticism. Look back at the first iPhone. Also criticism. A few of you out there are good with your history and made smart comments. Tyler Grissom was reminding us of the original $10,000 gold Apple watches. Their
Speaker 2: Cases are made from 18 Kara solid gold.
Speaker 1: I think I've repressed that and to respond to me pointing out that this was a rough economic time to launch an expensive new gadget user. Dan re points out that Apple [00:06:30] has experience here writing the iPhone was launched during the great Recession. Yeah, technically the iPhone was announced the first week of January of the great recession and then the recession was after that. But still, these factors of price and timing don't automatically spell doom for a new product. Purpose also matters a lot. Several comments chimed in, but how it needs to leverage existing devices and leverage services. WJ Deja writes that he doesn't [00:07:00] think the headset makes sense as an independent device saying quote, the huge advantage that Apple has versus the other headset manufacturers is their ecosystem and goes on to say it gives Apple a major headstart in useful functionality compared to others.
Speaker 1: The ecosystem is already there, plus existing devices are getting upgraded with powerful M Chipps to be able to power it wirelessly or via a cable user. Adam, to Jar rights. [00:07:30] Let's also see what they do with iOS 17 since you will need your iPhone to power the headset too. Will the headset be an extension of your other Apple devices and work together? It could be Apple's twist that other headsets don't have. And speaking of twists, I do not get those of you thinking fitness needs to be part of this device. You want to twist and bend and snap while wearing this thing to reel for me. Calls out for virtual workout spaces. Okay, [00:08:00] Andrew Vegas went a little deeper. Thinking of all the different ways content can be done in a new way, not just with workout programs, but Apple music concerts and Apple sports content.
Speaker 1: And I think that makes a lot of sense when you have Apple handling some baseball and soccer broadcasting. They could do things differently when they have the control. Many comments also touched on gaming. I think I could do a whole separate video on gaming and Apple and I think we're all wondering how Apple can make gaming in here appealing. [00:08:30] How important are games for the success of this? Well, if the reports are true and Bloomberg's Mark Goman double down this week, say that the headset is gonna be introduced on June 5th at wwdc, then you know what? It's gonna be focused on. Developers first. Remember that as the future of wearables and AR and mixed reality slowly comes into focus. And the last comment comes from Mr. Perfect Sell who says, make this lady do more videos. I think she's cool. Thank you. I think [00:09:00] I will keep the VR discussion going in the comments. There has been a lot of buzz lately about future AirPods, so if you have AirPods questions or comments, go ahead and share it. You may see your comment on a future episode. See you next week.
