Apple Vision Pro: Think Different

By Shawn B

I remember the Keynote from the iPhone launch from 2007.  I had been an avid phone tech fan for almost a decade by then.  From my first feature phone – a Nokia 3310, to an unknown outlier with Windows CE and a flip down keyboard. I can’t even remember the name right now, but I do remember the experience was terrible.  

The most memorable part of that keynote for me was the springboard effect when scrolling. It was undoubtedly cool.  Though I didn’t get the iPhone on launch, my first experience two years later did not disappoint. It was fluid, it was intuitive, it was breathtakingly innovative.  This was Apple at its finest.  I’ve been a fan and Fanboy ever since. 

Now fast forward a decade and a half later and Apple’s devices started to feel a little less heart-stimulating. No fault of their own, because I do feel like we have reached an innovation saturation point. Apart from the rapidly expanding smart home industry, today’s electronic devices are mostly iterative – regardless of brand. Phones, watches, TVs, Tablets, cars, computers – there just isn’t much revolutionary new. 

Then I got an email two weeks ago.  It’s the first time I actually felt excited opening junk. I opened it to see a solitary pic of the Apple Vision Pro, and information on setting an appointment to test one. For the first time in a decade and a half, I’m excited and counting the days down ‘til launch.  It shows so much promise, is so much different from anything that’s out there – to include the field of AR glasses already existing.  I’ve watched the AVP launch keynote and was genuinely blown away by Apple’s vision for AR/VR.  I must have also watched every single YouTube test drive video out there also and it seems to truly be a “Think Different” device. 

Now, let’s get this straight – though Apple’s devices are usually polished with panache, this is an Alpha version.  Whether it will live up to the hype or improve is a review job for future me, but with Apple’s winning track record, I have high expectations.  Second, though I’m thoroughly excited about and tempted to buy one, I’m a deeply committed cheapskate, so I probably won’t.  I most certainly will test drive one myself, and if Apple’s magnetic “One More Thing” pull is strong enough, it might be balancing my checkbook with a $3,500 AVP in the liability column.