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Video goggles for the rich

Apple has announced the launch of its new AR/VR goggles and the most astounding part of this technology is the eye-watering price.

I doubt there are many Kiwis who'd consider fronting up with almost $6K to pick up a set of these goggles, despite the sexy promotional video that Apple released which (at the time of writing) has already scored over 11 million views in less than a day:

If you watch the video it's hard not to be impressed with the awesomeness of this device.

However...

If this was a sub-$1000 product I'd be tempted to invest in Apple Vision but I know that this is likely to go the same way as Google Glass, and a raft of similar products that have come (and gone) before it.

The problem is that although products like this tend to "blow you away" when you first try them, there are a lot of downsides that don't become apparent until you've used them for extended periods of time.

First-up, the things that blow us away today become "meh" by the end of the week.

If you need proof of this one need only look back at the Apollo space program.

In 1969 we put the very first man on the moon and, arguably, it was the biggest thing to happen in that entire century. Some 94 percent of all US television sets were tuned in to watch Neil Armstrong take his "giant leap for mankind" and just about the only thing people were talking about was the success of this mission.

Fast-forward three and a half short years and moon-landings, every one of them being just as much of a technological challenge and triumph, had become boring. So boring in fact that NASA couldn't get the budget to continue them and Apollo 17 became our last moondance for over half a century.

How could something so amazing, something that captured the attention of the entire planet, so quickly become boring?

Well that's the nature of the beast which is a human.

We have increasingly shortened attention spans, something that explains the success of social media platforms such as Tiktok and once we've experienced the "wow factor" we move on in search of an even bigger dopamine hit.

So, just as like that "Abdominizer", the "Nutra-bullet" and all those KTel products that were sold "as seen on TV", I suspect that the Apple Vision will enjoy a brief moment in the sun and then be relegated to the back of the wardrobe or thrown on eBay in the hope of recouping at least a little of the hefty price that was paid for it.

That's because, when you really look closely, Apple Vision doesn't really offer much that we don't already get from our big-screen TV sets, tablets, laptops or computers.

As someone who is a long-time user of video goggles (thanks to my "first person view" RC model flying where a camera in the model beams live video back to goggles worn by the pilot on the ground) I can tell you that prolonged wearing of even the best goggles becomes annoying.

The Apple promo video paints a fantastic picture of being able to watch your favourite movies in a virtual environment where you could be surrounded by mountains, deep space or pretty much anything you want. Isn't that worth the $6K?

Well stop and think about it for a moment...

The last time you watched a great movie on the TV set in your living room, were you even remotely aware of your surroundings?

No. A good movie takes you out of your surroundings and you become totally unaware of the room you're in and its contents. You might as well be on the moon anyway.

No matter how good the display technology nor how comfortable the fit, spending hours wearing a set of goggles will become an uncomfortable experience for no actual gain, once the initial "wow factor" has worn off.

If you have friends or family that you want to share your viewing experience with then they'll have to have their own set of Apple Vision goggles... for a familly of five that's some $30K. Even if it's just you, $6K buys one hell of a fancy modern OLED big-screen TV set.

Another fly in the ointment of this scenario is that the battery life of these googles is quoted as "up to two hours" which, as we all know from marketing-speak, probably means somewhat less than two hours in normal use. Imagine getting to the final exciting scene of a new movie only to have your viewing interrupted by a "LOW BATTERY" warning and eventual shutdown of the goggles.

Yeah, that'd be great -- NOT!

Many recent release movies are well over two hours in length so this *would* be an issue.

I note Apple touting these goggles for use with Facetime or other conferencing software -- but all the people at the other end are using regular webcams of phones. If everyone was using the goggles then the whole experience would be bizzare.

You'd have the choice of not seeing a fair percentage of their face due to the goggles or having to deal with an AI-generated rendering of their face that, even on the Apple promo video, looks unnatural and kind of creepy.

Now I'm sure Apple are raking in the orders for this product right now because, despite the huge price and mere novelty value, the fanbois will be prepared to mortgage their souls to the devil to get hands on one.

I however, will just stick to my $400 Veon TV set, my good old i5 PC and a smartphone -- whilst comfortable in the knowledge that I won't suffer buyer's remorse a few weeks after handing over $6K for a few days of "wow".

How many Aardvark readers have placed their pre-order for the Apple Vision and how many are lining up to enjoy that "wow factor", at least for a moment or two?

Carpe Diem folks!

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