Given its steep price tag, Apple's newest product will have enormous expectations.
Yesterday Apple unveiled a glimpse into the future of entertainment, dazzling everyone with a brand-new wearable product for the first time since the announcement of their watch.
The product is placed in a new category on the website called "Vision" on the Apple website, and the first device, the Vision Pro, will launch early in 2024.
Rumours have been swirling about Apple's possible attempt at their version of a Google Glass product for years. But it was in recent weeks that the eye-popping price tag became known to the public.
For $3500 USD or $4700 CAD, you can superimpose Apple apps on top of your surroundings or any surroundings you choose. The product will change the consumption of certain media entirely, such as sports.
The product and its steep price tag were announced in a pre-recorded video, possibly to avoid an audience vocally gasping at how deep they'll have to dig in their wallets to try the first-gen product.
The payment of $3500, not including sales tax, will also come with $3500 worth of expectations. But it will also come with inherent comparisons to other products in the Apple lineup.
Only two Apple products will cost you more than the Vision Pro, the Mac Pro at $7000 and the Pro Display at $5000. And so, not counting hardware upgrades, the Vision Pro is the third most expensive product Apple sells.
There are plenty of interesting price point comparisons surrounding the new device. One of the most obvious is that two of the new headsets equal the cost of the Mac Pro, one of the most powerful computers on the planet.
However, there are many more products whose price tags now look superb compared to the Vision Pro. For example, the idea that the headset has an exchange value of three entire iPad Pros is jaw-dropping.
Any potential drawbacks, whether it be the oddity of placing the battery in your pocket, or significant problems, such as software bugs, will make consumers think twice about whether or not they regret purchasing one of Apple's competitors, such as Meta's Quest Pro for half of the cost of Vision Pro.
The new time you think twice about spending a few hundred dollars on Apple's earbuds, the Airpods Pro, think about the fact that the supposed exchange value between them and the new Vision Pro is almost 15x, meaning that 15 pairs of AirPods Pro equal just one Vision Pro headset.
The biggest flaw of the last first-generation Apple product to launch, the Airpods Max, was its inherent price comparison of twice the value of the Airpods Pro earbuds. And while Apple does not make any other product similar to the Vision Pro yet, consumers' expectations will be enormous.