Steve Jobs is no longer with us, so we cannot know how he would evaluate Vision Pro. However, he once said:
“When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.”
Indeed, when there is a wire trailing behind the glasses, it is more like a sign that this is not an “elegant and simple solution.” In fact, Vision Pro’s design is filled with various complications and compromises. It is “very complex.”
At the 1997 Apple Developer Conference, a programmer publicly challenged Steve Jobs, claiming that he didn’t understand technology. Jobs pondered for a moment and replied,
And as we have tried to come up with a strategy and a vision for Apple, it started with “What incredible benefits can we give to the customer? Where can we take the customer?”Not starting with “Let’s sit down with the engineers and figure out what awesome technology we have and then how are we going to market that?” And I think that’s the right path to take.
When developing a product, Jobs always started with the customer and their needs, not just the technology. So, let’s ask ourselves: what are the pain points of consumers who want to buy Vision Pro? What value can they derive from this device? Is it worth the hefty price tag of $3499?
And let’s be real, if you see someone wearing these “ski goggles” and making strange gestures at Starbucks, is it really something you’d want to show off to your friends?
Plus, it’s rumored that Apple doesn’t even make much profit from this pricing, unlike the iPhone.
Regardless, Vision Pro itself is a good metaphor: what you think you see is the future, but in reality, you only see what’s right in front of you.