Unpacking the True Value: The Apple Vision Pro’s Reasonable Pricing Explained

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When Apple announced the price of their groundbreaking new mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, jaws around the world collectively dropped. At a hefty $3,499, it’s not for everyone, but is it really so unreasonable if we take a closer look?

The Vision Pro Really Does Totally New Things

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First off, the Apple Vision Pro isn’t just another gadget ; it’s an entirely new way of interacting with digital content. It blends the digital and physical worlds, enabling you to navigate digital spaces with your eyes, hands, and voice.

While other products have offered some subset of what the Vision Pro promises to do, there is no comparative mixed reality (really, we should say extended reality ) product to compare it against directly.

While we’ll have to wait for the device to get into the hands of independent reviewers to learn if the reality (ha!) measures up to Apple’s carefully-curated presentation, assuming it does what it says on the tin, this is a landmark device.

You can point at any number of things that are peerless in the Vision Pro. The micro OLED offers such high pixel density that we expect the pixel grid to be entirely invisible. The R1 spatial processor and complex array of sensors blow everything else we can think of out of the water. The eye-tracking system is practically precognitive .

Yet, it’s not just the objectively novel subcomponents in the Vision Pro that make it something new and special. It’s the sum of those parts held together by the underlying software, the interface design, and its integration into the Apple ecosystem.

Setting aside whether the Vision Pro will do things as well as promised, there is simply no equivalent product that promises to do what the Vision Pro does—just like the first iPhone, which did not have a direct peer as a holistic product.

The R&D Costs Were Likely Enormous

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The Vision Pro isn’t just an iteration of existing technology; it’s a dramatic leap forward. It represents years of research and development, with a hardware design that is both innovative and complex.

Make no mistake, Apple has been working on the building blocks of this device for a long time. They were acquiring AR startups years ago, and even now, just after the launch announcement of Vision Pro, have made another such purchase .

Apple’s ARKit API in every modern iPhone and iPad paved the way for the Vision Pro to be spatially aware. When ARKit launched as a software solution working with existing iPhone cameras, it made Google hardware-based AR platform “Tango” seem quaint. It wasn’t long before Google killed off that project in favor of ARCore, its own ARKit-like solution.

The big takeaway here is that Apple has to recoup some of the R&D costs from the first generation of their product, and because it contains so much new and cutting-edge technology, we can’t imagine that the cost of each unit is particularly low.

However, most of the major breakthroughs have been made, from here, it’s a matter of iterating, refining, and figuring out how to make a cheaper future version of the headset. Don’t forget, when the first HD TVs hit the market in the late 90s they cost, adjusted for inflation, around $15,000—only wealthy early adopters had any hope of owning such a shiny gadget. Today, you can buy an FHD 1080p TV for under $200.

It Costs Less Than All the Things It Can Replace

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When you consider all the devices that the Vision Pro could potentially replace, the price starts to seem more reasonable. Think of it as a super-powered tablet, 4K television, game console, and computer rolled into one. Plus, it offers unique experiences that these devices can’t replicate, such as creating a workspace that extends beyond the physical limitations of your room, or making your memories come alive in 3D.

That being said, there’s no doubt that mixed reality technology like this will come with some cultural resistance. Even as especially enthusiastic tech geeks we felt some of the presentation felt a little weird, with people inexplicably alone most of the time, or the somewhat dystopian image of a dad filming his children under his watchful fake eye projection. But over time as such tools become less obtrusive and more widely used, it might feel less uncanny and more commonplace like the use of smartphones feels now.

Crucially, the Vision Plus isn’t an accessory. It’s designed to be a full-fledged standalone computer system. While you can use it as an extended display for your existing Mac, you don’t actually need one to use the Vision Pro just like you don’t need a Mac to use the iPhone or iPad.

Of course, a major caveat here is that the headset can’t be used by multiple people at once, but if you’re looking for something aimed at personal use, it might actually be a bit of a bargain in some ways.

First-Generation Devices Have an Early Adopter Tax

It’s also worth noting that early adopters often pay a premium for the privilege of being the first to experience new technology. Consider the first-generation iPhone, which cost $599 at launch, a price many balked at at the time . Today, the original iPhone is now seen as a game-changing device worth the initial investment and few people debate the value of high-end smartphones, although crucially there are smartphones at every price point!

The early-adopter tax can be over and above the other cost factors we’ve already discussed, but there is a subset of customers that Apple knows will pay to be the first people to experience and perhaps even capitalize on what the Vision Pro offers.

It’s thanks to professional and enthusiast early adopters that Apple can learn what works and what doesn’t. It’s how we’ll eventually get the Vision Pro equivalent of the iPhone SE or MacBook Air.

Less Advanced Headsets Are Selling For Similar Money

Finally, when comparing the Vision Pro’s price to its competition, it’s important to keep in mind that less advanced headsets are selling for similar money. For instance, the Microsoft HoloLens 2 , which doesn’t offer the same level of integration, immersive experience, or wide app compatibility as the Vision Pro, costs $3,500. If the Vision Pro can deliver on its promise of a seamless blend of the digital and physical worlds, its price could be justified in comparison to its less capable peers.

There are obviously open questions when it comes to whether this product and its notional successors will gain any traction. No matter how good the Vision Pro may turn out to be, it doesn’t mean much if no one wants what it’s selling.

I don’t think that’s the case, since clearly the reaction to the technology itself has plenty of people interested, and if Apple was selling this device for $500 like the upcoming Meta Quest 3 , it would fly off shelves. At seven times that price (or more!) that enthusiasm is quenched for now.

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Unpacking the True Value: The Apple Vision Pro’s Reasonable Pricing Explained