Oculus co-founder seems impressed with Apple’s VR headset as he thinks that the headset is a winner in the industry. With this new development, the hype train behind Apple’s VR gathers more speed.
Apple’s VR Headset
The anticipation around the Apple AR?VR headset is building up steam ahead of its expected launch and announcement at WWDC 2023, with Palmer Luckey, oculus co-founder seemingly impressed with the mixed-reality headset.
A recent post on Twitter from Luckey makes the claim that “The Apple headset is so good”. And while the Oculus Rift creator did not expand on this early verdict on Apple’s headset, a follow-up comment however suggests that it is based on some first-hand knowledge of the device.
What Oculus Co-Founder Really Thinks About Apple’s VR Headset
When he was asked if his contacts within Apple have “high confidence” in the launch of the product, Luckey agreed. Although he, however, stopped short of revealing if he had spent any quality time with the AR/VR headset, which is at the moment rumored to be called either the Apple Reality One or the Apple Reality Pro.
We really cannot draw any major conclusion from a short, off-the-cuff remark, even though it does come from one of the biggest pioneers of VR. But the comments however do chime with prior thoughts on VR headsets from Palmer Luckey, who was at a point in time branded as one of the great tech innovators of the 2010s.
The Adoption of VR According To Luckey
Luckey back in 2018 said that the mainstream adoption of VR was not being held back by the price, but rather by the “quality of experience.” He then called for “better hardware, broader content, and a deep understanding of how to best interface with a human perceptual system that varies significantly across age, gender, and race”.
And ever since then, Meta has certainly made strides towards achieving that, with the firm selling close to 20 million Quest headsets to date, as per a leaked internal Meta presentation that was shared with The Verge.
But those very seemingly impressive figures also mask some apparent problems with keeping fans of Meta Quest interested in the VR headset, after they have bought it. Meta’s vice president for VR in the leaked presentation, apparently revealed to employees that the recent buyers of the Meta Quest were “just not as into it” or as engaged as “the ones who purchased it early.”
What Apple Could Be Aiming To Achieve With Its Headset
It’s these very issues that are hinted at by those earlier Luckey comments, that Apple could be attempting to remedy with its own AR/VR headset. The considerable downside to this user experience, though, will very much likely be cost, with the headset from Apple expected to cost in the region of $3,000 / $2,200 / AU$ 4,400.
The previous blog post of Luckey on the pricing of the VR headset headlined ‘Free is not cheap enough”, quite makes for a really fascinating reading almost after five years and most particularly in light of his tweet regarding the Apple VR headset.
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