Apple Vision Pro gets rave reviews — but Tim Cook won’t predict future
He is just about to launch a device that his company believes will launch a new era of “spatial computing”.
So why is Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, so reticent when it comes to predicting the future?
Apple releases the $3,500 Vision Pro mixed reality headset in the US on Friday, with thousands expected to flock to stores to experience its surround entertainment and multi-screen experience.
But Cook is wary of forecasting a step change in our relationship with technology. “I think it’s hard to predict exactly,” he tells Vanity Fair.
“What we do is we get really excited about something and then we start pulling the string and see where it takes us,” Cook tells the magazine.
“Sometimes the dots connect. And they lead you to some place that you didn’t expect.”
It is a marked contrast to Mark Zuckerberg when he relaunched his company into the metaverse, which has yet to reach lift off. The picture of Cook wearing the device in the magazine is also the first time he has been seen in public with it on, despite the official launch being last June.
Early reviews for the Vision Pro have praised its technology, which enables a user to be fully immersed in entertainment and sports or to create banks of virtual screens to work on.
“I would say my experience was religious,” James Cameron, the film director, tells Vanity Fair. “I was sceptical at first. I don’t bow down before the great god of Apple, but I was really, really blown away.”
However, many believe it is early days for a device that is still heavy on the face, has a short battery life and is still searching for a killer-use case.
Many top apps, including Netflix and YouTube, have not yet made versions for the Apple Pro, although there will be 600 others to choose from. Analysts expect Apple to have sold 200,000 devices on pre-order, with total sales for the year estimated at 600,000. It is expected to go on worldwide sale later in the year.
