Zuckerberg apparently not impressed with Apple Vision Pro
Apple Vision Pro is not the vision Mark Zuckerberg wants, according to a leak from an internal Meta meeting.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears to be decidedly unimpressed with the unveiling of Apple Vision Pro to employees. Rival Apple hasn't unveiled any major technological breakthroughs that Meta hasn't already explored, Zuckerberg said in an internal meeting leaked to The Verge.
The magazine took a look at the company-wide meeting, according to writer Alex Heath, who summarized some key excerpts and Zuckerberg's statements. The vision of how it will be used is not the one he wants, Zuckerberg said.
Active metaverse instead of bad apples?
Meta's Metaverse concept of the Quest is about being active - about interactions that bring people together, he said. "By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself," Zuckerberg said, according to the report, "I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want."
Many Apple Vision Pro users relaxed on a couch, chair, or armchair at the unveiling. | Image: Apple
Zuckerberg cites price as another key difference. Meta's recently announced Quest 3 will be available in the fall and will cost $499.00 (€569.99, 128 GB model), significantly less than Apple's Vision Pro. The latter will cost $3,499.00. Apple states a release date of early 2024, but initially only in the USA. Other countries are expected to follow later.
The announcement clearly shows the different values and visions of the two companies, Zuckerberg said. He added that Meta has the opportunity to reach a more diverse user base. Meta's innovations are all about making products as accessible and affordable as possible, Zuckerberg continued.
In this context, the Meta founder elaborates on the approximate sales figures: "And we've sold tens of millions of Quests." This number coincides with an older leak from March 2023 about almost 20 million Quest headsets sold.
But Meta also offers the Quest Pro, a high-priced headset for professionals and enthusiasts that offers face and eye tracking, among other features. The device was released in October 2022 for 1,500.00 US dollars. A price reduction to 1,000.00 US dollars (1,199.00 euros in Germany) followed in January 2023.
No silver bullet in sight
Apple also has no magic solution to override the laws of physics when developing a mixed reality headset, Zuckerberg stated in the leaked meeting. Opting for a higher resolution would cost seven times as much and consume so much power that a battery and cable would be needed to use the headset.
"They made that design trade-off and it might make sense for the cases that they’re going for", Zuckerberg said. "And seeing what they put out there and how they’re going to compete just made me even more excited and in a lot of ways optimistic that what we’re doing matters and is going to succeed. But it’s going to be a fun journey."
Prior to the reveal, Meta seemed a little less relaxed about Apple's headset announcement. It may not have been a coincidence that the seemingly rushed announcement of the Quest 3 came just a week before.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
