It’s been over a year (about 14 months to be exact) since the introduction of the Apple Vision Pro, a device with the potential to be truly revolutionary and that it left many of us (and I certainly myself) speechless at first. A spatial computer, they called it, because it is effectively able to replace a PC in many kinds of activities, with the obvious advantage that it can be used practically at any time and under any circumstances (with a little common sense, of course).

Apple had sales expectations which began a significant decline a few weeks after the first units started arriving at sales points. This was partly predictable, as the number of enthusiasts willing to spend at least $3,500 on a first-generation gadget (with its attendant problems) is limited, with an app ecosystem still to be developed, and not enough references to user experience after 10-15 minute test. Those from Cupertino were thus forced to reduce the production rate of the Apple Vision Pro, temporarily paralyzing work on its second generation in order to concentrate on the design of the “economy” version and accelerate its jump to other markets.

One of those issues, the apps issue, is something we’ve been anticipating for months after the first units of the device hit the market. It’s true, yes, it’s possible to use iOS and iPadOS apps on visionOS, but if a user invests at least $3,500 in a device built to deliver a unique user experience, he’s logically looking for a huge ecosystem of apps that deliver lots of the same. And not because you want them all, of course, but because the greater the variety, the more likely you are to find apps that suit your needs and preferences, and thus get the most out of your device.

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We did it again a few weeks ago and now Apple announced that there are already more than 2,500 native apps for Apple Vision ProThis means that they use (at least in theory) the uniqueness of this device to offer an experience that makes the most of it. It is certainly true that this is quite a positive development, because if we consider that in June they were talking about an ecosystem of 2000 apps, we find a growth of 25% in about two months.

This will no doubt be influenced by international expansion and probably by rumors of an “economy” version of the Apple Vision Pro. The big question is whether 2,500 is a good number or not. And of course it depends on the prism from which we analyze it. Of course, 25% growth in two months is an exceptional number, but on the other hand, 2500 apps after more than a year since their announcement and SDK release, and more than half a year since they went on sale, it seems like an awfully poor figure.

Fountain