Apple Vision Pro sales are much lower than expected. Despite the generally positive reviews of early reviews, viewer interest (“premium spatial computing device”) dropped significantly and the Cupertino company reduced production by 50%. But Apple is not giving up and has launched several initiatives to improve its presence in this sector.

And that’s it not even an apple managed to energize a virtual/augmented/mixed reality market that promised a lot, but that ten years after its first announcements many are describing as a fiasco. Apple Vision Pro was a breath of fresh air in a market where only Meta and HTC managed to survive, but its very high price of up to 5000 USD, problems of use such as discomfort or low autonomy added to the relative lack of applications, they did it They ended it , that they left us in a no man’s land.

Although Tim Cook defended his development, as “a groundbreaking product for people who want tomorrow’s technology today” and believes that it is more of an experimental product for the company to test the AR/VR ecosystem, it cannot be allowed to have a product without interest in the catalog. Something they are not used to at headquarters in Cupertino.

How to improve the Apple Vision Pro ecosystem?

The AR/VR/XR industry needs Apple and will continue to try. It launched the device outside of the original US exclusivity, adding new features, apps and gestures, and AI features coming from the Apple Intelligence platform are on the way. But we have to go further and this weekend we learned new insights to improve its reception.

Games

One of them is listed in Bloomberg and they say that Apple has teamed up with Sony to ensure compatibility with the PSVR2 controller for the Vision Pro. A sign that Apple is trying to address one of the weakest sites of Vision Pro: game compatibility. The headset relies heavily on hand and eye tracking, and while compatible with standard game controllers, it lacks native compatibility with traditional virtual reality controllers, such as those used in systems that offer six degrees of freedom (6DoF).

A partnership with Sony would be a good move, although Apple didn’t design a headset with gaming as its primary focus, focusing more on productivity, entertainment and immersive applications. And above all, a professional approach, that we will see how it can be streamlined with a new bet on games. And it will manage to attract studios and developers.

Mini

Another good way to expand the ecosystem would be with the second most economical version. An Asian component supplier that makes key components of the headset said a few months ago that the Cupertino firm had scrapped the second-generation device in favor of developing a cheaper variant.

Apple would be looking for a development like Meta Quest 3, the best seller and without any doubt the best 3D viewer in terms of function/price ratio. Not only is the Meta much cheaper to develop, it is also lighter and more comfortable to use than the Vision Pro, has a wider field of view, and surpasses Apple in the number of applications and access to games such as those on the Microsoft Xbox.

Cellular

Apple still uses Qualcomm chips to provide communications capabilities such as mobile broadband to its mobile devices such as iPhones. However, it is developing its own solution. Following the acquisition of Intel’s modem division, it is only a matter of time before network optimization tests are performed to ensure that they will work properly with the wireless networks of the carriers that Apple products are sold to around the world. In addition, the modem must be tested to ensure compliance with global standards, regional standards and a series of tests to meet the requirements of communications regulators.

This Apple modem would be used not only in iPhones, Watches and iPads, but also in mixed reality browsers to make them even more independent. Of course, with cellular connectivity in future versions of the Vision Pro, Apple would position it as an “iPhone alternative,” Bloomberg says, as it’s believed to include it in its future augmented reality glasses as well.

Apple’s moves to improve its presence in the “spatial computing” ecosystem, which could be a real revolution, are certainly interesting, but there are no guarantees that it will not be another fiasco like VR. Improvements to the current browser are very necessary, but in the future it will be necessary to market a device that most consumers can afford.