 An attendee wearing an Apple Vision Pro at the iPhone 16 launch event. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg The iPhone and Apple Watch both required some fine-tuning before they became the hit products we know today. With the iPhone, Apple cut the price while adding support for third-party applications and speedier 3G connections. The Apple Watch, meanwhile, didn't really catch on until the company focused on fitness tracking, health-sensing features and notifications. That said, neither product had to be totally overhauled before becoming a big seller — they were on the right track, and just needed some tweaks. Even today, the iPhone and Apple Watch are fairly close to the original vision. Apple is facing a very different challenge with its Vision Pro headset. It wants to turn the product into a line of devices — with different features and price points. But it's not starting from a rock-solid foundation. If Apple ultimately becomes successful in headsets, the products will probably look and feel nothing like the Vision Pro of today. Don't get me wrong: The Vision Pro is an amazing piece of technology, especially when it comes to watching video. You can turn any room into a virtual movie theater, and the fully immersive clips that Apple has published — including sports highlights and landscapes — are a sight to behold. The hardware also is a marvel, with its sleek aluminum-and-glass design, high-end cameras, advanced chips and dazzling displays. But the headset is really more of a technology showcase than a genuine consumer product. There's little reason for someone to buy a Vision Pro instead of a computer, and the drawbacks are too big to ignore. It can't be worn for long periods of time; there's little third-party software or video content; and the device lacks compelling other features. Whether you refer to this technology as mixed reality (a melding of augmented and virtual reality) or use Apple's preferred term of spatial computing, the concept hasn't caught on with consumers. And then there's the price. The Vision Pro is $3,500 before tax, storage upgrades and accessories, putting it out of reach for most people. Apple could try to reignite sales by cutting the Vision Pro price by $500 or even $1,000, but that still might not be enough for shoppers to give it another look. Given how expensive the device is to build, Apple would probably just wipe out its profit margins for little market-share gain.  Meta Quest 3S. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg This past week, Meta Platforms Inc. unveiled a flurry of new technologies in this space — and underscored the idea that Apple seems to be on the wrong track. At Meta's Connect conference, the company introduced the latest version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Unlike the Vision Pro, these aren't an engineering marvel and don't attempt to be a true augmented reality device. But they've caught on with consumers thanks to a combination of slick design, useful features and effective marketing — areas where Apple typically excels. Quite frankly, Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses should have been an Apple product and would have fit in perfectly with its wearable lineup. In the realm of mixed reality, Meta landed another blow: Its new Quest 3S headset starts at just $299. At that price point, Meta has a better hope of turning mixed reality into a mainstream category than Apple does. You're going to see a lot of Quest 3S units get sold as gifts or bought by casual consumers who want a more immersive experience for movies or games. The Apple Vision Pro is now more than 10 times the price of the entry-level Quest offering, and it's certainly not 10 times better. If gaming and video watching are the main applications for these types of headsets, you really don't need the Vision Pro's sophistication. But Meta's masterstroke was the demonstration of its Orion AR glasses prototype. This device isn't yet ready for consumers, but it still might be the closest thing we've seen to a pair of practical AR spectacles. Orion offers a field of view with an impressive 70-degree range (not too far off from the Vision Pro) and relies on an elegant form of eye and hand control. The idea is to ultimately replace your smartphone with something you can comfortably wear on your face all day. The Orion glasses are just a prototype, and I don't expect them to turn into a consumer product for three to five years. It's perhaps unfair to compare it with whatever Apple has in development. After all, the iPhone maker never previews products years in advance (though some of the further-out features of Apple Intelligence might count). But Meta proved that it is well on its way to executing on this compelling vision. Based on all available evidence, the company is further along with AR glasses than Apple is in its labs.  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wearing the Orion prototype. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Apple seems aware that it needs to rethink its approach to headsets, but there isn't consensus on how to do that, I'm told. As of now, the company's Vision Products Group is evaluating a few different options, including: - The status quo route: This would involve keeping the Vision Pro more or less the same but focusing on a less expensive version. Apple could bring down the cost with cheaper materials, lesser internal technologies and lower-quality displays. The company would also follow up with a second-generation version of the original, higher-end Vision Pro that has a new chip and Apple Intelligence.
- The smart display route: In this scenario, Apple would remove the on-board computer and external battery from the Vision Pro and shift many of the internal functions over to the iPhone. This would make the iPhone more valuable, reduce the weight and heat of the headset, and — most importantly — eliminate several hundred dollars worth of components to bring down the price.
- The smart glasses route: This would mean developing a product that's closer to Meta's hit collaboration with Ray-Ban — smart glasses without AR. Apple could use its expertise in chips and audio, as well as its growing collection of AI tools, to make a compelling device. This would essentially be a me-too product, but also something akin to an AirPods on steroids — and Apple fans would probably eat it up.
- The AI and AirPods route: Apple is working on a new version of the AirPods Pro that uses external cameras and artificial intelligence to understand the outside world and provide information to the user. This would essentially be the smart glasses path — but without actual glasses.
- The holy grail route: The ultimate goal is standalone augmented reality spectacles that come with high-performing lenses, a battery system, on-board computer, cameras, eye tracking and other components built-in— all while still being the size and weight of normal glasses. This has long been Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook's dream, but Apple previously paused development of such a product because it was just too big a challenge.
Apple could ultimately release some or all of these products, but it's going to need to accelerate its work — and fast. If not, Apple will risk losing out on a product category that could transform the way people use technology. Apple has struggled to move beyond its core strengths in recent years. It lacks a coherent smart home strategy, its car project was a failure, and the company arrived late — with unimpressive results — to the AI party. With all the money Apple generates from the iPhone, it can afford a few flops. But its long-term health depends on mastering the next major phase of innovation before its competitors do. | 
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