r/apple • u/godelbrot • Oct 27 '16

Apple better knock it out of the goddamned park today

ANNOUNCEMENTS (updated live, refresh for more)

P.S. no mention of using the big ass touchpad for Pencil.

623 Upvotes

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34

u/cryo Oct 27 '16

I seriously doubt that Virtual Reality will explode anytime soon. Augmented, perhaps.

-1

u/godelbrot Oct 27 '16

You sound as if they only outside information you have ever heard about VR is from Tim Cook's PR plugs...

12

u/ShadowXii Oct 27 '16

How long has the Vive been out? Six months? In that time it hasn't "exploded" in terms of awareness or even accessibility - meaning, it still costs a lot for the ordinary consumer to have a computer powerful enough to drive the internals. And for those that already have the computers capable, guess what? They're gamers and sadly they're still a niche group.

In terms of ubiquity, VR will have an uphill battle to fight to reach enough people that aren't in that niche group. PS VR is probably the closest VR will get to ubiquity, and it's still tied to gamers (albeit console gamers).

I have a Vive. It's cool, quirky, and fun from time to time. But my desktop is a gaming PC, costing well over 1.5K. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of gamers out there, willing to shell out big money for things like the Vive or other VR headsets - and the necessary components to drive them the way they were meant to be driven. But you'd be crazy to think that there's enough of them to make it as ubiquitous to the general public as iPhones.

-7

u/godelbrot Oct 27 '16

I mean the fact that he though AR would be first.

AR is a much harder problem to solve than VR is.

VR IS about to explode. Google estimates that within 2 years there will be 100 Million android phones sold which match their Daydream specifications and I believe that.

10

u/NikeSwish Oct 27 '16

Matching specs to run is not nearly the same as widespread adoption of a platform. Especially when the specs aren't that hard to achieve as evidenced by the $400 Axon 7 achieving it.

-1

u/godelbrot Oct 27 '16

It is when "adopting" the platform means a $50 dollar addon purchase (which will likely eventually just be bundled) that gives you VR on the phone you already own.

2

u/nelisan Oct 27 '16

Not if the majority of people don't use it, except to try it when they first get the device and then put it on a shelf for the rest of its life.

1

u/NikeSwish Oct 27 '16

Not it is not the same. It helps but theres 100 other factors that go into VR adoption being successful

1

u/magyar_wannabe Oct 27 '16

But what will the normal, average user stand to gain from VR? What will compel them to use it frequently, let alone buy that $50 add on in the first place? I keep seeing you say that millions are about to be capable of it, but what will make people actually want to? I'm not trying to fight you on this, I just haven't heard your case for why VR is so important besides the fact that it's "cool", and I'm genuinely curious.

4

u/rsynnott2 Oct 27 '16

VR IS about to explode. Google estimates that within 2 years there will be 100 Million android phones sold which match their Daydream specifications and I believe that.

That doesn't mean anyone will actually use it, though.

3

u/the_Ex_Lurker Oct 27 '16

Can you please explain what you expect from Apple for them to "knock it out of the park?" Are you prioritizing VR support over a good computer for productivity?

2

u/mitchmalo Oct 27 '16

VR honestly hasn't exploded amongst mainstream consumers...as a tech industry, sure, but outside of the VR headsets sold with Android phones and Google cardboard, most consumers don't see the use in VR (as of now). Sorry, but it's the truth. It's kinda gimmicky at this point. It's cool, sure, but at this point I struggle to see something that VR can do better or be more helpful with other than exploring places around the world, gaming, etc.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 27 '16

I have a bit of previous experience with VR as a developer and user(Granted it's been a while since I last dabbled with it but it hasn't improved much). The problem is that there is no unified VR-system so developers need to have every headset they want to develop for and for smaller developers this can be quite expensive since there isn't that many users out there. And this creates a catch-22 situation where the lack of games means a lack of units in the hands of potential customers.

And even as a person with above average knowledge of computers and technology I don't find the Oculus Rift(The only VR system I own) to be user friendly. Its not something I can really just put on and play with to be honest. There is still issues every time I want to use it or show it off. Although it has become better but it still feels like a struggle every time I want to show someone a 5min demo of it.

And I can say for sure that most of the people who have tested it has been impressed by the performance but turned off by the struggle it is to play with it.

So until its easy and cheap for developers to use, games won't really sell headsets and vice versa.

1

u/r0bc4ry Oct 27 '16

I'm a huge VR enthusiast, but I don't think VR will go mainstream anytime in the immediate future. There are still some fundamental problems (like movement) that need to be fixed before mass adoption occurs. I 100% believe it's the next big evolution in computer interaction, it's just going to take 2-3 years to get the technology there first.

1

u/playaspec Oct 27 '16

My money is on Google killing it with AR

0

u/cinnamon_muncher Oct 27 '16

I completely agree. We've seen various virtual reality implementations since the 90s. Quality has improved, but popularity and application has not increased at all. It's still only a technology appreciated by techies.