The company describes the wearable device as a revolutionary spatial computer that seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world, with the Vision Pro promising to deliver extraordinary new experiences, an infinite canvas for apps at work and at home, and immersive environments.
In the same way that Mac introduced us to personal computing, Apple CEO Tim Cook said as he launched the headset on Monday, Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing.
Despite Cooks assertions that the headset will be a gamechanger, the product was met with a mixed reception, with many impressed by its capabilities but flabbergasted by the hefty price tag.
One of the people who did not appear to be fully won over by the headset was Tony Fadellthe inventor of the iPod who worked closely with Steve Jobs and, for almost a decade, led the team at Apple that developed the iPod and the first three generations of the iPhone.
While Fadellwho is known as the father of the iPodlabeled the Vision Pro a technological Tour de Force and very impressive, he expressed skepticism over the headsets potential.
With the consumer apps and marketing for $3,500 [with] two-hour battery life, Apple has truly jumped the shark, he said in a tweet on Tuesday.
The phrase jump the shark refers to a creative project or company that has exhausted its core ideas and has reached a point where it starts to decline in quality, artistic value or popularity.
A spokesperson for Apple did not respond to Fortunes request for comment.
Mixed reviews
Fadell, who has sold startups to both Apple and Google, was an early pioneer of mobile devices, and was recruited by Steve Jobs to build the iPod in 2001. After leaving Apple in 2008, he founded Nest Labs, which makes the Nest thermostat.
Fadell argued in a subsequent tweet on Tuesday that even if Apple improved the Vision Pros battery life, there were still problems with the product.
The apps and marketing pitch is awful even if it had 24 [hour] battery life, he said. This is not a painkiller. Platforms dont become useful products. Useful products become platforms.
Reviews of the Vision Pro have been pouring in since its debut.
BBC Technology Editor Zoe Kleinman tweeted that after trying out the headset, she had concluded that some of the technological features were spot on and a gamechanger, but other aspectslike its 3D contentwere weird and a gimmick.
Other reviewers labeled the device incredibly impressive but oddly lonely to use.
Meanwhile, tech analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities predicted that Apple would sell just 150,000 Vision Pro headsets during the products first year on the market, and 1 million in the second year. Comparatively, Apple sells more than 200 million iPhones a year, according to the Associated Press.
