Even as Apple Inc. AAPL is gearing up to launch the $3,500 Vision Pro, a YouTuber has built a discount Vision Pro that costs less than $1,000.
What Happened: Linus Media Group-owned YouTube channel Mac Address has built a discount Vision Pro that costs less than $1,000, while Apple will start selling the original at $3,500 in 2024.
The problem with Apple's Vision Pro headset is two-fold right now – what are the use cases it addresses, is it really needed, and will people actually pay $3,500 for a highly experimental, next-generation piece of technology that might never take off?
"So, to solve both of these problems, we made tomorrow's headset today for less than a thousand dollars," Mac Address says in its video.
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Mac Address partnered with Lloyd Pan, a product designer, to create the discount Vision Pro.
Two of the biggest expenses to create this discount Vision Pro were a 2019 MacBook Pro that Mac Address managed to buy for $450 and a pair of AR glasses called Rokid Max, worth $400.
That's all – that was the entire setup. Pan connected these AR glasses to the MacBook Pro, and his discount Vision Pro was set up.
However, video calls are impossible since this discount version does not have a built-in webcam or a custom OS that uses sensors and facial scans to visualize the entire persona for the other person to see.
Pan had to stay hooked to the MacBook Pro to work using the discount Vision Pro headset because this was a quick hack. Although the MacBook does not have its own display in this setup, it provides all the computing power the AR glasses use.
Why It Matters: Although Apple's Vision Pro headset looks futuristic, not everyone is optimistic about it due to the $3,500 price tag.
Rival Mark Zuckerberg is unfazed by it, too – after all, Meta Platforms Inc.'s META Quest 3 headset is already available at a fraction of the price of Vision Pro, at just $500.
Apple is also reportedly working on a significantly cheaper version of Vision Pro that will cost only $1,500, so the original's price tag remains a major hurdle in everyone's minds.
However, as the discount Vision Pro headset has shown, it's not easy to create something as powerful and feature-packed as the Vision Pro at a $1,000 price point.
Whether Apple's gamble will pay off or not remains to be seen. For now, enjoy a glimpse into how a discount Vision Pro works in daily life.
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