Dave Lee of Bloomberg dropped a nugget in his recent piece on Meta’s mixed reality play: it’s shaping up to be the Mac vs. PC battle of the 2020s.
I’m more inclined to say it feels like the Mac versus PC battles of the 1990s and 2000s. Steve Jobs offered sleek hardware and software, but it was Bill Gates who taught the world how to use a computer by making it accessible and affordable.
Now, before you roll your eyes at another historical tech analogy, hear me out.
The 90s and early 2000s saw Apple dazzle with sleek hardware and Jobs’ visionary touch. But it was Gates who democratized computing, making it accessible and, crucially, affordable. I get the comparison. Apple’s Vision Pro headset is undeniably cool, a polished piece of kit that screams “luxury.” But is it the everyman’s gateway to the mixed reality metaverse, or just another walled garden for the well-heeled?
Enter Meta, the Facebook rebrand with a mixed reality roadmap that reads like a direct challenge to Apple’s elitism. Their upcoming “Ventura” headset is all about bang for buck, aiming to be the VR equivalent of a Toyota Camry: reliable, functional, and within reach for most folks.
Now, I’m an Android guy through and through, so forgive me if I sound a bit biased. But the echoes of the Android vs. iPhone wars are hard to ignore. Apple polishes its premium gadgets, while Meta focuses on getting its tech into as many hands (and faces) as possible.
History might repeat itself. Meta could very well achieve mass adoption faster, blanketing the market with its accessible headsets. Apple, meanwhile, might rake in revenue with its niche market of early adopters willing to shell out big bucks for the bleeding edge. (Those 200,000 Vision Pro pre-orders speak volumes.)
But Meta isn’t playing dead. Their “La Jolla” headset, with its photorealistic avatars and mind-bending tech demos, looks like a direct shot at the Vision Pro’s crown. And let’s be honest, that YouTube demo of Meta’s tech is pretty impressive. (For the Apple counterpoint, check out MKBHD’s Vision Pro video; it’s a good time.)
So, I don’t know about you but I’m going to buckle up and wait and see what platform will take off. As an engineer, I’d love to see what platform I will feel passionate to develop software for in the future. The mixed reality race is on, and it’s shaping up to be a battle not just of technology, but of philosophies. Will Apple’s walled garden of luxury prevail, or will Meta’s focus on affordability and accessibility win the day? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure: things are about to get interesting in the land of headsets and holograms.
In 2024… Meta plans to ship a more “accessible” headset codenamed Ventura. “The goal for this headset is very simple: pack the biggest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market.