Meta’s Mixed Reality Success with Apple’s Vision Pro Headset

It’s generally accepted that Mark Zuckerberg, in the two years since he renamed Facebook to Meta Platforms Inc., has done a poor job of selling his metaverse vision to the masses. The words “metaverse,” “virtual reality” and “augmented reality” have all become so tainted, in fact, that the newest arrival in the sector refuses to use any of them. Instead it touts “spacial computing” when describing the Apple Vision Pro headset, which is being released early next month.

Will spacial computing prove more marketable than the metaverse? Maybe. The Vision Pro release will for sure bring a renewed buzz around the mixed-reality concept that only Apple can generate thanks to its impeccable reputation for hardware excellence. Given its $3,500 price tag, however, and a limited production run, the Vision Pro’s first iteration won’t be an iPhone moment. As I’ve written before, most people’s experience of Apple’s most daring new device in more than a decade will be to peer at it in one of the company’s stores.