The more I think about Apple Vision Pro this week, the more I'm starting to realize I want to see it go up in price, not down. I want to see the higher-end model with an M2 Pro or Max chip, with 64GB of RAM and 1TB+ internal storage. Give it on-board macOS virtualization, too. I don't think enough people have given this thought, but I think there is huge potential for higher-end models, especially as pro apps find their way onto the platform — the ‘Mac Pro’ of spatial computing
@stroughtonsmith I’ve been on this train since the beginning. Even this first one has an M2, 16GB RAM, and up to a terabyte SSD. It’s basically a MacBook Air in there.
It should run macOS as the base, and allow iPad and Vision apps on top of it.
@stroughtonsmith Move all the processing into the battery pack, put an R1 chip in Mac Studios, and allow users to either connect a Vision Pro (without pack) to a Mac Studio via TB4 cable to run macVisionOS or to connect to the optional mobile pack for use with VisionOS on the go.
@stroughtonsmith While that’s technically a good end-goal for the Vision platform… in the interim I’d like to see Apple add more seamless integration between Vision Pro and the Mac. Instead of streaming the entire Mac desktop to the headset I’d like to see them enable streaming of individual Mac apps to the headset. That way the Mac can run the apps that need more power, and you get the benefit of using the app in AR/VR. The current virtual 4K Mac display is too constraining.
@stroughtonsmith with Pro/Max, especially Ultra you enter active cooling territory and much higher battery drain.
My hope was on the 3nm SoCs, TSMC started mass producing in January, but those might have been A-series for the iPhone15 or the all new R1 instead of the M3.
@stroughtonsmith the headset itself could also be much cooler, lighter and simpler if you moved the CPUs away from the face (and you’d probably have to if you significantly upgraded them)
@stroughtonsmith Don’t forget you need a USBC (thunderbolt) port to get transfer big files into it. Right now it’s just for charging, limiting pro app capabilities.
@stroughtonsmith Totally agree with this. However, I’d argue that there is room for both. The most inexpensive Mac starts at $599 while the most expensive starts at $6,999. From the developer and pro user standpoint I agree. But I also want the platform to thrive which means long term it needs to be at a price point at least within reach of more consumers.
@stroughtonsmith I’ve been sort of assuming it would have a native terminal ui and I could run brew and vs code and Python… hope #apple really leans into it being a productivity platform
@Techronic9876@stroughtonsmith It would be nice if Apple makes visionOS do everything that macOS can do & more, but I’ll be very surprised if they do. I strongly believe that Apple needs to remove the limitations of iOS from visionOS if they want to make spatial computing the next big thing in technological advancement!
They’ve started releasing “Pro” apps for iPad, but due to the OS limitations these apps are still constrained and can’t do what the Mac apps can.
@vanitalo@stroughtonsmith my theory is that apple has given up on the iPad as a productivity device, they’ve tried to make it work but the tablet format is inherently limited
I think apple sees a vision for the Vision Pro being for productivity device, with a tablet or keyboard being an input device, and that they’ll push it beyond the iPad in terms of capabilities
@Techronic9876@stroughtonsmith Unfortunately iPadOS is just iOS with a few extras thrown in. This is the major limitation of the iPad platform. I get why they did that considering the A series chips used at the time, but when they put the M series chips into iPad Pro they needed to fork macOS again & enhance it for touch input. I’m curious if visionOS is (or will get) closer to macOS. If it’s more rooted in iOS then it will hit the same limits in what apps can do.
@vanitalo@Techronic9876 it is very much based on iPadOS, but already it looks like iPadOS’ 'big brother’; there are a lot of new APIs and capabilities here that extend and go beyond what you're able to do with UI in iPadOS, even without considering any of the 3D or AR stuff. Even simple things like alerts have been extended to look more like macOS alerts, complete with icons
@stroughtonsmith@Techronic9876 One thing that I hope visionOS will allow is non-modal windows for apps. Truly multi-window apps, not just running multiple instances of apps side by side. Also, they call Safari desktop class, but it falls well short of what the macOS version of the browser can do. I really wanted iPadOS to be great for productivity, but I just kept hitting walls at every turn. It was so frustrating I eventually gave up and went back to the Mac.
@vanitalo@Techronic9876 it does, and that's what I've added to my app’s codebase in preparation for the visionOS SDK. iPadOS allows for it too, just very few apps have reason to do this as the system makes handling windows a chore. I'm using the same code on macOS, but have it disabled on iPad (except in this screenshot)
@stroughtonsmith@Techronic9876 That’s good. I hope Apple continues to make it easier for developers to implement these things. It makes a huge difference to the user experience! Also a key element of user retention for a platform.
@stroughtonsmith If you consider this first product to be a replacement MacBook Pro, imagining a desktop version is an interesting thought experiment. For foreseeable future, extended use will require a tether for power anyway. Why not instead tether to an external compute box with no power/heat limitations?
@stroughtonsmith They did say "starting at" though. So maybe your wishes are covered on the upper end. I think the "starting at" price can safely go down without not also having higher-end models.
@stroughtonsmith I totally agree with this, I don’t want some cheap Quest, I want the best. Pro all the way. (Not that I’m wealthy, but I believe in quality tech.) All the folks out there in the mainstream laughing at Apple’s expensive ski goggles wouldn’t understand my high end laptops, displays, and sound systems either. These machines are how I create my life.
@stroughtonsmith Agreed. Do you think there’s a chance this will launch with an M3 instead of an M2? With the rumored process shrink and the time until launch it seems possible.
@stroughtonsmith I do wonder what the scaled up versions would look like. The higher power chips would need more cooling, and you could maybe move some components to a separate box like the battery, but that could increase latency.
@stroughtonsmith Personally hoping a future non-Pro vision starts with an MX chip and future versions of the Pro come with an MX Pro or Max. As the cost of the other components come down I want them to increase power/features at the same or similar price point.
@stroughtonsmith And here I am hoping it will go down in price so maybe I could afford to get one some time in the future. 🤣. I get where you are coming from though, maybe both will happen?
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