So Apple has come out with an Augmented Reality (AR) headset device which:
Costs $3500
Lasts 2 hours
Doesn't take you to a different world, but treats the world as a massive screen for your apps
Said apps are (as of right now) nothing more than just simple iPhone apps
I'm not going to be so stupid as to say it's dead in the water, because as someone who has a Macbook Pro, an iPhone, an iPad, an Apple Watch, Airpods Pro, Airpods Max (because the Airpods Pro keeps falling out of my ears and headphones have better noise cancellation) I get the appeal and the allure to buying the next Apple wotsit.
But this thing? This thing has zero appeal to me. Not just because of the above, but also because it's something I need to strap on my face in front of my eyes and use for (what it was intended for) long periods of time.
It honestly wouldn't surprise me if Apple kept on iterating on it to make it a success like they did with the watch - I've shat on the Apple Watch on launch, and here I am wearing it, due to the constant health and fitness features.
But I just cannot see myself being won over with the AR glasses thing. They look goofy (I said that about the Apple Airpods Max, but bought them second hand for £200 cheaper than the asking price so that's why I got them - I still think they look like shit).
As an aside, I also play video games, and the whole Virtual Reality (VR) was something I was looking forward to and was interested... until the scene was on its last legs.
I think products that ask customers to strap something to their eyes for long (15min+) periods of time aren't going to do well in the market. It's why 3DTVs haven't been successful. It's why VR headsets, despite all the song and dance from Valve, Sony, and Meta, still haven't taken off (I know this is AR, but still)
And just one final thing - I can appreciate the desire for conferencing hardware, but we have webcams and mics. They may not be amazing, but they do the job just fine.
Not only that, but after being stuck at home during COVID, I really, really miss human interaction - and this is coming from an introverted person. I don't mind a phone that allows me to quickly communicate to others from a distance. What I won't do is buy a device that encourages isolation (like VR/AR headsets).
With COVID transmission data removed from the CDC website after the end of the public health emergency, wastewater is now our best indicator of surges.
And wastewater data shows that all of NYC has high #COVID levels.
I'm spoilt by #rstats#shiny making simple things simple. Having to add a dropdown to filter a table in Excel requires a hidden tab and some VBA code. Why, oh, why, can't I just use UNIQUE() in the dropdown???