Apple is continuing its development of a virtual reality (VR) headset, Vision Pro, as well as its next-generation VR headset and augmented reality (AR) glasses, despite the failure of Vision Pro, signaling the intensification of product and technology competition among big tech corporations. Apple released the first-generation Vision Pro early last year, but it received criticism due to pricing and performance issues. The company was expected to launch smart glasses in 2023, but missed the release schedule due to incomplete development.
According to reports from Bloomberg and TechCrunch on the 14th, Apple is internally developing smart glasses and the VR headset 'Vision Pro 2'. The smart glasses are said to come with a camera and microphone. For Vision Pro, the focus is reportedly on solving the weight and price issues that were pointed out as drawbacks of the existing product. The price of Vision Pro 1 was '3,500 dollars,' and it weighed 600 grams. Apple is also said to be developing a headset that can be used in consolidation with its PC product line, Mac.
Apple views the smart glasses as a key product that continues its innovation following the iPhone. However, the original smart glasses, which were released last year as Vision Pro 1, performed poorly. Market research firm Counterpoint Research stated that in the fourth quarter of last year, Apple expanded the launch countries of Vision Pro to South Korea, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Taiwan, but the global market share for virtual reality (VR) fell from 9% in the third quarter to 2% in the fourth quarter.
In the meantime, Meta and Samsung Electronics are accelerating their development of wearable products, intensifying competition among big tech. Industry sources said Meta plans to launch high-end smart glasses with a built-in screen that can be controlled by hand gestures within this year. The price is expected to be around 1,000 dollars, which is more expensive than existing Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses (starting from 299 dollars) but one-third of the price of Apple Vision Pro 1.
Samsung Electronics is also developing XR (extended reality) headsets. XR is a technology that mixes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). Samsung Electronics previously unveiled a head-mounted type called 'Moohan.' The company is developing products based on the 'Android XR platform' together with Google and Qualcomm.
According to Counterpoint Research, global shipments of VR headsets decreased by 12% compared to 2023 last year. Shipments of smart glasses also dropped by 8% compared to the previous year. As hardware development is still in its early stages, uncomfortable wearing experience and a lack of content have negatively impacted sales.
Counterpoint Research projected that the global smart glasses market will grow by over 30% next year compared to this year. The firm noted that, "With advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, more corporations are positioning AR smart glasses as a key platform for AI integration. This is expected to further accelerate market expansion."