NYT TECHNOLOGY: At Apple, Rare Dissent Over a New Product: Interactive Goggles
By Tripp Mickle and Brian X. Chen
Section: Technology
Source: New York Times
Published Date: March 26, 2023 at 02:00AM
The video showed a man in a London taxi donning an augmented reality headset and calling his wife in San Francisco. “Would you like to come to London?” he asked, two people who saw the video said. Soon, the couple were sharing the sights of London through the husband’s eyes.
The video excited executives about the possibilities of Apple’s next business-altering device: a headset that would blend the digital world with the real one.
But now, as the company prepares to introduce the headset in June, enthusiasm at Apple has given way to skepticism, said eight current and former employees, who requested anonymity because of Apple’s policies against speaking about future products. There are concerns about the device’s roughly $3,000 price, doubts about its utility and worries about its unproven market.
That dissension has been a surprising change inside a company where employees have built devices — from the iPod to the Apple Watch — with the single-mindedness of a moon mission.
By Tripp Mickle and Brian X. Chen
Section: Technology
Source: New York Times
Published Date: March 26, 2023 at 02:00AM
The company is expected to unveil an augmented reality headset in a few months. Some employees wonder if the device makes sense for Apple.
When Apple held a corporate retreat in California’s Carmel Valley about five years ago to discuss its next major product, Jony Ive, its longtime design chief, captivated a room of the company’s 100 top executives with a concept video as polished as an Apple commercial.The video showed a man in a London taxi donning an augmented reality headset and calling his wife in San Francisco. “Would you like to come to London?” he asked, two people who saw the video said. Soon, the couple were sharing the sights of London through the husband’s eyes.
The video excited executives about the possibilities of Apple’s next business-altering device: a headset that would blend the digital world with the real one.
But now, as the company prepares to introduce the headset in June, enthusiasm at Apple has given way to skepticism, said eight current and former employees, who requested anonymity because of Apple’s policies against speaking about future products. There are concerns about the device’s roughly $3,000 price, doubts about its utility and worries about its unproven market.
That dissension has been a surprising change inside a company where employees have built devices — from the iPod to the Apple Watch — with the single-mindedness of a moon mission.
Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/technology/apple-augmented-reality-dissent.html
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