Meta CEO Is Not Impressed By Apple’s Mixed Reality Headset

Digitalization is going one step further with advancement of digital worlds. Today, mixed reality (MR), an integration of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, is the coolest section in the laboratories of tech companies. Recently, Apple revealed their mixed reality glasses, Vision Pro, during the worldwide developer conference (WWDC) 2023. While the world was undoubtedly impressed, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn’t share that feeling with Apple’s new toy.

Meta Platforms Lost 70% Valuation in Its Metaverse Quest

According to The Verge, Zuck Bucks is reported to have told Meta employees during a companywide meeting that Apple Vision Pro is no breakthrough. He added that there is nothing his company had not already explored before.

He said, “By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself.” He further added, “I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want.” The company was rechristened from Facebook to Meta in November 2021, highlighting their focus on metaverse.

However, the Meta Quest did not lead the company to a pot at the end of the rainbow, instead, the tech giant lost 70% of its value. The main man announced during an earnings call they would work on artificial intelligence (AI), temporarily shifting focus from virtual worlds.

Meta came up with Meta Quest Pro, a VR headset, in October 2021. The device garnered negative reviews; sales were disappointing. User reviews said the device felt heavy and uncomfortable on the face, while the hefty $1,499 price tag pushed several away. Just a few days before Vision Pro’s launch, Meta revealed Quest 3, calling it their ‘most powerful headset yet.’

Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the WWDC 2023 that “Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing.” Speakers did not mention the term ‘metaverse’ during the event but emphasized that their device is dedicated to spatial computing. While it may sound like Meta gave up on metaverse, the headsets may have a positive impact on the sector.

Virtual Reality Devices Could See 75 Million Shipments by 2027

Data shows there are 171 Million virtual reality users globally out of which 65.9 Million are in the US only. A report by CCS Insights, a technology insights provider, predicts sales in the market might reach 75 million units by 2027. With entities including HTC, Microsoft, Sony and more having already deployed their AR/VR gadgets, the heat will be real.

Metaverse tokens had a hard time recently after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claimed several cryptocurrencies are trading as unregistered securities. Trading volume skyrocketed to almost 70% while the market capitalization fell nearly 8% following the SEC’s recent lawsuits.

Nations including China, South Korea, UK and more have shown interest in virtual worlds. Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu province, recently announced their China Metaverse Technology and Application Innovation platform. The United Kingdom authorities wrote in their Spring Budget 2023 report that they want to “lead on the future of web technology, sometimes known as Web3 or the metaverse.”

Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.