The Vision Pro<\/a>, Apple\u2019s first mixed-reality headset, is undeniably impressive from a technical perspective. It reflects a carefully considered, thoughtful (albeit pricey) approach to AR\/VR, while its operating system \u2014 visionOS \u2014 delivers genuine innovations in the areas of input and interactions.<\/p>\n But apps make or break hardware, regardless of how compelling the base experience is. And that\u2019s where the Vision Pro appears to be struggling.<\/p>\n At launch, around 600 apps had been developed specifically for the Vision Pro. To be sure, that\u2019s no small feat. But this initial library is a small fraction of the apps available for Apple\u2019s other platforms and \u2014 more significantly \u2014 contains glaring omissions like Netflix, YouTube and Spotify.<\/p>\n Now, apps needn\u2019t be natively developed for the Vision Pro; the headset is backward compatible with both iPadOS and iOS apps. But existing apps don\u2019t tap into the Vision Pro\u2019s more powerful, immersive features, and developers can opt out of Vision Pro compatibility at will.<\/p>\n In a recent survey<\/a> of 500 consumers, 81% said that they were concerned that the absence of apps from major developers would undermine the Vision Pro content experience. Of those who said that they didn\u2019t have plans to purchase a Vision Pro this year, 39% cited a lack of interesting content and apps to use as their main reason.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Apple<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Partly to blame for the app austerity is a steep decline in funding for AR, VR and \u201cmetaverse\u201d software startups.<\/p>\n Investment around these themes \u2014 AR, VR and the metaverse \u2014 hit a multiyear low in 2023, according<\/a> to Crunchbase, driven by plummeting<\/a> sales of AR and VR headsets. After peaking in 2022 at ~$6 billion in funding across ~600 deals, the AR, VR and metaverse market dipped to $2 billion across just 200 rounds.<\/p>\n Can Apple lead a turnaround? Some VCs think so \u2014 and they\u2019re putting their money where their mouth is.<\/p>\n Brad Harrison, the founder and manager partner at Scout Ventures, an early-stage VC firm, recently invested in Taqtile, a Seattle-based company that works with enterprise customers to create AR-augmented job training programs. While Taqtile is hardware agnostic, they\u2019re a partner in Apple\u2019s enterprise program and Taqtile\u2019s platform, Manifest, works with the Vision Pro.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the Vision Pro is a gen-one product and expensive, the fact that it\u2019s on the Apple platform gives it an amazing distribution network for both sales and support through Apple stores,\u201d Harrison told TechCrunch in an email interview. \u201cI think the fact that a user can immediately derive value because it\u2019s within the Apple [ecosystem] is the biggest potential opportunity for adoption and real integration into the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the workplace \u2014 not the homes of average consumers \u2014 might be where the Vision Pro ends up carving a niche.<\/p>\n In a note to analysts this week (via Apple Insider<\/a>), Morgan Stanley declared that the Vision Pro is \u201cripe for enterprise adoption,\u201d particularly uses cases like virtual simulations, digital showrooms, remote training virtual marketing and \u201cin-field remote break\/fix.\u201d Writing in the note that the enterprise opportunity \u201ccould become much larger than is currently expected,\u201d Morgan Stanley forecasts that Apple\u2019s headset business will \u201cconservatively\u201d ramp up to $4 billion per year in revenue after four years.<\/p>\n Apple\u2019s certainly cognizant of the enterprise applications, this month incorporating the Vision Pro into the Apple Device management process to allow IT teams to manage headsets in the same way that they\u2019re used to handling iPhones, iPads, watches and Macs. My colleague Ron Miller reports<\/a> that the Vision Pro will soon get business-friendly features like single sign-on, identity management and security, sweetening the pot for firms considering widespread deployment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that we\u2019re finally at an inflection point where the availability of the hardware, ease of use, integration to existing platforms and . . . demand will result in growth of real AR-based businesses,\u201d Harrison continued. \u201cScout has been very bullish on the adoption of AR\/VR because of the confluence of affordable and accessible hardware combined with AI presenting a massive opportunity to improve employee efficiency\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0We finally see real customer demand [across] multiple use case scenarios across training, maintenance and education.\u201d<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Apple<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Charlie Ill, the chief investment officer at Asia-Pacific-focused VC fund Investible, agrees with that assessment. In 2019, Investible backed JigSpace<\/a>, an interactive 3D presentation platform for creating AR demonstrations and product stories. JigSpace came to the Vision Pro last week \u2014 a decision Ill wholeheartedly supported.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>After multiple false starts with [extended reality], we think this time is different,\u201d Ill told TechCrunch. \u201c<\/span>Near-eye display and spatial video technology has advanced toward more widespread adoption. A version-one device may not find massive commercial success, but it could cement Apple\u2019s position as in the next generation of hardware platforms atop which developer ecosystems can thrive\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0Embedded in Apple\u2019s DNA is corralling developers around new products to offer the consumer infinite choice of applications. And over time, we think the Vision Pro use cases, and relevancy to consumers, will become more obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n This writer wasn\u2019t necessarily expecting critical takes on the Vision Pro from VCs whose portfolios are closely tied to it. But I was<\/em> surprised by just<\/em> how bullish they seemed on the headset \u2014 and on AR, VR and metaverse tech more broadly.<\/p>\n Me, I\u2019m not so sure I\u2019m swayed by the rosiest projections \u2014 some analysts expect<\/a> that Apple will sell nearly half a million Vision Pro units this year. But buy-in from the enterprise isn\u2019t an unreasonable bet considering the trajectory of AR\/VR headsets historically.<\/p>\n Microsoft eventually pivoted HoloLens<\/a> \u2014 which costs the same as the entry-level Vision Pro, coincidentally \u2014 to the enterprise<\/a>, chasing after a mammoth contract<\/a> with the U.S. Army. Years before, Google followed the same playbook with Google Glass<\/a>, moving away from the consumer version to bring the tech to a decidedly more corporate audience<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the earliest of days, of course \u2014 the Vision Pro came out last week. And it\u2019s hard to know what its future might hold. But Ill, for one, has high confidence in Apple \u2014 and the wider AR, VR and metaverse field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs early-stage VCs, we\u2019re in the business of making bold bets on founders who are thinking and building at the cutting edge,\u201d he said. \u201cInvesting early is essential to a healthy innovation ecosystem, and we have high conviction in spatial computing\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Vision-Pro-IMG-16.jpeg\")
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