On the Apple Vision Pro
Yes: it absolutely represents a new paradigm for computer usage that will, eventually, become commonplace. Just as they did with the iPhone, they are on the forefront of computer user interface design here.
However.
I said it immediately after watching the keynote when it was announced, and I'll say it again here:
Steve Jobs would have never allowed this product to ship.
It is not elegant.
The iPhone was elegant immediately out of the gate. Yes it had rough edges, as all new products do. But it was still elegant.
No one can rightfully argue that the Vision Pro is elegant. If you think it is, watch just a few minutes of someone using it in the real world: this* is a great example.
The lack of elegance is stark. It is (gasp) clunky. Jobs is rolling over in his grave hearing that word.
Steve Jobs' & Johhny Ives' Apple designed & built elegant products.
Tim Cook seems to have forgotten that. SJ would've never allowed it to ship.
* Discovered from this tweet; prescient indeed
Update:
Comfort is among the most cited reasons for returns. People have said the headset gives them headaches and triggers motion sickness. The weight of the device, and the fact that most of it is front-loaded, has been another complaint. Parker Ortolani, The Verge's product manager, told me that he thought using the device led to a burst blood vessel in his eye. At least one other person noted they had a similar experience with redness.
Not. Elegant.
Update 2:
(emphasis added)
The initial iPhone couldn't connect to 3G networks and lacked the App Store or even the ability to cut and paste. The iPad didn't have multitasking. The original Apple Watch was too sluggish and wasn't waterproof.
But I don't think anyone complained that those devices were too cumbersome, an actual pain to use or too expensive to justify keeping.
“You kind of find yourself in this virtual environment and you’re asking yourself what you’re doing here,” said Randy Chia, a product manager for an investment firm in Los Angeles. He returned the device after finding his face would get sweaty after use. It also made him feel exhausted, and he bemoaned the buggy software.
🤦