Vision Pro is all about the future : if you remember it ’s too weighed down or too expensive or has n’t got enough apps , you ’re just not imagine long term enough . Apple is aware that the smartphone wo n’t rule the tech roost always , so it ’s trying to build a program for the next 20 years . The question is n’t whether it ’s succeeded already – most reviewersagree that it hasn’t – but whether it can succeed before time runs out .

With this in mind , I ’ve been thinking about the ways in which Vision Pro , or a future iteration of that product , can ultimately expand in reach to take the place of all the Apple products we presently utilise .

iPhone

countenance ’s start with the big one : the platform that currently dominates Apple ’s gross to an unhealthy academic degree , as well as moderate an astonishing cultural headlock on smartphone buyers in the U.S. My guess is that finding a replacement for the iPhone was the principal move factor behind Apple starting this labor in the first spot .

But does Vision Pro have the ingredients to check or even surpass the iPhone ’s potency ? Not right now . Obviously – and this will apply to every product we discuss – it needs to reach a Mary Leontyne Price period that ’s in scope of far more mass . But it also postulate to become more approachable in other way .

There are four obstacles to overcome : it needs a less intimidating ( and less novel ) interface ; it needs to be smaller and lighter ; it call for 5 G or whatever wireless connectivity comes next , and a bigger battery for on - the - go public utility company ; and it need to be socially less intrusive and isolating . If you require a gadget to become omnipresent in society , it needs to learn to gibe in .

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The iPhone is Vision Pro’s ultimate victim, but it needs some hardware upgrades first.

The iPhone is Vision Pro ’s ultimate victim , but it needs some ironware upgrade first .

Jason Cross / Foundry

That might seem like a mountain , and it will take multiple coevals to get there . But the first problem will resolve itself as more hoi polloi hear Vision Pro or the rival headsets that follow its lead , and recognise that the restraint are easier than they seem ; novelty is a self - curing malady . Vision Pro will also naturally shrink and amend in battery performance over sentence since applied science does that by default . And wireless connectivity is a straight ironware upgrade .

iPhone 15 Pro

The iPhone is Vision Pro’s ultimate victim, but it needs some hardware upgrades first.

Which lead the return of societal closing off . The iPhone – or indeed the smartphone in oecumenical – would never have hit its present story of success if it only work well on the sofa ; alternatively , it became the equipment that everyone carries with them everywhere . Vision Pro want to become something that mass utilize on the bus without everyone gaze , and that intend , in the end , it needs to become something much closer in external visual aspect to a distich of smart glasses … yet without losing the immersive experience you get from an enclosing headset . It ’s a pattern and an experiential challenge , to be sure .

Mac

This is a smaller mark – the Mac made about a 9th of the revenues of the iPhone in Apple’smost late financial quarter – but also an easier one for Vision Pro . The Mac occupies a less dominant place in its users ’ lives , so replace it is a simple project .

The Mac ’s independent selling point , the thing that has allowed it to hold out its widely predicted cannibalization by the iPad , is its still - unmatchable suitableness for work . Vision Pro has the beginnings of such a function , thanks to its neat ability to sync effortlessly with … well , with a Mac as a virtual display . But there ’s no reason why Apple ca n’t finally cut out the middleman and have Mac or Mac - esque software run on Vision Pro itself and keep the rest of the port the same since it mostly works so well already .

The only significant trouble with this is typing , since Vision Pro ’s software keyboard is attain - and - overleap : most Vision Pro user say they became far more productive the present moment they connected a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse . For the headset to become a one - stop shop , that is n’t going to figure out , and Apple necessitate to discover a way to make virtual typewriting workplace better . Haptic feedback is n’t really an option – any sort of ‘ smart boxing glove ’ accoutrement would be a step back – so the caller should begin by tweaking the user interface . conduct in mind that software program keyboards on smartphones used to be regarded as difficult to use , growing user expertness may be enough to fulfil Apple midway .

Vision Pro

Does there need to be a Mac involved at all?

orchard apple tree

iPad

What is the iPad good for ? everyday task – checking email , watching film , unaccented gambling , and surfboard the web – and bringing it wherever you go , be it a commuter train train or a comfortable couch . It ’s about wee-wee amusement accessible everywhere .

Vision Pro is some mode off from covering this part . It can manage the sofa part of the equation , with the power to offer unprecedentedly immersive videos and motion-picture show wherever you go in the home , but only the intrepid few are daring to jade the thing outside . As we refer when discussing the iPhone , this can be solved by turning Vision Pro into something more lightweight and less isolating . This will also aid reduce neck strain when enjoy those multi - hour binge - watching sessions that the iPad is so good at . Of the iPhone , iPad , and Mac , the iPad feels like it ’s in the most immediate jeopardy of replacement — specially since Vision Pro already runs heap and lots of iPad apps .

Apple TV

This is the easiest one : Vision Pro is already excellent at surrender amusement in the home , which is Apple TV ’s master occupation . Cut the exercising weight a piddling and give Vision Pro the power to serve as a smart home hub , and we ’re done .

Apple Watch

What is the Apple Watch ’s marketing point ? It started off as a timepiece and a notification delivery system you could access at any time without remove your iPhone out of your pocket , but it quickly found a better niche as a health and fitness twist . If Vision Pro get alotslimmer and lighter it could theoretically work as a fitness associate – you’d have times and distances and geographic targets superimposed over what I ’d Bob Hope would be a very clear-cut view of the domain around you – but it ’s debatable how effectively such a twist could supervise the same health metrics as the Apple Watch because it is n’t pose on a convenient pulse peak .

But waitress … it ’s potential to measure heart ratethrough the os frontale . Now we ’re talk !

Could Vision Pro find fault up health detector in the time to come ?

Apple Watch Ultra 2 review - Modular Ultra

Could Vision Pro pick up health sensors in the future?

Jim Martin / Foundry

AirPods and HomePod

Reviewers agree that Vision Pro deliver fantabulous audio already ; the main reason why user would choose to use a distich of AirPods with the equipment is its leakage . If Vision Pro were equipped withbone conductivity audioit would become far more appealing as an pick for heed to music during a commute . It ’s not clear what Apple ’s path for the HomePod is , but if it gains a projection screen or good AI features . Vision Pro could do all that too .

Conclusion

Our journeying is stark , and we ’ve find a elbow room for Vision Pro to exchange every other major Apple product . All it needs to do is :

Oh , and evidently be a lot less . Do all that , Apple , and we ’ll be first in billet .