Virtual, augmented or even mixed reality is clearly in the sights of Apple, which patiently weaves its web on this ever-evolving market. We will see what the future brings, even if Ming-Chi Kuo and others have not been stingy with dates and technical characteristics in recent weeks. The day the manufacturer presents itself with a first product truly designed for AR / VR, helmet or glasses type, it will find Oculus, and therefore Facebook, on its way.
In an interview with The Information, Mark Zuckerberg has reacted to some of the rumors surrounding Apple’s future device, starting with the price. Kuo yesterday mentioned a price close to that of a high-end iPhone, i.e. in the $ 1,000 range, but other rumors have pushed the price slider much further by talking about a niche product at $ 3,000 …
Without citing Apple, the founder and boss of Facebook wanted to mark his difference: “ I think our tendency will probably be to try to offer these products at as low a price as possible so that we can offer them to everyone. “. He adds a tackle: ” Unlike some of the other companies in the industry for whom premium pricing is the business model, one of our core tenets is that we want to serve everyone. ».
Unfortunately, we know how Facebook makes its services profitable, and not everyone necessarily appreciates the frantic data collection at the heart of the social network model. ” I’m not only focusing on designing a good augmented and virtual reality device, but also how to do it for $ 300 instead of $ 1,000. », He explains.
Mark Zuckerberg also gave his opinion on a more technical rumor. The wearer of the Apple helmet should be able to “see” his environment with the help of cameras, the streams being broadcast on the interior screens (we are talking about 8K micro OLED panels supplied by Sony…). Rather impressive, but ” you probably don’t want to live in a pass-through virtual reality world anytime soon, because we wouldn’t want to give up the vividness of what your eyes see, the contrast, the brightness of the colors », Describes the leader.
« Everything is slightly duller in VR He adds. Mark Zuckerberg probably knows what he is talking about: there is a function of ” real camera “Which allows the Oculus Quest and Quest 2 to” step out “of VR to have a real-time view of the world around the user.
On a more strategic level, if Facebook is investing heavily in AR / VR technologies (and also for connected watches), it is to have free rein. Criticizing the rules of the App Store and the Play Store, Mark Zuckerberg wants to ensure that he can offer systems offering the experience desired by Facebook.
On smartphones, the constraints are rigid, he laments. ” There are definitely some social experiences that we would like to offer, but that we just cannot create. “. He takes the example of Facebook Gaming, “ that we do not have the right to offer on mobile ». Apple a retouched this catalog of games, leaving the app only its social aspect.
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