Marc Maleh, SVP Connected Experiences and Emerging Technology, Valtech.
There’s no doubt that the launch of the Apple Vision Pro—Apple’s first brand-new hardware debut since the Apple Watch—caused a stir.
Whether you instinctively love or loathe the idea, it certainly creates new possibilities for brand experiences, interactions and branded content consumption. For that reason, forward-thinking brands across all sectors should be paying attention.
Short Versus Long-Term Expectations
Nerd helmet. Face-computer. Sci-fi headset. Ski goggles. All these terms and more have been used to describe the Apple Vision Pro since it was announced in early June. Regardless of these tongue-in-cheek nicknames, you can be sure of one thing based on Apple’s past history: This product will sell out when it hits the market.
Despite this, in the short term, the Vision Pro won’t become a mass-market device as it still has limited use cases and a high price point, even—though a more cost-effective one has been reported to be in the works. However, I challenge those saying the Vision Pro is too expensive to gain popularity. Think back to the launch of the first iPhone, which was priced at $500. Many people thought it was too expensive. But the user-centric design and vision of the iPhone ecosystem convinced people that this was a product worth shelling out for. I believe we’re in a similar situation today.
Because of these factors, companies should prepare for a period two to three years from now when “content for Vision” may be a must-have for brands. However, it’s likely that we’ll see some onboard sooner. The platform and mechanism for brands to publish content and experiences designed for the Vision Pro should launch soon and will already exist within the Apple ecosystem. With the launch of the first iPhone, users had to wait a year for the App Store to come online. For this reason, we can expect to see some traction quickly.
It’s also worth highlighting Apple’s existing content producer relationships, which will give it a head start in creating content for the Vision Pro. We’re already seeing evidence of this in its partnership with Disney, bringing Disney+ to the Vision Pro with a range of “deeply personal experiences, that will bring fans closer to the characters they love, and more deeply immersed in Disney stories,” according to Rober Iger, Disney CEO.
Start Preparing Brand Experiences
With household names like Disney and even Microsoft on board, other brands will jump in and create experiences designed for the Vision Pro. It’s a given. Even though widespread adoption may be a few years away, all this work starts now.
From a technical perspective, brands (and the agencies that support them) should immediately look to teams with Xcode and immersive design experience to understand the framework and emulator. It’s worth noting that the Vision Pro is and will heavily remain an Apple ecosystem. Windows and Linux are not supported for development teams in the current Apple ecosystem, so familiarity with Apple development and approval cycles will be key for fast movers.
Large agencies and brands should contact Apple directly to partner on hardware. Ideally, you want to get access to the kit as soon as possible. Apple has an incentive to collaborate early with interested brands since it wants the Vision Pro to have the widest possible number of use cases when it launches. But if you don’t manage to get your hands on a sample, there are other tools you can use to emulate the Vision Pro—though they will likely be clunkier.
Likewise, creative teams should immediately start thinking about the brand experiences they already have access to and which of these can jump out of a single screen and into special computation. But it’s also worth developing new ideas that you haven’t been able to execute before—perhaps collaborative viewing, non-linear content, gamification, easter eggs and more. This is also a great opportunity to explore ways of making content more accessible. For example, providing live sign language instead of only closed captions.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. There are plenty of reasons for brands to get excited about Apple’s Vision Pro. Though it’s early days, the possibilities are vast. Maybe in three years’ time, instead of reading this article, I’ll be presenting it to you in augmented reality. See you on the other side.
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