Apple aims to distance itself from Meta with Vision Pro

Don't call it a headset. Apple is trying to draw a distinction between the Vision Pro and the Meta Quest headsets. Yahoo Finance Tech Editor Dan Howley explains why it's so important to Apple to distinguish its "spatial computer" from its rivals.

Video transcript

JULIE HYMAN: Well, Apple officially announced its long awaited Vision Pro on Monday. But don't call it a headset, at least not in front of Apple.

"Yahoo Finance's" Dan Howley joins us now with the details. Apple, as usual, trying to be very particular about how it's referred to.

DAN HOWLEY: Yes. And I think that's one of the big takeaways that you can see from the event itself. They didn't call it a headset. When I was in a briefing at one point, there was almost a mention of a headset. And that it was device. So it was head device.

And I think there's a few things here that Apple wants to do to differentiate itself from the broader VR/AR market. Because frankly, it's been a failure, so far. And they don't want that to muddy this new spatial computer product.

It is incredible. I've said, when I got back from the trip, that it just flat out blows everything else away. But the big thing that I think is worth pointing out is they, again, refused to call it a headset. It's a spatial computer. Let's get real. You're putting it on your head. It's a headset. It looks like ski goggles. Very nice ski goggles, very expensive ski goggles. I don't know how expensive ski goggles are. But they're probably not $3,500.

The other thing that's worth pointing out is how they priced it. Now, we had that graphic up. If you look at the other prices for these devices, they're much less expensive, not cheap. There's the Meta Quest Pro. That's a $1,000. There's the Meta Quest. They're going to run you around $500 and $400 around there. You have the PlayStation, obviously. And then we have the Metal Quest 3 coming out.

So they're well ahead. This is a premium product. They want this to ooze that Apple sense of excellence where it's our stuff is more expensive. Because it's better. And well, yeah it is. And the final point that I want to make is that Mark Zuckerberg, high on that Metaverse idea. Apple just shooting that down right away. There's no mention of it all

JULIE HYMAN: They didn't use that word either. Headset, no. Metaverse, no.

DAN HOWLEY: Metaverse is basically nonexistent to them. They refuse to play a part in that. And I think they recognize that it's not for them. Now, I guess the broader question is, why is Apple getting into this market? It's an opportunity. They want to move forward with something that's not just the iPhone.

Those are valid arguments. I think the bigger argument to be made, though, is that they've seen what they can do with the iPhone, which is box out other companies. That's why Meta is so heavily invested in this. They want to have their hardware that they control. That Apple can't say, you can't do this on our hardware. And Apple's like, well, we're not going to let you do that to us either. So we're going to put out the hardware. And we're just going to blow it out of the water.

So that's really what they're doing. But look, you compare them because they're headsets. But there's seemingly, at least as far as Apple goes, zero comparison between them all.

BRAD SMITH: All right. I'm going to have to get a little bit more comparison on that price, though, for consumers to really cozy up to this one.

DAN HOWLEY: A lot a lot of cash.

BRAD SMITH: Exactly. "Yahoo Finance's" Dan Howley joining us here in studio. Thanks so much, Dan.