Given the investments of tech giants in this area, we can probably expect this duel. On the other hand, it will undoubtedly take place more in the media sphere than on the volume of sales, considering the notable differences in hardware and software between the two products.
If Meta has more experience in the AR/VR headset market, which allows it more feedback and iterate its product, Apple has a competitive advantage: its App Store. Growing rapidly since 2015, this platform economy incorporates a strategy based on performance indicators. These are the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV, or the “lifetime” of a user in a company) and the Average Revenue per User (ARPU, or the average revenue of a user over a given period). Widely used in the economic management of tech giants, and used here by Apple, these indicators reveal two superpowers of infinite enterprise and intimate enterprise.
The infinite enterprise uses highly scalable software and services to achieve near-zero delivery costs when a critical mass of users is reached. Its competitive advantage is the speed of scalability and cost effectiveness. The intimate business, on the other hand, uses the knowledge of the customer to refine and personalize the experiences it offers to each.
Its competitive advantage is customer reception and comfort. That’s what Apple does with the Vision Pro. The software ecosystem (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, etc.) is already well installed, which induces lower development costs, and can therefore be used with this new product with a user experience that promises to be very efficient, but first and foremost familiar to Apple users.
However, it will take a little time. Spatial placement and 3D, for example, technologies new to Apple’s software world, are relatively new to application developers. But it’s a great way to capitalize on this community to fill the portfolio with useful applications for this headset… which will be released by early 2024.