Apple's pricey Vision Pro augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) headset hasn't been much of a magnet for developers.
The Wall Street Journal reports Sunday that the pace of apps being introduced in the Vision Pro app store has slowed considerably. Following hundreds of apps introduced for the US$3,500 headset in its first two months on the market, it noted that new app intros have slowed to a trickle: Only 10 new apps were debuted in September.
The Journal reports that analytics firm Appfigures said some 1,770 applications were available in the Vision Pro app store, though only 34% of those apps were built specifically for Vision Pro. Most are versions of existing Apple apps with Vision Pro functionality.
The Journal, however, mentioned that Vision Pro apps were growing much slower compared to other Apple products. For instance, it took almost a year from the date of the iPhone's launch before reaching 50,000 apps in the App Store, and Apple Watch reached 10,000 apps five months after its launch date.
Although the Journal factored in the same, the Journal claims that the iPhone and Apple Watch cost less and the product is more appealing to consumers than the Vision Pro.
Apps for the AR/VR headset are more difficult to develop: "Developing for the Vision Pro means moving away from 2D app design and into an immersive, 3D interactive environment. It's a new frontier, and porting existing apps isn't a plug-and-play process," said Timothy Bates, professor, University of Michigan-Flint College of Innovation & Technology.
Developers must rethink user interfaces, user experiences, and how humans engage with software in spatial computing. "It's a challenge, but one that brings exciting possibilities if done right," he told TechNewsWorld.
Horse and Cart Problem
Bates believes that it has been difficult for Apple to attract such a massive number of developers. "This is normal with new platforms, especially ones as sophisticated as the Vision Pro," he described.
Developers are less likely to invest deeply when the initial user base is small, and in designing for mixed reality, it makes them think about conventional application design," he says. "The tech itself is bleeding edge, and that means a steeper learning curve.".
"I think it's having trouble attracting smaller developers who have limited budgets and need to have a market that's ready for monetization, which I do not believe the Vision Pro provides," added Anshel Sag, a senior analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, a technology analyst and advisory firm based in Austin, Texas.
What it does provide for larger developers is education on the spatial computing platform by Apple and then the ability to optimize their data and workflows so future generations will be not just less expensive but also more lightweight and refined.
Not trying too hard," said Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research in Las Vegas. "Small sales volumes are not helping the developers throw their weight behind Vision Pro." "The development community for Apple products are attracted to the mammoth volumes that they can get access to," he told TechNewsWorld. "That's certainly not true with Vision Pro.".
With new hardware there is always a horse and cart problem," said Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore.
"Developers don't want to create programs unless there is a critical mass of users, and users don't want to buy the hardware until there are apps they want to use," he told TechNewsWorld. "To get over this, typically companies have to fund the first set of apps, but Apple is really cheap and doesn't typically do this well enough, which has become a problem again in this instance."
Will Apple Fund Vision Pro Developers?
Vena predicted that Apple might begin funding developers to ensure that applications showing a winning value proposition, and indeed that really show this stuff off, come to market.
"I can see them teaming up with some of the more high-profile developers to make sure those applications come to market," he said. "My guess is you're going to see Apple do that behind the scenes in a way that they haven't had to do with the iPhone and iPad."
"Apple is definitely playing the long game here," says Jim Squires, an XR and games consultant based in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada.
"We'll see both consumers and creators engage more with Apple's spatial computing efforts when the cost comes down with future iterations," he told TechNewsWorld. "But if Apple wants to have a pipeline of must-use software ready for that day, they should be stacking the deck now-and that means loudly and publicly funding more developers to take the plunge.". That would be something like a Vision Pro Creator Fund to encourage interest among XR developers.
In fact, establishing it would be a step in the right direction, said Bates. Apple should definitely invest in developers. They did it before when there were new platforms, and Vision Pro is no exception, added the expert.
He continued, "By providing development grants or teaming up with a developer of proven AR/VR offering, Apple can likely jump the sorely needed boost on to the Vision Pro." If you want an ecosystem to grow, developers have to be able to take the risk of creating without being burdened by the cost of development.
Success Rides an Ecosystem
As Enderle argues, funding developers is usually a requirement for success within this category. "Microsoft certainly invested big in apps for Windows 95 and for the Xbox, and both went big," he noted.
But Sag does not think that Apple would open its coffers to developers. "It should fund developers, but it won't because it believes that it has the most premium platform and the most captive customers with the willingness to spend," he said.
"I think Apple would have done well to give some seed funding to smaller developers before it launched the headset, but at this point, it has decided to let market dynamics work their magic," he added.
Another thing that can motivate more developers to develop apps for Vision Pro, according to Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager at IDC, a global market research company: "Apple should embrace more open standards like OpenXR and WebXR that make developing across platforms easier and enable developers access to the most headsets," he said.
"It could also make a more affordable headset since there is a limited number of users globally willing and able to spend $3,500 on any device, let alone one as niche as a mixed reality headset," he added.
Bates said that Vision Pro has huge potential but that its success depends on the surrounding ecosystem. "Apple needs to ensure that developers feel incentivized to create groundbreaking apps that truly showcase the device's capabilities," he said. "It is also a matter of managing expectations-this is a forward-thinking product that will take time to mature, both in terms of hardware and software support."
He added, "Apple is really boldly stepping into the future with Vision Pro, but they have to nuture the developer ecosystem and might have to bring more affordable versions in order to popularize them".
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