Was I Wrong?

Last week I took a risk regarding Apple's face mask. To quote me:

If it comes, I will probably buy one (I just have to know what it does ;-) ), but I suspect it will soon sit idly on a shelf because there is nothing I want to use it for. Gaming is the only real use case, single and multi-user. And as it is mixed reality, it can extend to the real world, placing images and action there. Meta's new device promises the same. And then there are enterprise uses.

Two things. I said Apple was too smart to get into this space. I was clearly wrong about Apple getting into the space. I hope I am not wrong about them being smart. No matter how good it is, how many people want to wear a face mask?

But I am asking myself about the statement: "it will sit idly on the shelf." I will certainly buy one after watching the keynote and reading much of the commentary from @om, @gruber, and others. I would love to say that I will use it. For that to happen, a few things will need to be true:

If it can replace every screen in the house and clear my desk of everything. if it can replace my living room short-throw projector and all my AppleTVs. if it can replace my Mac and my Macbook Air. if it can replace my music system. If I can watch live sports on it, sitting in the stadium remotely with a 3d view of a game. Then It can come off the shelf.

It won't (yet) replace my camera. It will not (yet) replace my iPhone or my Apple Watch because I would not wear it outside.

But just the things it could replace amount to many tens of thousands of dollars of equipment. And it may feel liberating to return to a minimalist, relatively clutter-free home. $3500 will not seem expensive.

As for the office? Whatever trend there is towards remote and hybrid working will be seriously accelerated if it is adopted. Facetime and document collaboration are easily imagined.

If it does all of those things, I will use it inside for work and leisure. It will not sit on the shelf. But... for that to be true, it will need to function through the day - probably for 10-15 hours - during work and evening leisure time. That will require a level of comfort and invisibility so my mind can function free of irritants. Battery life and fit will be key. And lenses that support my flaky eyes.

Honestly, I am somewhat optimistic that it could work. So yes, I think I was likely wrong. We will only know a year or so from now.

What would make me right? Humans do not adopt it because it is not feasible to wear it for long stretches. That remains a very strong possibility.

This week's reading is filled with many takes on that and on the other big news of the week - The SEC charging Binance and Coinbase with various crimes. Sequoia Capital splitting into three firms based on geography, Marc Andreessen's 7000-word essay on AI and responses, and Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami, a US soccer franchise backed by Apple's cash. Enjoy.

Essays of the Week