Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

According to news in the morning of December 12, Beijing time, Apple has adopted a more pragmatic product development model in its foray into the automotive and virtual reality headline market.

In fact, Apple rarely takes the lead in entering a new market: Sony's Walkman predates the iPod; the Palm and BlackBerry entered the smartphone market before the iPhone; Microsoft's tablets are older than the iPad; and Google's smartwatch platform predates the Apple Watch.

However, Apple's entry can often upend a category. Apple upended the iPod market with its white plastic and metal casing and wheel buttons. IPhone and iPad have made full-touch devices and app stores widespread. Apple Watch introduces health sensors and mobile phone interfaces. Although Apple may not always be the first to enter the game, it does lead the times.

But now Apple is taking pragmatism as its new goal. When the company entered the two major markets of hybrid reality and electric cars, the company did not focus too much on revolutionary features, but put pragmatism first.

Tim Tim Cook and his predecessor, Steve Jobs, have often said that Apple values being the "best in the industry" rather than the "industry pioneer". Their advantage comes from developing new interfaces and applying technologies in innovative ways. As we all know, the iPhone replaced the physical keyboard with the touchscreen, while the iPad was equipped with a large touchscreen and 10 hours of battery life.

But in future products, the company seems willing to make more compromises to gain a foothold in new markets.

The most typical example is the upcoming hybrid reality show. The device is really advanced-it has a high-definition display, multiple external cameras and the xrOS operating system. It can stand out from the competition with Meta Platform and Sony with its stylish design and powerful processor.

But it can't achieve real augmented reality. The user's dream is to have a pair of lightweight glasses that can load data and virtual images on the basis of real experience without being distracted by bulky head display devices. But for now, this technology has not yet been implemented.

So Apple chose to launch a hybrid reality that combines augmented reality and virtual reality. The core of this head display is virtual reality, but you can use a camera to create a semi-augmented reality experience.

When Apple decided to enter this market seven years ago, they wanted to replace iPhone with augmented reality glasses to project information into users' horizons, a way to make phone calls and get content.

Cook disclosed the vision in 2016, saying in an interview with the media that augmented reality is better than virtual reality because the former "allows us to sit here and have a very sense of existence". He later criticized virtual reality glasses at a conference in Utah, saying that "few people would accept to seal themselves in something."

However, when Apple began to develop devices that enclose users, Cook's criticism of virtual reality began to diminish.

The reason for the change in attitude is obvious: real augmented reality glasses will take a long time to come true. Miniaturized parts, battery technology, lenses, software support and manufacturing capabilities can not meet the requirements.

Or, in another paragraph published a year after Cook criticized virtual reality: augmented reality glasses technology "does not yet provide satisfactory quality." it requires not only display technology, but also enough parts around the face-all of which have to overcome huge challenges. visual field, screen quality, these do not meet the requirements. "

Instead of waiting until around 2025 to release real augmented reality glasses, Apple has taken a more pragmatic approach, using today's best hybrid reality technology to develop a transitional product. This seems to be the right choice for Apple, especially if they don't want to cede the promising hardware market to Meta.

The same thing happened to Apple cars. When Apple planned to develop cars in the early 2010s, self-driving was not the point. The company was hoping to compete with Detroit and Tesla in design, battery technology, hardware, software interfaces and high-end materials.

But after several years of development, Apple executives believe that clear differentiation is needed to be worthy of introducing a car to the market. So they chose self-driving: Apple soon decided to launch a fully self-driving car, eliminating pedal and steering wheel control altogether.

As the goal was too ambitious, the side effects quickly emerged, leading to management instability, layoffs and project resets.

So Apple chose to compromise again. They shelved fully self-driving plans and instead developed traditional electric cars with steering wheels and control pedals. It will still be equipped with autopilot, but only on highways.

Apple cars will still stand out among many competitors because of their unique features and interaction with other Apple products. The self-driving feature should also slowly improve and the scope of application will gradually expand, but Apple has decided to launch a compromise before the L5, the peak technology of self-driving cars, really matures.

Apple's next big product may not completely upend a market like the iPod, iPhone and iPad. But with this pragmatic style, at least they will not be caught in a dilemma again.

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