Since its founding in 1976, Apple has constantly been at the forefront of technological advances worldwide. From the invention of the iPhone to the sleek Macbook Pro, Apple has undoubtedly been one of the most influential businesses in recent history. Recently, though, the internet has been buzzing with the news of the release of the Apple Vision Pro. The only problem? It costs 4000 dollars. This outrageous price is becoming increasingly argued upon by just about everyone. Is it worth it? Why does it cost so much?
For starters, Apple is known for revolutionizing technology. Before the iPhone, people used the Blackberry—a phone with a built-in keyboard. It was what people were used to and it was the most advanced technology of the time. The technology community didn’t think phones could get much better than this. That is until a madman known as Steve Jobs decided that you didn’t need the keyboard at all times. So he created a phone that had a disappearing keyboard when you aren’t actively using it but kept the nostalgic click sound when typing. Obviously, there were many other changes that the iPhone had, but the main point to take away from this story is that Apple doesn’t respond to customer needs, it tells the customers what they need.
This all goes to show that Apple is years ahead of its competitors, but does that allow them to charge $4000? Well, many are overlooking Apple’s competitors. The reason why this price is so outrageous is because many other companies have already made Augmented Reality (AR) goggles much like the Apple Vision Pro. For example, the Oculus Quest, made by Meta can be bought for less than $300, over 10 times less the price of the Apple counterpart.
Does this mean that Apple is scamming us with its newest augmented reality headset? Short answer, no. Apple has always been years ahead of its competitors and easily beats the Oculus Quest 3 with better spatial audio, playback speed, resolution, and processing speed. But this still does not justify a $4000 price. Since Apple has always been ahead of everyone else, all the technology it uses in its products is obviously extremely expensive, and by the time the competition catches up, probably years from now when this kind of technology is more accessible, Apple will already have lowered its price by hundreds (most probably thousands) of dollars.
This marketing strategy of Apple has been seen in many of its other products as well. The first Blackberry cost around $600 now while the first iPhone cost easily more than $700. Even now, iPhones are more expensive than some competition but people still choose them.
Apple’s marketing plan is brilliant and the way they market the Apple Vision Pro right now could set them up for major success down the line. This marketing strategy is called prestige pricing and is one of the smartest ways Apple uses its advantage to make them always the better choice over competitors. It always positions itself as a premium brand that makes the highest quality products so no matter what the price tag is, people will still look for the famous silver apple logo on their technology.
In the end, whether or not the new Apple augmented reality headset is worth the $4000 price tag is up to each consumer to decide. But one thing is certain: Apple will continue to innovate and expand our knowledge of what's possible, and they will always charge a premium price for their products.
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