A totally unbiased Apple Vision Pro review

Completely unbiased tech reviewer, Mark Zuckerberg, discussing the Apple Vision Pro versus the Meta Quest 3:

"... And after using it, I don't only think the Meta Quest 3 is better value, I think it's a better product period."

Yes, that's right, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram recently to share his thoughts on the Apple Vision Pro. Whilst I found the video quite amusing, just because he positioned the video like he was actually seriously considering not coming to the conclusion the Meta Quest 3 is a better product, but also because it raised a few thoughts in my head.

Firstly, just on the video in general, I actually think Mark (he knows a lot of personal stuff about me, I think we're close enough to be on first name terms) came across very human which is actually quite rare. I also think that, despite the bias, he is actually right in many ways. I agree with him that the Meta Quest 3 is likely the best product to pick up for most people that just want to try / experiment with mixed reality. The Apple Vision Pro is, undoubtedly, a feat of engineering, but as the slew of returns I'm seeing in my timeline indicate, it's far too expensive as a device to just have a play with. Despite still being a £500 product, that is far more in the realms of reality when it comes to a product you buy, well aware that it'll likely be gathering dust in a few weeks. I'm looking at you Analogue Pocket and, as of yesterday, Playdate ...

A lot of complaints I've seen from people returning it is they have just struggled to find a use case for the device which, again, for the price you shouldn't really have to hunt for. The Meta Quest 3 has its niche, it's a strong gaming device, for those that can stomach it. Meta are pushing other use cases now, trying to show people you can also be productive on the device. I'm not sure how true that is, to be honest, but regardless, people can buy this device as a gaming console, of sorts, and know what they're getting. The Vision Pro seems to not yet be making this 'vision' clear to everyone.

Apple Vision Pro aside, the completely unbiased video from Mark actually got me thinking about another topic that I've started writing a few times and ended up deleting for many reasons. Namely bias with tech reviews, but Apple products in general. Whilst I don't listen to them any way as much as I used to I've dipped back into some of the Apple podcasts I used to listen to religiously and noticed their tone with the Apple Vision Pro discussions had changed somewhat. One reason I dropped some of the content was around a constant negativity some of the shows had around Apple products, filling air time with moans and complaints about the smallest of things. In recent months / years, however, this seemed to have switched to the complete other end of the spectrum. I've not heard one bit of critical analysis on the few shows I've dipped into. Please don't quote me on this, I've listened sporadically, so it may not be the case across the board, but the perceived reason behind this change would still be there regardless.

I think this is down to that turning point in a tech (and again particularly Apple) commentators career when the Eye of Cook falls upon them and they start being noticed by Apple. Once this happens, they start being invited to product demos, and receive test units etc. As soon as this happens, the bias kicks in and all criticality is thrown out of the window. For fear of upsetting Apple, reviews and commentary loses absolutely all value whatsoever. There are now only certain publications that I feel actually give honest feedback on products. The Verge, for example, is at a point that it doesn't have to boot lick Apple, and I think them being cut off from Apple PR, regardless of review bias, would cause more problems than they'd like to deal with. Cutting off some mid-range podcasters and YouTuber's, however, would be far more likely.

On the other side of things, I've been enjoying smaller creators far more with this product in general. Content from Matt Birchler, for example, has been really interesting. His takes on the Apple Vision Pro have been balanced, informative, and most importantly, actually draws in some real world experiences. When I look at content made by people that have got the attention of Apple, versus those that do not, I'm seeing a huge difference and its led me to reduce my level of interaction with even more people and outlets this product release cycle. 

I imagine a big driving factor for creators is to get the Apple blessing, and receive that press invite, and I don't actually like that I'm being so negative about it, but for me that really does seem to be the beginning of the end for the value I personally get out of that persons content. When the discussion of a product has motives outside of just showing what a product can, or can't do, and I'm starting to feel the content is really just extended Apple / X company's marketing I have to jump out.