text | Silicon-based Research Laboratory, author | kiki
"Apple Vision Pro, city or not?" Not long ago, Apple COO Jeff Williams appeared at the Wangfujing Apple Store in Beijing to use hot memes to promote this product to Chinese users .
has only entered China for one month, and Apple Vision Pro, which is regarded as the masterpiece of Apple’s “Cook Era”, has fallen into a cooling-off period in China.
"I have returned Vision Pro." As Vision Pro officially landed in the Chinese market, Jason, a fruit fan, immediately purchased the National Bank version of Vision Pro (256GB) priced at nearly 30,000, but after using it for less than a week, , he chose to say goodbye to this big toy. "The National Bank version has very little adaptation software, and the heat dissipation vent is on the forehead, so the forehead will be really hot." Jason said.
On social media, there are many vision pro "touching parties" like Jason. "Silicon Research Laboratory" has observed that many new first-time users have begun to sell on second-hand e-commerce platforms or start leasing businesses. A user survey from Jiuqian Zhongtai for the domestic launch of Vision Pro also confirms this view. From the perspective of user sentiment, although Chinese consumers are still excited about the technological innovation and immersive experience of Apple Vision Pro, due to the high pricing and Due to related design flaws, the actual experience is still far from high expectations.
Compared with the lackluster reception of Vision Pro in the Chinese market, Cook is still working non-stop to build momentum for Vision Pro. Not long ago, Cook, who appeared in Australia and other countries, became a "goods anchor" in an interview with the media, saying bluntly: " I use apple vision pro every day."
For the China However, in the short term, combined with the user sentiment and current situation of Apple Vision Pro, the turning point of the XR industry is far from coming. When
vision pro entered China, Apple did not give a "textbook" answer to
's layout in the Chinese market. In fact, Apple has a strong presence.
Even before the official release at the end of June, Cook had repeatedly paved the way for the release plan in the Chinese market, arousing the interest of the domestic technology circle. In February this year, when Vision Pro was launched in the U.S. market, Cook also responded to a Chinese Apple user’s news that it would be “released soon.” A month later, during the massive "China trip", Cook visited Folding Paper Games, Zhiwen Group, Dewu, etc., and also mentioned the latest news about Vision Pro on Weibo. At the previous WWDC 2024, Cook also accepted interviews with many Chinese technology influencers, frequently hinting that Apple was already ready for Vision Pro to enter China.
Back to June 28, on the first day of the release of the National Bank version of Vision Pro, Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's senior vice president of retail business, also appeared at the Apple Beijing Xidan Joy City store to personally support the new product.
dismantled the actions of Vision Pro in the past month since it entered China. The "Silicon Research Laboratory" also found out from the communication with many offline users that in order to achieve the ideal promotion effect, Apple really worked hard.
First of all, in terms of marketing and promotion, open-screen advertisements can be seen everywhere on social media such as Xiaohongshu and Bilibili, and celebrities such as Du Haitao and Charmaine Sheh were invited on the day of release, which attracted people's attention.
Secondly, in terms of application ecology, from the launch in the United States in February to now, Apple has also actively cooperated with domestic technology companies to build the application ecology of the National Bank version of Vision Pro. is used in shopping applications, such as Dewu, JD.com, and Taobao; video content applications such as iQiyi, Tencent Video, Migu Video, and Douyin VR live broadcast; and social networking applications such as Weibo, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu, etc. Tools such as DingTalk, Baidu Netdisk, etc. In addition, many major manufacturers have launched native applications for Vision Pro, such as Baidu’s “Map Time Machine”.
Finally, on the service side, many users mentioned that Apple’s offline experience and services were one of the main reasons why they purchased Vision Pro. is now available and provides smooth reservation service. Apple has specially deployed and trained a group of specialists to provide users with one-on-one guidance in terms of wearing and using it.Jiuqian Zhongtai's user survey also shows that they are very satisfied with the service attitude of Apple specialists.
However, the above efforts do not seem to have allowed the National Bank version of Vision Pro to embark on the ideal road to long-term popularity. In addition to the high price of
, short battery life, wearing comfort and an application ecosystem that urgently needs to be improved are the three major problems complained by the first batch of early adopters. Many users mentioned that due to the gap between the application ecology of the National Bank version and the US version, many people will specifically purchase US accounts to extend the use time.
However, at this stage, Apple certainly does not expect the National Bank version of Vision Pro to make money to support the family. At present, the significance of its release is still focused on the education market. According to the analysis of IDC China analyst Ye Qingqing, the main promotion direction of Vision Pro in China this year is still on the B-end track of the mid-to-high-end line. In the later period, it will mainly depend on the performance in the education market and the enterprise market. C-end sales will decline after the initial boom. Will go back to lows.
The expensive vision pro is still not popular with the "domestic replacement"
When the vision pro is in the cold in China, a large number of domestic manufacturers aim at the "replacement" and start a new battle for users. "Competing with Apple" has become a thing of the past Within this time, domestic XR manufacturers released new narratives for their new products.
In May this year, the Chinese ar company xreal launched a new generation of spatial computing product - xreal beam pro, a new ar glasses that looks like a mobile phone and is priced at less than 4,000 yuan. Founder Xu Chi mentioned: "Apple has made the industry look at To the future of spatial computing, we let everyone see the present.” After launching its new AR product AR lite spatial computing suite in April, Rokid, another domestic leading AR manufacturer, announced an in-depth cooperation with vivo in early June, leveraging the strength of mobile phone manufacturers. Ecology, accelerating breaking out of the circle.
From the hardware parameters to the scene, the domestic manufacturer PlayDream, which directly calls out "Competing with Apple", has also recently launched a new product - PlayDream mr. Not only does it look similar to Vision Pro, the official also directly defines itself as the world's first "Android System Space Computer".
However, despite the bustling appearance of the industry, the high-priced Vision Pro alone cannot attract the attention of domestic substitutes. Zhu Mingming, founder and CEO of
rokid, mentioned in an interview that this year’s XR market is “worse.” According to the latest “AR/VR Headset Market Quarterly Tracking Report” released by IDC, China’s AR/VR market in the first quarter of 2024 The head-mounted display market shipments reached 107,000 units, a decrease of 37.8% year-on-year in 2023.
This also shows that after experiencing the pain of the past period, there is still a long way to go before the XR industry can truly recover. A person in the VR industry mentioned that Vision Pro has had three main positive impacts on the industry: first, confidence, second, mobilizing part of the capital, and third, mobilizing the developer ecosystem and supply chain.
On the capital side, according to statistics from industry vertical media "vrar planet", in the first half of this year, there were 15 financing events in the domestic VR/AR industry. Among them, in January this year, rokid won a 500 million financing led by the Hefei Municipal Government. , in the same month, xreal also announced the completion of a new round of financing of US$60 million.
On the supply chain side, taking VR products as an example, in the past, the route of “first subsidizing losses at a loss and then pursuing hardware profits” was followed because the cost was too high. However, Apple's entry has enabled it to improve specifications and reduce costs through technological optimization and supply chain art, which has also increased a certain profit margin for domestic manufacturers. When contacted by NetEase Technology, Li Jie, vice president of Xiaopai Technology, mentioned: "Apple's entry has brought great changes to the supply chain. The yield rate of some manufacturers' products has increased and their costs have also dropped." The same goes for the
developer ecosystem. Rokid founder Zhu Mingming also mentioned that 80% of Rokid developers overlap with VisionPro developers. In the past, they spent almost 10 million yuan a year to support the entire ecosystem. But after Apple came on board, it became easier to convince developers to come in. .
In addition to confidence, the common challenges faced by the industry are similar.
Under the increasingly fierce competition and the overall shrinking financing background, although capital confidence has recovered, this also means that a large number of xr start-ups around the world are seeking more financing, and the Matthew Effect in the industry will become more prominent. , the window of opportunity left for startups will also be reduced.At the same time, the "Silicon-based Research Laboratory" also observed that more large technology companies are pouring into the XR track.
According to foreign media reports, Meta plans to release a new AR glasses next year, release the next-generation flagship consumer head display Quest 4 in 2026, and launch Vision Pro’s competing product Quest Pro 2 in 2027. Not long ago, Samsung also announced that the XR head-mounted device previously developed in cooperation with Google is expected to be the first to launch a preview version for developers in October this year.
If he wants to sell goods in China, this time Cook may have to learn from "Lei Jun"
However, under the "Apple halo", the general consensus among industry insiders is that Apple's launch of the first-generation product is not aimed at the mass market, but more We hope that the mobile phone market will give feedback and make optimizations and trade-offs, and iterate on second- and third-generation products. Referring to Apple’s product methodology over the years, it takes time to become a revolutionary product. For example, it took several years for the first iPhone model to become a revolutionary product by adding "price reduction + application ecology + 3G technology". Apple watch also achieved success by focusing on the fields of fitness and health.
Lower prices, lighter hardware, rich accessories and content ecology are still the same methodology. According to foreign media reports, Apple has added lower-priced options to its latest product roadmap and has restarted the development of AR glasses.
Although Apple is "intended for the future," Cook cannot hide his anxiety about his "representative work." In interviews over the past six months, Cook frequently spoke to the Vision Pro platform and personally became a "goods anchor" and told the media: "I use Apple Vision Pro every day." "It enables you to do things that other devices can't do." At WWDC 2024 not long ago, among several Apple system upgrades, visionos was also given a new priority by Cook.
There is no doubt that Vision Pro is Cook’s last battle, and its performance is related to whether the Cook era can usher in its highlight moment.
Cook's current situation is easily reminiscent of Lei Jun, the top player in the car industry today. The success of Xiaomi Motors' cross-border success is naturally inseparable from Lei Jun's storytelling ability.
From this point of view, if you want to sell goods in China, Lei Jun’s method of bringing goods by playing with traffic may be more down-to-earth and understand China better.
In the latest interview, when asked "As the current CEO of Apple, what do you think your legacy should be?" Cook mentioned: "Legacy is something that other people define when they look at you, and It’s not you who defines yourself.” Cook said that he is better at focusing on the future rather than looking back on the past. The answer of is undoubtedly very “Apple CEO”, but if you want to sell more vision pro in the Chinese market, this For once, Cook may have to learn from Lei Jun.
References:
1, Washington Post: how will apple's new ai change your phone? i asked tim cook.
2, Information Newspaper: reality comes to meta's reality labs, apple's vision pro gets boost from china's media kingmaker
3, Benten Finance: vision pro is about to be released in China, but more people are buying the US version
4, Jiuqian Zhongtai: Apple Vision Pro domestic debut | User research
5, vr/ar planet: VR/AR industry financing report in the first half of 2024: ar far exceeds vr, the global disclosed total amount is nearly 880 million U.S. dollars, and the Chinese market accounts for 14%.
6, NetEase Technology: Is the National Bank version of Vision Pro cool? You don’t understand Apple at all
7, TMTpost Media: Conversation with Rokid founder Zhu Mingming: The difference between Rokid and Vision Pro in the future will be like that between cars and trucks
