Hey everyone, it’s Cosmo.

Comparing Meta’s Orion to Apple Vision Pro is an easy mistake to make.

AR & MR often get lumped together as they are both face computers, but they’re different product categories and should be compared in their own lanes. David Heaney agrees in his excellent editorial at Upload VR.

AR is comparable to smartphones you carry around all the time. MR/VR are comparable to your laptop, good for heavier work and a more immersive experience.

Orion costs $10k to make and will not be available for purchase for at least 2-5 years, and by the time they ship, they will have an FOV closer to Snap’s new Spectacles.

AVP is not a perfect device, but passthrough MR was the necessary tradeoff Apple made to ship today, not 2-5 years from now.

Between the delayed Apple Intelligence, the new iPhones with few improvements, and Meta's impressive lineup of Orion, Llama 3.2, Quest 3S, & Ray-Bans, it’s reasonable to construct a narrative about Meta being ahead of Apple.

It is remarkable to see Meta show the world true AR glasses before Apple, and I must commend them for their incredible technical achievement. They deserve credit for shifting the narrative that they’re now ahead of Apple.

But how long will that last?

Meta plays by different rules. Apple historically does not show prototypes.

Apple tried to make AR glasses but supposedly shut the project down and we got Vision Pro instead. But you better believe Apple will come out with AR glasses of their own...when they're ready and you can actually buy them.

Meta looks like it has the upper hand, but I would never bet against Apple.

This race has only just begun, so grab your popcorn and strap in!

visionOS App of the Week: Lungy

Lungy by Pi-A is the most fun way to relax on Apple Vision Pro! It’s a free app that offers a variety of beautiful physics-based instruments and immersive spaces. Download here.

Magic Beans of the Week

Thank you for reading. Till next week! 😊

Best,
Cosmo