Steve Troughton-Smith
Seen so many videos and writeups saying things along the lines of ‘Apple didn't show us a killer app for Vision Pro’, but they did — they spent an entire week showing developers just how easy it is to transition from iOS to visionOS, how it uses all the same tools and SDKs we use today, Xcode, TestFlight, SwiftUI, UIKit, etc. Non-developers and people outside the Apple scene may not realize just how profound that is, and how transformative it might be to the platform
Jun 11, 2023 at 5:12pmIvory for Mac
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithJun 11, 2023
Microsoft had a term for this: the 'app gap’. No matter how much money they threw at developers to port their apps to Windows Phone (and related platforms), it never even made a dent. The iOS ecosystem has all the developer mindshare. Incredible third-party apps, enabled by powerful first-party frameworks, has been Apple's secret sauce for decades
Show threadJack RobertsJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith Ultimately that will be one of the keys for Vision Pro’s success and others that try to copy it’s failure.
Show threadDominic HoptonJun 11, 2023

@stroughtonsmith Apple spent decades building a scalable set of frameworks & languages. They saw the long-term needs and turned the boat in the correct direction so they’d be right on target when the needs arose.

There isn’t an app gap ‘cause they didn’t set fire to the platform & leap off it — they paid their dues, did the maintenance, and undertook significant work when required.

Show threadFunland ResearchJun 12, 2023
@stroughtonsmith what is this slide from? A Jobs presentation at Mac World Expo?
Show threadStephen UffelmanJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith There hasn’t been an AR/VR product with a developer infrastructure anything like this until now.
Show threadJerry Gonzalez Jun 11, 2023

@stroughtonsmith Absolutely.

With other headsets, you have to learn a new ecosystem. How things work. Copy things to the new device to work on them.

The #VisionPro just works, and blends nicely into the #Apple ecosystem. As an Apple user, you know what to expect out of notes, FaceTime, Safari. You’re familiar with the way Apple UI translates across all their hardware

Their killer app is, “you don’t have to change your habits. Just get going, as it blends into your current flow”

Show threadCoach Pāṇini ®Jun 11, 2023
@JerryGonzalez @stroughtonsmith It’s a video screen an inch from your eyes? 😬
Show threadSteve WilliamsJun 11, 2023
@JerryGonzalez @stroughtonsmith
The killer app for VisionPro is FroggerAR. Cross your high street, goggled for the win 🐸
Show threadJerry Gonzalez Jun 11, 2023
@blabberlicious @stroughtonsmith Ha! 😉😉
Show threadBenJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith I think the easy transition is what bugs me. The VP paradigms don’t feel 3D to their core, they feel like 2D paradigms in 3D. Like iPhone apps running on iPads… not truly native to the platform.
Show threadBenJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith I guess I’m hoping that this v1 is just about building a bridge to the old world, and that they have a clear idea of where to go after that.
Show threadsnodaJun 11, 2023

@bmovement @stroughtonsmith I think this is v1, which will train early adopters to strap a screen to their face. People will want to use this and want it to succeed, so giving them something to do is important.

That'll give third party developers time to build real 3d apps.

Show threadMark PauleyJun 14, 2023
@bmovement @stroughtonsmith think of it like this and it makes sense: you have to meet the user close to where they’re at. MacOS had the physical desktop and typewriter. iPhone had windows / macOS. Vision has iPhone. Not clear you can design well for a new paradigm without playing with it for a few years.
Show threaddpemmonsJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith being easy to develop for doesn't make it useful.
Show threadEshwar NagJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith I don’t think so
Show threadnutsmugglerJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith a fellow iOS developer friend, while watching the WWDC keynote, texted me: “How long have Apple being developing this, 20 years?”. I think non-developer people hardly realize the scale of what was presented.
Show threadwenneferJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith that’s an interesting observation. This reminds me of the introduction of iPhone. As an end user it was absolutely transformational technology. But it was clearly a version 1, and once they unlocked it to developers, it took off. VP also feels not fully there, but unlike iPhone, developers are part of the first steps. It will be exciting to see what kinds of apps emerge and how Apple evolves the platform (cheaper, lighter, ???).
Show threadJon MaddoxJun 11, 2023

@stroughtonsmith and I’m certain they’ll express their gratitude when third parties boost yet another of their platforms.

I understand this is a cynical take, but the last 15 years has been a lot.

Show threadJohn DavisJun 11, 2023

@maddox @stroughtonsmith

Yeah I’ll expect we’ll get dragged by legal like always.

Show threadMichael MartineJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith yes, and also how easy it will be for the VisionPro users to reference the familiar experiences in iOS, macOS in the visionOS environment too. StageManager springs to mind as one example.
Show threadHilaryJun 11, 2023

@stroughtonsmith

Um yeah. I've never done anything Apple so I wouldn't know but.... you're asking me to strap something to my face?!?!?

No. Not ever. I cannot imagine any universe in which I'd want to do that and I suspect I speak for many.

(Yes, I know that some gamers do this already, but it is a fundamental and I thiink unsurmountable barrier to mass adoption.)

Show threadC0ppertopJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith
And they put it all into an expensive, bulky package, (The external battery pack is part of the package.)
This is not a winning combination.
I think the world is going to turn down elitist toys.
Show threadMichael GemarJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith @cstross Is it enough to port iOS apps over? How do they benefit from visionOS? The platform looks extremely interesting, but surely “it can run some iOS apps in floating windows” is *not* a compelling use case.
Show threadCharlie StrossJun 11, 2023
@michaelgemar @stroughtonsmith The compelling case is "here is a viable AR platform—the first commercial one ever—and you already know how to develop apps for it", not "you're gonna port existing iOS apps to visionOS".
Show threadDubi is here Jun 11, 2023
@cstross @michaelgemar @stroughtonsmith how is that different from Google cardboard, which had the added benefit of costing next to nothing?
Show threadCharlie StrossJun 12, 2023
@Dubikan @michaelgemar @stroughtonsmith Well, for one thing Google Cardboard was meant to give you a binocular view of a VR app running on a phone, rather than mixed reality software running on an actual AR headset, which is a bit like comparing a paper aeroplane to an Airbus 350, but you go, you.
Show threadHerr Irrtum! 🔊Jun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith

I see so much enthusiasm for Apples Vision Pro lately - why is this?

It's all just Apple Apple Apple.
Developing for this means doom - there are better ways of wasting time.
In the end it's the opposite of open, nothing here is a standard, it's just Apple.
Nothing of this is for the sake of humankind, nothing of this brings the technological world forward - it's just there for making Apple look good. And people applauding this are just useful idiots for Apple.
It's beyond me why anyone may think, this is a good thing.
Show threadSteven LiptonJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith @JoshHrach MY biggest question was: “What does it do?” And that the answer is “visionOS, available on Xcode with SwiftUI” was more of the positive answer than I ever expected. Everything else will be commentary.
Show threadGretyl Jun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith that and spatial photos/video are 🔥
Show threadmsgbiJun 11, 2023
@stroughtonsmith @charles_ex co pilot without i glasses
Show threadVery Human RobotJun 12, 2023
@stroughtonsmith that's still not an app, though.
What do humans actually do while wearing this stylish scuba mask?
Show threadColin DevroeJun 12, 2023
@stroughtonsmith the killer app is that it will have one million apps
Show threadKeith WilsonJun 12, 2023
@stroughtonsmith @JamesGleick Reminiscent of the original #iPhone launch, #Apple touted multiple capabilities in a single device: communication, productivity, and immersive content. No one ‘killer app’, but a suite of capabilities and a new interface paradigm that Apple hopes people will find compelling.
Show thread3ln4ch0Jun 12, 2023
@stroughtonsmith you still have to wear that stupid thing on your face tho
Show threadFeralRobotsJun 12, 2023

@stroughtonsmith
Key things seems to me to be that Apple is focusing on what you would actually need if you plan to make the product category successful, vs what you'd need to make a lot of money.

Apple's already got money. Power (e.g. via owning a new & highly successful product category) is FAR more useful to them. (Sorry for the cynical turn, that's just how I am.)