Roundup: The trouble facing Apple

Read to the end for a meme about Vision Pro and the metaverse

Roundup: The trouble facing Apple
Tim Cook at the Vision Pro launch on Friday. Photo: Apple

The Vision Pro is out, and the reasons to oppose it are piling up. Videos are already spreading across social media showing people with the headset strapped to their faces out in public, riding skateboards, taking the subway, and — of course — driving a Cybertruck. I can’t help but wonder who will be the Robert Scoble of the Vision Pro era and accelerate the necessary opposition to it.

But the Vision Pro isn’t Apple’s only problem. The company reported its earnings this week and it pointed to even bigger trouble brewing that a dumb, expensive headset will not solve. So we’re digging into that in the roundup, along with recommended reads, labor updates, and other stories you might have missed. To get the full thing, you just need to be a paid subscriber!

Just a reminder that I’m speaking in Wellington, New Zealand on February 8th. I’ll also be doing an event in Auckland, and I should have the final details to share on social media in the coming days or here next week. Over on Tech Won’t Save Us, I had a great conversation with Victor Pickard about the root causes of the layoffs and struggles in the news media.

Have a great week!

Paris


Trouble in Apple World?

You already know that Apple began rolling out its headset this week. I wrote about the lack of true vision behind the product and the compromises that led to its release. The videos of people using the Vision Pro in public further strengthen my argument that its users should he ridiculed. But the company’s earnings point to some even bigger trouble in Apple World.

Apple’s Vision Pro lacks any real vision
The company’s headset exists to placate investors, not serve users’ needs