Apple Adds Dozens of Licensed Movies to Apple TV+, More Signs of Apple TV+ Momentum, Apple Video Revenue Drivers

Hello everyone. Happy Monday. It's already turning into a busy week for Apple. Today's update will be focused on several Apple TV+ developments and Apple’s broader video play.

Let’s jump right in.

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Apple Announces First Immersive Video for Sports, Vision Pro and Apple Immersive Video, Why Is Apple Sports iPhone-Only?

Happy Thursday. In today’s update, our discussion will begin with the new Apple Immersive Video format found on Apple Vision Pro. There is then one follow-up regarding the new Apple Sports app.

One quick item: I have been using Apple Vision Pro for roughly a week. Zeiss Optical Inserts arrived just a few days ago. My plan is to use the device for some time, naturally see where it fits into my live, before publishing something along the lines of in-depth review or report. In more than a few ways, the initial round of reviews came across as rushed. When we talk about Apple Vision Pro in this update, my perspective is based on actually using the device for some time, and not just the two pre-launch demos.

Let's jump right in. 

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Meta 4Q23 Earnings, Estimating Meta Quest 3 Sales, Ray-Ban Meta and AI

There are several Big Tech earnings reports for CY4Q23 worth going over. For those of you who recently became Above Avalon members, my approach to covering Big Tech earnings is twofold:

  • Assess how Apple competitors are doing from a financial/business perspective. This will involve looking at revenue growth metrics, cash flow generation, etc. Given major differences in business models, the metrics will need to be put into proper prospective. 

  • Look for developments that shine light on competitive dynamics that stand to impact Apple. This may include everything from advertising to hardware.  

Today’s update will be dedicated to Meta, a company that is turning into one of Apple’s most direct competitors. 

An Above Avalon membership is required to read this update. Members can read the full update here. (Members: Daily Updates are accessible via the archive. If you haven’t logged into the archive before, fill out this form to receive an invite.)

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Apple Demos More Vision Pro Spatial Videos, 3D Movie Icon Appears on Apple TV, Humane Ai Pin vs. Spatial Photos/Videos

Hello everyone. Welcome to a new week. We do have a few CY3Q23 earnings reports to go over. However, today’s update will take a spin through Vision Pro land.

Apple Demos More Vision Pro Spatial Videos

Over at Daring Fireball, here’s John Gruber:

“Yesterday Apple released developer beta 2 of iOS 17.2, the first version of iOS to include support for capturing spatial video with iPhone 15 Pro models. Today came the public beta, enabling the same feature. Apple invited me to New York yesterday, not merely to preview capturing spatial video using an iPhone, but to experience watching those spatial videos using a Vision Pro.

The experience was, like my first Vision Pro demo back at WWDC in June, astonishing…

My demo yesterday was expressly limited to photography in general, and spatial video in particular, and so my demo was, per Apple’s request, limited to the Photos app in VisionOS. It was tempting, at times, to see where else I could go and what else I could do. But there was so much to see and do in Photos alone that my demo — about 30 minutes in total wearing Vision Pro — raced by.”

The full post made for an interesting read, especially if you want the details regarding how Apple is implementing spatial videos via iPhone 15 Pro. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro needs to be held horizontally “to put the two capturing lenses on the same plane. The iPhone uses the main (1×) and ultra wide (0.5×) lenses for capture when shooting spatial video, and in fact, Apple changed the arrangement of the three lenses on the iPhone 15 Pro in part to support this feature.”

When Apple announced this past September that the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max would be able to capture spatial video, my assumption was that iPhone videos

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More on Apple’s Photo of Vision Pro in a Developer Lab, EyeSight’s Visual Cues, My EyeSight Theory

Happy Tuesday.

Given incoming questions about yesterday’s update, we are going to keep the discussion going. Some members wanted to know more about what was and wasn’t shown in the following image included in Apple’s article drawing attention to the Vision Pro developer labs. Let's jump right in.

 
 

More on Apple’s Photo of Vision Pro in a Developer Lab

Following the Vision Pro unveiling at WWDC, there have been quite a few questions regarding EyeSight. Positioned as one of the device’s marquee features, EyeSight is meant to lower the personal computing barrier found with wearing a computer in front of your eyes.

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How Apple Leverages Product Branding, Making Vision Pro Cool

Hello everyone. Yesterday’s discussion about headset adoption piqued Neil’s interest in Apple’s branding opportunity with Vision Pro and the idea of how to sell "coolness" for the face. Before we get to that discussion, there was one branding-related item worth touching upon in content streaming land.

Last week, we talked about Warner Bros. Discovery looking to license HBO shows to Netflix. In the forum, one member shared a different view than mine. Warner Bros. Discovery can license its less premium content to Netflix, which lacks a premium brand. “Netflix’s cash is used to strengthen their [mass market] positioning, something Max can be OK with as Netflix has seemingly cemented its massmarket segment dominance while Max is showing no ambitions to steer away from premium programming. Max can then use the extra cashflow [from Netflix] to pour it into its premium content and further boost its premium-mass market brand.” You can check out the full comment here.

Such a view makes sense to me in a world where Warner Bros. Discovery didn't have its own paid streaming option. If the concern is found with Max containing premium and non-premium content brands, one option is for Warner Bros. Discovery to offer three different streaming services (Discovery $5 per month / Warner $10 per month / HBO $20 per month) with an attractive package discount when getting all three. While this will jeopardize near-term revenue, it helps the company's long-term direct-to-consumer relationships.

How Apple Leverages Product Branding

Apple has a long history of leveraging product branding to strengthen its ecosystem. The classic white wired EarPods hanging out of one’s ears went on to define a generation of consumer electronics. In recent years, Apple has doubled down on the product branding strategy. The following examples have anchored Apple commercials, advertisements, and marketing.

iPhone

  • Home button (still found with the iPhone SE)

  • iPhone X notch

  • iPhone 14 Pro / Pro Max Dynamic Island

  • iPhone back camera layout

Apple Watch

  • Rectangular display

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Apple Releases visionOS SDK, Creating Spatial Experiences, Apple’s Developer Advantage

Hello everyone. We are getting our first look at the visionOS software development kit (SDK). Developers are now able to give visionOS a spin in a simulated environment via Reality Composer (macOS and iOS apps).

One reason Apple unveiled Vision Pro at WWDC was to give developers time to develop apps ahead of the headset’s release in early 2024 (my expectation: March/April 2024). Today's update will focus on the SDK and a few points regarding app development.

Apple Releases visionOS SDK

In a press release issued yesterday, here’s Apple:

“Apple today announced the availability of new software tools and technologies that enable developers to create groundbreaking app experiences for Apple Vision Pro — Apple’s first spatial computer. Featuring visionOS, the world’s first spatial operating system, Vision Pro lets users interact with digital content in their physical space using the most natural and intuitive inputs possible — their eyes, hands, and voice. Starting today, Apple’s global community of developers will be able to create an entirely new class of spatial computing apps that take full advantage of the infinite canvas in Vision Pro and seamlessly blend digital content with the physical world to enable extraordinary new experiences. With the visionOS SDK, developers can utilize the powerful and unique capabilities of Vision Pro and visionOS to design brand-new app experiences across a variety of categories including productivity, design, gaming, and more.

Next month, Apple will open developer labs in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo to provide developers with hands-on experience to test their apps on Apple Vision Pro hardware and get support from Apple engineers. Development teams will also be able to apply for developer kits to help them quickly build, iterate, and test right on Apple Vision Pro.”

One takeaway from this year’s WWDC and the Vision Pro demo was that Apple has something big on its hands, and they know it. Part of that observation relates to Apple’s well-thought-out and comprehensive approach to getting Vision Pro off the ground. This includes everything from a well-orchestrated demo strategy for members of the press, an SDK for developers, and what will eventually be consumer demos at Apple stores. We now have new information about Apple opening developer labs around the world and making developer HW kits available to some teams/companies. This is not a trivial launch effort for some niche product that Apple isn’t sure about. Instead, Apple is all-on on Vision Pro as its next computing platform.

In a new document published yesterday alongside the visionOS SDK, meant to help developers approach visionOS, Apple went over many details as to how it expects the platform to be used. The full document is available here.

A few highlights:

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How Vision Pro Can Impact Apple’s Other Products

Hello everyone. We are going to do something different today. One topic that has been on Neil’s mind the past 10 days or so is how Vision Pro can impact Apple’s ecosystem. After just a few minutes using Vision Pro, it became clear that this device was going to encroach on iPhone, iPad, and Mac use cases. Current Apple devices feel dated compared to Vision Pro. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple’s other product categories have expiration days. In today’s update, we will explore that topic.

How Vision Pro Can Impact Apple’s Other Products

Watching the WWDC keynote, one thing that jumped out at me was how Apple positioned its software platforms and product categories. There was a prevailing theme / focus found with each category:

  • Apple Watch / watchOS = health/fitness

  • iPhone / iOS = communication/identity

  • iPad / iPadOS = versatility

  • Mac / macOS = performance

  • AirPods = audio

  • tvOS = video consumption

Those focus areas aren’t a new development for WWDC 2023. Apple has spent years laying the groundwork for giving each of its product categories key roles to play that other Apple products aren’t in a great position to handle.

The Apple Watch is one of the easier examples to discuss.

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The Challenge Selling Vision Pro, Vision Pro Competition, Vision Pro Q&A

Hello everyone. We kick things off with a big challenge Apple will face selling Apple Vision Pro. The discussion then turns to Vision Pro competition and the degree to which Neil thinks Apple’s headset will impact the AR/VR/mixed reality industries. We conclude with Neil answering 11 questions from members about his 30-minute Vision Pro demo.

Let’s jump in.

The Challenge Selling Vision Pro

One takeaway from my 30-minutes with Vision Pro was that Apple will have an easier time selling the headset if consumers can experience a demo. The presentation that Apple showed during the WWDC keynote – the company also released a 9-minute video overview - didn’t come close to conveying what it’s like using the device. Trying to explain spatial computing in 2D terms has been a problem for years.

Apple can’t demo Vision Pro on stage. This is not like an iPhone, iPad, or even Apple Watch. That is a challenge for Apple.

Since Apple needed to come up with some type of marketing for the device, the company landed on relatable scenarios and use cases that they think people can see themselves in or doing.

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The “Why” Behind Apple Vision Pro, Apple Revolutionizes Memories, Vision Pro Pricing Strategy

Hello everyone. There is a slight change of plans. Yesterday’s update led to the largest number of incoming emails from members following an update in years. Accordingly, we are going to keep running with the Vision Pro discussion. Neil spent about 30 minutes using Apple Vision Pro. The technology powering the device is the future. We will get to the rest of Apple’s WWDC announcements.

A few quick items:

  • A virtual member meetup took place this past Monday in the Above Avalon team in Slack. The value found with having it take place in Slack is that people can still add to the discussions that took place. If you haven't checked the meetup out, look in the #random channel. The start of the meetup is pinned / shaded in a yellow hue.

  • Vision Pro sound quality. Yesterday’s discussion didn’t include any mention of Neil’s audio experience using Vision Pro. The headset includes a pair of speakers, positioned in the head strap and angled towards the wearer’s ears. The sound quality was very good. Just as important, there was no issue hearing other people in the room while something was playing via the headset. It’s not known what someone seated next to an Apple Vision Pro wearer can hear though.

  • Q&A. Have questions about Apple Vision Pro? Send them Neil’s way and they can be addressed tomorrow. There has already been a decent number of questions posted in the member forum (they will be covered).

The “Why” Behind Apple Vision Pro

It’s a positive sign for Apple that those who were among the first to try out Vision Pro have landed on different things as their “favorite” experience. Some people say the mindfulness app was what opened their eyes (the word trippy came to mind with that app). Others say the live sports consumption implications jumped out at them. There isn’t one right or wrong answer. Depending on the wearers’ personality, likes, interests, and perspective, different things will jump out at them. The era in which one thing is a “killer app” for everyone ended years ago.

There are still important questions left unanswered: Why sell Vision Pro? What is the device’s purpose?

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