It's a combination of two things: there's not enough users, and the device just isn't comfortable enough for that niche of ultra-enthusiast users to use it for extended periods.
Apple really shot themselves in the foot here with the headstrap design and by weighing it down with the metal and glass housing. Even the "good" strap is unbalanced and uncomfortable and so practical for very little but consuming content in a reclined position.
By contrast, the Quest 3 is noticeably lighter and has an entire ecosystem of head straps that allow for extended wear without discomfort, to the point that the limiting factor is the battery. Between that and the much lower price, the market of people willing to actually buy apps and services (mostly games, but also stuff like Bigscreen or workout apps) is orders of magnitude larger.
> practical for very little but consuming content in a reclined position.
You can create content in a recline position too. It's utterly fantastic, actually, if you just have a little tray in your lap for a wireless keyboard, and a mouse on a table on your armrest.
I really think the future of VR is mostly in a reclined position, actually -- headset weight becomes a non-issue, and it just avoids developing postural problems. It's infinitely better for your back and neck and shoulders than sitting in a chair at a desk all day long.
The Meta Quest finally recently gained the ability to shift your environment to a vertical angle, for reclining or lying down in bed.
I don't really see VR's killer app being immersive games while standing up or sitting down, because of motion sickness. I think it's going to be reclining, doing work on big screens as well as watching content on big screens and immersively. I think we're just waiting for the displays to increase their resolution a bit more, and for prices for those displays to come down.
I still think VR's killer app is fitness. So definitely not sitting or lying down, but maybe stuck in place (since you can't really run around inside) like an aerobics class. I've never experienced motion sickness, but with BeatSaber you are just standing while the blocks come at you, and while you move around a little bit, it isn't like a roller coaster.
Reclining...why would you want to do that? It sounds like a huge step back, just give me a Switch at that point.
If you have lower back pain from sitting in a chair with bad posture for decades, it's a godsend.
When you're "in the zone" programming on a screen or writing a book or editing a movie, it's not like you're particularly aware of your environment anyways. And like I said -- not building up the lower back problems that will haunt you later in life.
Then you know how crazy expensive it is to have to mount one or more monitors above you, hanging from some kind of support.
And like I said, isolation while working is actually kind of a feature, when you're deep in productive work. Just think of all the people who wear noise-cancelling headphones in offices to tune out the distracting environment.
I don't want to use it for video calls or while multitasking, but for serious work I want to be isolated -- that's a feature not a bug. And passthru is a kind of nice in-between mode.
I've got a dual-monitor desk mount that can tilt ±40°, allwoing for easy reclined use[1]. $156 MSRP, hardly "crazy expensive" compared to a $3500 Vision Pro, even counting the monitors and computer.
I don't actually because my laptop screen is sufficient :)
I could see what you say being true if I was young, single, and lived alone. I have a wife and kids though and explicitly don't want to be isolated from that.
Sure you don't want to be isolated from your family while you're checking e-mails or watching a movie together. That goes without saying.
But most people I know with a partner and kids lock themselves in an office anyways while they're doing serious work in order not to be constantly distracted. If they are lucky enough to have a dedicated office at home. And there's nothing dystopian about doing your work reclining with a VR headset, any more than it's dystopian for video editors work in a darkened room with no windows, or software engineers to work in open-plan offices with two or four monitors and noise-cancelling headphones.
When I'm in the office, isolating me from the people around me is a feature, not a bug. Especially since this hotdesking/flexworking crap when I sit beside randos from other departments I have nothing to do with.
In fact the only reason I still come there is because sometimes I have to. Not because I want to or because it adds any kind of value.
Apple really shot themselves in the foot here with the headstrap design and by weighing it down with the metal and glass housing. Even the "good" strap is unbalanced and uncomfortable and so practical for very little but consuming content in a reclined position.
By contrast, the Quest 3 is noticeably lighter and has an entire ecosystem of head straps that allow for extended wear without discomfort, to the point that the limiting factor is the battery. Between that and the much lower price, the market of people willing to actually buy apps and services (mostly games, but also stuff like Bigscreen or workout apps) is orders of magnitude larger.