Marco Arment

that makes a product that is actually somewhat attractive and useful. So cut out everything you can't do well and just, you know, oh, I just want to watch movies on a plane and I don't want to do it on a laptop, right? So that's where you get these glasses. And I'm not sure if that product is super successful, but it is really cutting down and saying, we'd prefer to do much more, but we can't.

that makes a product that is actually somewhat attractive and useful. So cut out everything you can't do well and just, you know, oh, I just want to watch movies on a plane and I don't want to do it on a laptop, right? So that's where you get these glasses. And I'm not sure if that product is super successful, but it is really cutting down and saying, we'd prefer to do much more, but we can't.

We literally can't. The tech is not there. And no matter how much money you spend, it just gets bigger and bulkier, heavier, and it's not like the balance is off. So where is the sweet spot with current tech? It's kind of like Palm OS versus the Newton, right? Palm was worse, right? But the Newton was too big, too expensive, too heavy. It did so much more than Palm. This OS was so much better.

We literally can't. The tech is not there. And no matter how much money you spend, it just gets bigger and bulkier, heavier, and it's not like the balance is off. So where is the sweet spot with current tech? It's kind of like Palm OS versus the Newton, right? Palm was worse, right? But the Newton was too big, too expensive, too heavy. It did so much more than Palm. This OS was so much better.

Didn't matter. It wasn't as good a product. So the X-Reel, I feel like, is trying to find that type thing. But with Apple investigating this, unlike with the Apple Watch, where they're like, oh, we introduced this product. It's basically like a little tiny iPhone. And it can do all these things. And then they found out the things that people want to use it for.

Didn't matter. It wasn't as good a product. So the X-Reel, I feel like, is trying to find that type thing. But with Apple investigating this, unlike with the Apple Watch, where they're like, oh, we introduced this product. It's basically like a little tiny iPhone. And it can do all these things. And then they found out the things that people want to use it for.

But the platform didn't really have to change radically. It was still called Apple Watch. It still ran WatchOS. Obviously, they changed WatchKit to whatever the successor was. But, like, in general, you could still call it Apple Watch, and it was fine, right?

But the platform didn't really have to change radically. It was still called Apple Watch. It still ran WatchOS. Obviously, they changed WatchKit to whatever the successor was. But, like, in general, you could still call it Apple Watch, and it was fine, right?

With them coming out with something like this, like the XREAL thing, which doesn't watch where your hands are, doesn't track your eyeballs, doesn't let you use your virtual Mac, like, is that even the Vision Pro platform? Does it even run VisionOS? Yeah. Can you sell that as a vision with no pro suffix? Or can you say, actually, this is the Apple Studio Display eyeball? Is it just a display?

With them coming out with something like this, like the XREAL thing, which doesn't watch where your hands are, doesn't track your eyeballs, doesn't let you use your virtual Mac, like, is that even the Vision Pro platform? Does it even run VisionOS? Yeah. Can you sell that as a vision with no pro suffix? Or can you say, actually, this is the Apple Studio Display eyeball? Is it just a display?

Is it even the same platform?

Is it even the same platform?

I know, but that's what I'm saying. Would they even try to connect it branding-wise and computing-wise? Would it even run apps? Or would it just be a screen? I'm not going to say when you get it so wrong like they did with the Vision Pro, but if you decide... let's try a different Avenue. And then Avenue is sufficiently different from the one you tried before.

I know, but that's what I'm saying. Would they even try to connect it branding-wise and computing-wise? Would it even run apps? Or would it just be a screen? I'm not going to say when you get it so wrong like they did with the Vision Pro, but if you decide... let's try a different Avenue. And then Avenue is sufficiently different from the one you tried before.

You do have that question of like, wait, are we rolling out a new platform? Like, is this, is this a new platform? Are we going to try to say that this is the same platform? They kind of did that with like the, the home accessories. Granted, they have no screens and people don't really know it's running audio OS or running a variant of TV OS or whatever.

You do have that question of like, wait, are we rolling out a new platform? Like, is this, is this a new platform? Are we going to try to say that this is the same platform? They kind of did that with like the, the home accessories. Granted, they have no screens and people don't really know it's running audio OS or running a variant of TV OS or whatever.

It's kind of hidden, but like they had that same thing as, and then we'll see when they do with the, the home device that is room with the screen. Like it's, is that a new platform? Are we going to just pretend that's the same platform as the HomePod and the HomePod mini, even though that platform has changed a lot under the covers? Like the thing with the screen, what platform is that?

It's kind of hidden, but like they had that same thing as, and then we'll see when they do with the, the home device that is room with the screen. Like it's, is that a new platform? Are we going to just pretend that's the same platform as the HomePod and the HomePod mini, even though that platform has changed a lot under the covers? Like the thing with the screen, what platform is that?

What app does it run? Like with the whole backdoor of like, It's not really another platform. It's just a thing that runs iPad and or iPhone apps, right? Like Macs run iPad apps. Vision Pro runs iPad apps. Is the Mac and the Vision Pro an iPad? No, but that's the way for us to take a platform that actually has apps for it and shove it onto other platforms that don't, right? It's so weird.

What app does it run? Like with the whole backdoor of like, It's not really another platform. It's just a thing that runs iPad and or iPhone apps, right? Like Macs run iPad apps. Vision Pro runs iPad apps. Is the Mac and the Vision Pro an iPad? No, but that's the way for us to take a platform that actually has apps for it and shove it onto other platforms that don't, right? It's so weird.