The Metaverse’s ‘iPhone Moment'

Article source, here.

TL;DR

• In our minds, no single company is going to be able to convince consumers to pour thousands of dollars into VR headsets without a much broader ecosystem of 'stuff to do'...

• *Unless that company is Apple*

• Apple seems to have mastered the sales pitch of: "Here's a novel product in a brand new form factor...it can't do all that much just yet - but in time everyone is going to have one."

• And it's now rumored that three weeks from now, Apple will announce its 'Mixed Reality Headset.'

• Which will give an opportunity for third party developers to build Web3 enabled AR/VR experiences for a mass audience.

• Our guess? It'll be the metaverse's 'iPhone moment.' Very. Exciting.

Full Story

We need to put a big ol' *asterisk* next to a theory we've previously spouted in this here newsletter. The theory is this:

If the metaverse is ever going to become 'a thing,' it's not going start in VR.

Our guess has always been that it'll follow a path close/similar to this:

Web3 enabled gaming → leads to interconnected 3D virtual worlds → leads to the 3D visualization of the 2D internet → leads to folks opting to enhance their experience through VR, en masse.

(Click here for a clearer/deeper explanation).

Point is: in our minds, no single company (looking at you Meta) is going to be able to convince the average consumer to pour thousands of dollars into a VR headset without a much broader ecosystem of 'stuff to do'...

*Unless that company is Apple*

Apple seems to have mastered the sales pitch of:

"Here's a novel product in a brand new form factor...it can't do all that much just yet - but in time everyone is going to want/have one."

E.g. from a certain perspective:

• The first iPhone wasn't worth it. It was a $500 purchase to combine three things that many consumers already had: a phone, an iPod, and an internet browsing device.

• The first iPad? That was just a blown up version of the iPhone (without a camera).

• The first Apple Watch? An overpriced Fitbit that sent you push notifications.

• AirPods? Expensive wireless earphones that you were bound to lose.

But that combination of:

New form factor + intuitive design + just enough exciting features to play with out of the box, seems to = a hit consumer product every time.

Why're we laying all of this out?

Because it's rumored that three weeks from now, Apple will announce its 'Mixed Reality Headset.'

And if/when that happens - we get the feeling that this '3D version of the internet' that we call the metaverse, is going to skip all the steps we laid out at the beginning of this article.

Meaning consumers won't need to be coaxed from Web3 enabled gaming, to 3D virtual worlds/websites before making the jump to VR.

Hell, Web3 probably won't even play a part in Apple's initial product/software offering!

What it will present is an opportunity for third party developers to build Web3 enabled AR/VR experiences for a mass audience.

Our guess? It'll be the metaverse's 'iPhone moment.'

Very. Exciting.