The shine comes off the Vision Pro | The Vergecast

Intro (00:00:00)

• The Vergecast podcast is now available on the main Verge YouTube channel (youtube.com/theverge).
• Full episodes will be on the Verge's YouTube channel, while clips, extras, and outtakes will be on the Vergecast channel.
• The move was made to simplify the podcast experience and make it easier to find related content.
• Google is still sorting out how podcasting works on YouTube, so there may be some initial weirdness.
• The Vergecast is now available on the main Verge YouTube channel.
• Full episodes will be on the Verge's YouTube channel, while clips, extras, and outtakes will be on the Vergecast channel.
• The move was made to simplify the podcast experience and make it easier to find related content.
• Google is still sorting out how podcasting works on YouTube, so there may be some initial weirdness.

Google "we hope this makes sense over time" (00:04:10)

• Nilay's Sony TV came with a webcam that can only watch users and adjust TV settings.
• The TV has a Google Meet client but cannot join meetings, it can only make calls.
• Google renamed Duo to Meet and Meet to Meet Original, but the TV's Meet client wasn't updated, so it still has the old Duo app.
• Google didn't prioritize updating the Meet client on the TV because they considered it a low priority.
• Nilay had to join a staff meeting through audio-only because he couldn't join from his TV.
• The Vergecast is now available on the main YouTube channel.

Should you return your Vision Pro? (00:07:51)

• The Vision Pro has received mixed reactions, with some influencers returning it due to discomfort, eye strain, headaches, loneliness, and window management issues.
• Despite Apple's reputation and roadmap, the Vision Pro falls short in terms of comfort, practicality, and value for its $3,500 price tag.
• The Vision Pro's bulky design and lack of optimization for the software make it uncomfortable to wear for extended periods, especially during physical activities.
• The Mac display app's blurry visuals, caused by multiple scaling operations and foveated rendering, underwhelm users.
• The interaction between Mac apps, Vision Pro apps, and iPad apps is not seamless, leading to a disjointed experience.
• The Vision Pro's window management system is a point of contention for users who expected a more intuitive and flexible multitasking experience.
• The pass-through camera technology provides a muddy and blurry view of the real world, limiting its usefulness.
• The lack of compelling apps and a small user base create a self-reinforcing cycle that discourages developers from creating content for the platform.
• Apple's attempt to scale up iPhone apps for the Vision Pro, similar to their approach with the iPad, has not been successful.
• The Vision Pro's poor default fit leads to issues with eye tracking and headaches.
• Apple's light seals for the Vision Pro are expensive ($200 each), not easily accessible, and have a complex purchasing process.
• The Vision Pro is not designed for shared use, lacks multi-user support in iOS and iPad OS, and lacks recalibration storage, making it inconvenient for multiple users.
• Apple's removal of the headphone jack and creation of a market for proprietary headphones like AirPods is seen as a hostile move.
• The Vision Pro's design prioritizes individual user experience, making it impractical for sharing and requiring additional purchases like a $200 light seal for optimal use.
• Apple's decision to ship the Vision Pro in its current state, despite its limitations and user inconveniences, is considered a hostile design choice.

Zuckerberg reviews Vision Pro (00:31:51)

• Mark Zuckerberg compared the Quest 3 and Vision Pro, believing the Quest 3 offers better value and performance for most users.
• Zuckerberg acknowledged the trade-offs in the Quest Pro headset, highlighting its advantages in games, apps, and controllers while criticizing the Vision Pro's limitations.
• Meta's pancake lenses are considered superior to Apple's displays, and Meta's strategy of normalizing AR and VR products is seen as smarter than Apple's.
• Meta's open ecosystem approach likely means other companies can build headsets for Meta's OS, and Meta will acquire any company that develops innovative products.
• Meta has a significant lead in the AR/VR market due to its decade-long experience and understanding of consumer preferences.
• Apple's entry into the market is viewed as a tech demo lacking a clear vision compared to Meta's long-term strategy.
• The Vision Pro is seen as a fascinating product but faces challenges due to clear barriers and limitations.

Xbox games anywhere? (00:45:24)

• Microsoft is considering making some Xbox-exclusive games, such as Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Pentiment, available on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.
• Microsoft's strategy focuses on game streaming, aiming to make their games accessible on various platforms rather than relying solely on console sales.
• Microsoft is exploring the possibility of developing a handheld gaming device similar to the Steam Deck.
• Microsoft's recent actions, such as Phil Spencer's interest in handhelds, indicate the possibility of unique hardware in the future.
• Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard raises concerns about potential monopoly in the gaming industry, but the company has committed to provide Call of Duty on PS5 for the next 10 years to appease regulators and governments.
• Starfield and the upcoming Indiana Jones game are not expected to be included in the initial lineup of games on the Xbox Game Pass but may be added later with a delay of about six months after their initial release.

Google Gemini 1.5 announced (00:55:30)

• Google's Gemini product roadmap aligns with their long-term strategy of "over time, we hope this makes sense."
• Gemini Ultra and Gemini 1.5 Pro have confusing naming conventions and are priced at $20 per month.
• Google CEO Soon Pai believes version numbers will become irrelevant, and AI improvements will happen seamlessly in the background like Google Search.
• OpenAI and Google are competing for developer resources, recognizing the potential market dominance in AI.
• Gemini 1.5 features a significantly larger context window of a million tokens, allowing it to process vast amounts of data and analyze extensive content like the entire "Bee Movie."
• The novelty of AI chatbots is wearing off, and many users are canceling subscriptions to services like Microsoft's Copilot.
• Developers love AI for building new apps, securing funding, and writing code.
• There is significant growth potential in the creative use of AI, particularly in text-to-video models like OpenAI's Sora.
• Companies are focusing on integrating AI into products and services for business use cases rather than individual consumers.
• The iPhone 15 Pro's action button can be set to open the ChatGPT voice assistant, which provides reliable information and is superior to Siri.
• Current mainstream use cases for AI language models are limited, and users are unlikely to pay subscription fees for them.
• Companies are betting on business use cases for AI, but there is a limit to what people want to do with these models in their daily lives.
• OpenAI is making its models smarter and more efficient, introducing a "memory" feature for user preferences and human-like interactions.
• Building bigger models for high-end tasks is seen as a business-oriented strategy, and the $20 per month subscription fee is considered expensive for most companies.
• The future of AI development may lie in finding ways to make models more useful and engaging for regular users, rather than just increasing their size and capabilities.

AI vs Copyright (01:06:30)

• AI companies are facing copyright lawsuits due to the use of copyrighted material in training their models, with the Sarah Silverman case against OpenAI serving as a notable example.
• The legality of AI companies' practices remains uncertain, potentially impacting their business models.
• AI companies' crawling of the internet for training data challenges the traditional give-and-take dynamic of the internet, where websites allowed crawling in exchange for benefits.
• OpenAI made its GPT bot blockable after scraping the internet, possibly to signal media organizations for commercial deals.
• Individual creators face backlash for acknowledging the usefulness of AI tools built on potentially controversial data practices.
• AI companies like OpenAI face strategic challenges due to lawsuits and the need for commercial deals, while aiming to keep their services mostly free for users.
• Unlike search engine bots, blocking AI bots like Googlebot is not a common practice, despite concerns about Google scraping content for AI training purposes.