Apple is no stranger to entering the tech market late. But its entry into virtual reality (VR) technology may have come at one of the worst times possible. With other giants already taking leaps in the field, Apple is on its way to become the latecomer of VR.
Once believed to be the wave of the future, VR is beginning to look like a fad that many consumers are losing interest in. Companies like Facebook, Google, and Sony have already made multi-billion dollar investments in the tech, yet failed to generate much enthusiasm. As a result, the mass market has failed to embrace the technology, something Apple no doubt has noticed.
At the same time, it seems like Apple’s arrival might have been prevented from overcoming the slow uptake of the technology by other tech giants which have already taken a big gamble on the technology. It is possible for Apple to at least make a play for a market that other companies have abandoned, but even then their entry is likely to be too late.
The main reason why Apple might have entered the market at the wrong time is because of how inherently complex the field is and how quickly the technology is evolving. Apple may be good at creating hardware, but when it comes to creating software for a variety of devices, it’s still behind. Facebook, Google, and Sony have already done much of the hard work in terms of establishing the standards and optimizing the technology and content for their respective VR systems.
It’s unclear what the market will look like in the long run, and whether Apple will be able to make up for the late entry by innovating at a faster pace. Until then, it looks like Apple might have entered the VR market at the worst possible time.