
Magic Leap’s cheapest headsets will cost as much as a high-end phone - tegeek
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/13/17010360/magic-leap-rony-abovitz-code-media-interview-pricing-tiers
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jamocon
So the comments here so far seem to be lamenting the price, which is kind of
ironic given the crowd this place draws.

The (possible) price range given is somewhere between $1-2000. Yes that's high
but not obscenely so. Infact I'd guess a majority of you spend that on a
yearly/bi yearly basis on a certain laptop for its brand merit and half that
yearly for the latest phone "upgrade".

Let's face it though, the price isn't going to be an issue for the early
adopters and any techie, or "nerd" really worth his salt can see the potential
of this tech. That's not to say that this specific device has that potential,
after all Magic Leap has been less than forthcoming, they've made some claims
and not really backed them up. At the moment, they don't need to. Sure it
could be a scheme to suck money from investors and swindle early adopters, but
it could just as well be excellent marketing. Either way they've certainly
generated a buzz.

They also mentioned it could be a replacement for a phone and why not?
Integrate a 4/5G sim and your golden, though I can't see even the most
hardcore wearing these things for ~14 hours a day perhaps it could be some
sort of external BT connected lightweight minimal device - after all what's a
phone? A speaker, a microphone and a cellular connection. That would open up
the possibility for the "average" user to get it much the same way they get
their $1000 dollar iphone, subsidized at 20-30 a month.

Fact is, we won't know until it's out in the wild and the hands of
hackers/developers for 6 months. Fact is that one day this kind of tech will
be ubiquitous.

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jimrandomh
I'll believe it when they actually ship something. But seriously, the initial
target audience for this is "first-wave application developers". The closest
competition, Microsoft's Hololens, costs $3k. It shouldn't be priced like a
consumer device, and it won't be.

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mankash666
"the high cost is justified because over time, a Magic Leap headset can
replace “your phones, your televisions, your laptops, your tablets, which add
up to thousands of dollars"

Does he even believe this? Even by marketing standards, this is a stretch

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IntronExon
From what I’ve read, especially on Karl Guttag’s blog, Magic Leap is a sort of
running joke. They’ve pivoted to make something a bit less useful than
Hololens, with a patent history that reads like a fever dream. Bullshitting
about the price after so many outright lies abou fiber scanning nonsense seems
tame.

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blackrock
So they want to charge $2000 to $3000 for their AR headset. I think they are
getting high off their own dope.

If they are smarter, then they would aim for the $500 to $1000 range.

When the iPad was first announced, all the pundits mocked it. But the reason
why it was so successful with consumers, was its $500 entry level price tag.

If they charge $2000 to $3000 for this device, then they are going to just
shoot themselves in the head. This thing is dead-on-arrival.

This AR, as "magical" as it might be, will not become mass market at these
insanely high prices.

And, there is a reason why people buy televisions. Often times, it is to just
have a social experience at home, to share with the family. Everyone can watch
the same show together. The Magic Leap AR is not a social device. Even the
picture of Shaq modeling it, looks alien and unsocial.

Everyone needs a phone. And the iPhone has taken over the high end segment.
And the Androids have taken over the low end segment. But, not everyone needs
a Magic Leap AR headset.

Then, Apple will come out with their own AR device for $700, and wipe them
out. I'll wait to see what Apple has up their sleeves.

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turndown
This begs the question, will we ever value certain pieces of technology in the
same way we value a house, or a car, as a longer term investment that you pay
quality for, so you don't have to go back and buy again?

People balk at paying more than $1k for a phone, but most people would assume
you're scamming them if you sold them a new car for $5k.

That said, I don't agree with the pricing of this: In an immature market where
the difference between a high/low end product isn't discernable, trying to get
someone to pay a large amount of money just to bet on it isn't a great idea.

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setr
> This begs the question, will we ever value certain pieces of technology in
> the same way we value a house, or a car, as a longer term investment that
> you pay quality for, so you don't have to go back and buy again?

It's only just recently you can buy a computer and not expect to replace it in
2-3 years. Not just by the fact things break, but that everything would have
moved far passed you by then.

Obviously it doesn't make sense for people in general to value technology as a
long-term investment, when the technology itself isn't even remotely long-term
(at the consumer level). But obviously too, when technology stabilizes, and we
stop seeing absurd improvements over short units of time, then it'll naturally
progress to longer -term value. When you can't sell on dramatically better
features, then you'll sell for reliability, consistency and durability.

Or you'll lock it down, strangle/monopolize the market, and add features on
your own clock, hopefully postponing the plateau far into the horizon

we'll see

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maruhan2
Ironically though, equipment that is supposed to last a long time and hasn't
progressed that much over the years are lasting shorter. Examples are cars,
microwaves, fridges, washing machines, etc. Recent cars for example on average
malfunction quicker than ones 20 years ago.

So in that sense, technology that does not progress fast does not necessarily
improve reliability

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FrozenTuna
You're wrong about cars. They might need more specialized maintenance, but
they are much better than they were 20 years ago.

[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cars-now-last-longer-than-
ever-...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cars-now-last-longer-than-ever-will-
yours/)

