Cathie Wood's Ark Analyst Raises Eyebrows Over Apple Vision Pro's $3,499 Price Tag: 'Seems A Lot'

Brett Winton, chief futurist at Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management, appears to be unimpressed with Apple Inc's AAPL Vision Pro pricing and said it is difficult to see spatial computing become the dominant paradigm over the next couple of years.

"$3,499 for the Apple Vision Pro. Seems a lot," Winton tweeted.

Winton explained in his tweet why he believes the device is relatively expensive as compared to the one developed by Meta Platforms Inc META.

Also Read: Everything You Need to Know About Apple Stock

"A performance yardstick we use for VR/AR is percent visually indistinguishable from reality. On this basis, the Apple Vision Pro looks like it is ~50% more expensive than the Meta Quest Pro. (2.3x the sticker price but higher def per eye optics and a likely higher refresh rate)," Winton said in his tweet.

Shares of Apple closed 1.45% higher and hit a record high on Monday before losing 2.43% in extended trading. The initial rise in the share price was in the wake of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC23) event. However, shares pulled back after the company unveiled its first augmented reality headset.

The ARK analyst explained that in the Vision Pro case, all external sensors as well as the external screen add cost and engineering complexity without improving visual immersion. "Nonetheless, on degree of immersion per dollar the Vision Pro is a step back rather than a step forward," he said.

Pricing: Winton also pointed out that given cost declines in virtual reality, a $1,000 Vision Pro quality headset is still about five years away. "Hard to see spatial computing become the dominant paradigm (at least through the consumer channel) even over the next couple of years," Winton said.

Winton's thought resonates with other experts in the industry. For instance, Deepwater Asset Management managing partner Gene Munster had earlier observed it could be a while before people could see mass-market conducive pricing for the device that comes below the $1,000 tag.

Read Next: How Does Apple’s Vision Pro Compare With Meta’s Quest 3?

Photo courtesy: Apple