from Hacker News

Ask HN: Getting an Apple Vision Pro to build out the ecosystem

by mysecretaccount on 7/11/23, 3:18 AM with 6 comments

I am a funemployed Silicon Valley software engineer working on some personal projects at this time, living off FAANG savings for a few years. The Apple Vision Pro should come out in <a year and while I do not have interest in buying one for personal use, I am toying with the idea of purchasing one to develop apps.

My theory is that the ecosystem will need to be built out and that developers which participate early in this process will be able to make decent money by selling apps, like we saw with iOS but on a longer timescale due to the high cost of the device. However, it is possible that:

- There will be many more developers contributing software this time.

- AR/VR will fail.

- The device won't actually need many VR/AR-specific apps and users will just use it for existing apps.

The risk is only losing $3,500 though. Is anyone else considering this? Any thoughts on what the early days might be like?

  • by ano88888 on 7/11/23, 8:44 AM

    You were a faang engineer. $3500 should too small to be relevant in your considerations. Your time is much more valuable so instead of thinking about money cost, you should think about time cost. Is building for AR/VR within your competent zone? Do you love building for AR/VR in the long run? These are more important questions.

  • by Someone on 7/11/23, 11:23 AM

    > My theory is […] that developers which participate early in this process will be able to make decent money by selling apps

    I don’t see the market grow fast initially. Depending on your idea of ‘decent’ that could make it hard to make decent money.

  • by yoyopa on 7/11/23, 5:01 AM

    sell accessories... screen protectors, custom cases, etc. that shit is way easier

  • by gitgud on 7/11/23, 6:02 AM

    App store infrastructure, tooling and debugging will probably be quite annoying in the early days though.

    But if you can afford it, then do it.

  • by mrcode007 on 7/11/23, 3:26 AM

    Yes :)