The announcement of the Vision Pro - Apple’s long rumoured AR headset - while totally expected, nevertheless sent share prices moving in both directions in its aftermath.
There were winners and losers as the city tried to get a fix on just how popular the new headset - with uses for both entertainment consumption and productivity - will prove to be. The main stumbling blocks being it's $3,499 starting price and the nebulous nature of the product being - in effect - something that people haven't asked for and don't know that they want. Yet.
The looming announcement caused immediate reactions in several key stock prices. Apple shares hit an intraday high of $184.95, going into the event closing in on a market valuation of $3 trillion. However, in the cold light of day post event the stock price has since fallen 0.81% to $178.16, at the time of writing, reflecting uncertainty in whether the new headset can and will ever hit it out of the park.
Business as usual
All of which is thoroughly in-line with previous Apple announcements. As the showmen of the home computing and mobile worlds, the company tends to see rising stock prices prior to an announcement, as rumour of 'the next big thing' increasingly looks like a sure bet. However, this always followed by a quick fall as investors grapple with 'the thing' that Apple actually revealed at the announcement.
And while the Vision Pro certainluy represents a significant move in a new direction - and has huge potentially implications for the vast mobile gaming market - its hefty price tag and scant use cases leave its future looking uncertain this close to the reveal.
Just as with the iPhone and Apple Watch before it, it'll take further iterations of the Vision Pro to get to a lower price, and smart developers to step in and save the day with apps and uses that will finally draw a crowd.
Ripple effects
On the other side of the coin however, things looked a lot more certain for Unity whose stock saw an 17.2% rise in the immediate aftermath of being front and centre of Apple's developer plans with full support for the platform in the development of new apps for the device.
Unity shares peaked at $37.57 before falling to $35.08, significantly above the $31.90 price immediately preceding the announcement.
The announcement also saw stock in Walt Disney Co. climb 0.3% following endorsement by Disney that saw their CEO Bob Iger take a chunk of the reveal to show the huge range of content and brands under the Disney umbrella that will be heading towards the new device. The technology could see video content, including sports animation, and games more immersive than ever before and Disney have got the well-loved brands to push the hardware mainstream.
The entertainment powerhouse’s stock price hit a peak of $92.25, before falling slightly to $91.99 at the time of writing.
Earlier today, we discussed the potential of the Vision Pro.
