You know what would be great for the display industry, for the world at large? If somebody came up with a device that truly replicated the social, cultural, and technical impact of the original iPhone. By the time Apple’s iPhone launched in 2007—selling over 6 million units in its first year—it became clear it wasn’t just a phone; it was a game-changing ecosystem. That initial spark of innovation (multi-touch, the App Store, and a user-friendly interface) didn’t just disrupt smartphones, it reconfigured entire industries. Yet, here we are, years later, watching tech giants like Meta and Apple desperately chase an iPhone moment for AR/VR—often with underwhelming results.
Let’s start with Meta. Facebook (now Meta) acquired Oculus in 2014 for about $2 billion, fueling Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a pervasive VR future. In 2022 alone, Meta’s Reality Labs, which oversees its VR/AR efforts, lost over $13 billion. Despite shipping millions of Quest headsets— IDC estimated around 8.7 million VR/AR units shipped globally in 2022, with Meta dominating and that figure has not changed much, going down and up every year —the public at large remains lukewarm. It’s not exactly the iPhone’s unstoppable adoption curve, especially when you consider that most consumers find wearing a face-computer for hours a day awkward, sweaty, or socially isolating.
Apple’s take on immersive tech has been all over the map, from low-key ARKit apps on iPhones to the big reveal of Apple Vision Pro. While the Vision Pro boasted impressive hardware—dual 4K displays, outward-facing cameras, and the world’s top-tier supply chain behind it—it also came with a $3,499 price tag. That’s a far cry from the original iPhone’s $499 or the first iPad’s $499, each of which spurred mass adoption rather quickly. And let’s face it, headsets haven’t historically screamed mainstream acceptance. Microsoft’s HoloLens, first shipped as a developer kit in 2016, created some buzz but never broke into everyday life. The hype cycle plays out, and we’re left with a few enterprise applications and another wave of maybe next time. That’s what the rumors of Apple smart glasses with MicroLED displays is just that, maybe next time.
MicroLED indeed offers better brightness, contrast, and energy efficiency than OLED. Technically, that’s exciting. But seriously, for the everyday consumer, the idea of more stuff on our face just isn’t that alluring. According to The Vision Council, about 75% of American adults need some form of vision correction, yet many people who need glasses still hate wearing them. My own uncle, practically blind without his thick lenses, resents them every day—and he’s tried everything short of black-market eye transplants.
All of this underscores the main point: The original iPhone moment was about convenience, simplicity, and an intuitive, must-have design that fit seamlessly into daily life. None of these half-hearted AR/VR contraptions have captured that universal spark. Maybe it’s because the fundamental proposition is backwards. Instead of making life easier, it often demands more friction—strapping a device to your head, dealing with battery issues, buying into a closed ecosystem at a high price, and enduring the sweaty reality of goggles. All the marketing spin from Cupertino or Menlo Park can’t mask that.
Sure, MicroLED is cool, and AR/VR might evolve into something extraordinary over the next decade. But the hype cycles—New Coke–style product debuts, billions lost in R&D, half-finished developer kits—get old fast. No wonder Gen Z cynically calls it all “mid.” If you grew up watching the iPhone reshuffle the tech world, these new glasses, goggles, and alt realities often come across as desperate attempts at imitation rather than authentic innovation.
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg, full of masculine energy, got his eyes fixed with the billionaire equivalent of Lasik or something akin to it. Steve Jobs famously wore his round rimless frames till the end. Whether that’s an omen or a metaphor, it’s hard to say—but it sure feels like trying to force another iPhone moment is less about vision and more about vanity. And that’s the saddest part of all: in a universe where real innovation could be happening, we’re left with announcements, hype, and eventual “who cares?” shrugs. So maybe the best thing we can do is keep our expectations in check—because the more they chase the original iPhone’s ghost, the less likely they are to actually create something worthy of its legacy. So, Apple is going to do MicroLED and that may juice up developments in the technology around the world, but what’s it all for? The company had to put the breaks on the Vision Pro in a way that would have embarrassed any other company that was not propping up blue chip investment scenarios at pension funds and private equity companies.
