MFive dollars. That's what one project says gets you a Vision Pro-style headset.
CI saw Techeblog posted it on X. A super budget-friendly alternative using an iPhone or Pixel.
MAlternative is doing Olympic-level heavy lifting. It's a 3D-printed shell. The phone does the actual work.
CRight, but for five bucks you get a lot of the same spatial software features.
MNot the same. A Vision Pro is a self-contained computer with its own chips. This is a phone holder with lenses.
CThat's exactly why I like it. Most people already carry the expensive part in their pocket.
MSo the killer feature is that you don't have to spend thirty-five hundred dollars.
CThat's a pretty good feature.
MBut you lose the eye tracking, the hand tracking. It'll feel like a phone strapped to your face.
CFor watching a movie on a plane? That might be enough.
MUntil the phone heats up and the battery drains in an hour.
CThe project says it supports Android too, which Apple never did.
MFine. It's a clever hack. I'll give it that.
CIt's exactly the kind of weird build this show is for.
MAt four forty-three in the morning, weird builds are the whole point.
CSpeak for yourself. I'm here for the five-dollar face computer.
MThis is why Silicon Valley can't have nice things. Somebody always duct-tapes a cheaper version.
CAnd that's called innovation. The expensive version points the way, the cheap version follows.
MBut it's not a Vision Pro alternative. It's a DIY toy.
CA toy that demos spatial video. That's how people get curious.
MOr they try it, the lenses fog up, and they go back to a regular screen.
CYou have no romance for the garage tinkerer.
MI have romance for things that work. This works, barely.
CThat's the whole charm.
MFine, I'll say it. I want to try one.
CThere it is.
MDon't you dare put that on air.
CToo late. It's on air.
CDifferent world. David Akpovi posted an AI roundup on X asking, is the AI honeymoon over?
MI think it is. The market's finally asking where the revenue is.
CThe market's always late. The models are still getting better.
MBetter at burning cash. OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, all racing to build bigger data centers.
CBut every major tech shift looked like this. The early internet burned billions before it made a cent.
MThe early internet didn't need a new power plant every time someone asked a chatbot a question.
CNow you're exaggerating. But the cost does force companies to get efficient.
MThat's exactly my point. The honeymoon phase is free money and no questions. That's ending.
CI think what's ending is the free tier. The real products are about to get expensive.
MSo users pay more, companies still lose money. Where's the win?
CThe win is the tool gets useful enough that businesses can't live without it.
MSome will. But a lot of these companies won't last.
CGood. That's a market, not a bubble. The weak ones go.
MYou're more optimistic than I am. I see a correction coming.
CAnd I see a shakeout. Same storm, different umbrella.
MI'll remember you said that when the layoffs hit.
CI'll bring it up at the next AI earnings call.
MThe bigger risk is that the hype outruns the actual value. We've seen this movie.
CAnd the actual value is already real. Coding, search, translation. That's not hype.
MIt's real, but it's not profitable enough to justify the spend.
CGive it two more years. The models get cheaper to run.
MIf they do, I'll happily change my mind.
CThat's fair. Until then, I'm on the honeymoon extension.
MI'm booking you a reality check.
CSend it to my chatbot.