A spatial reality - Web browsers

In the days ahead of the Vision Pro’s launch, Apple has heavily promoted some of the apps destined for its spatial computing headset. Download Disney Plus and watch movies from Tatooine! Slack and Fantastical and Microsoft Office on your face! FaceTime with your friends as a floating hologram! But it’s increasingly clear that the early success of the Vision Pro, and much of the answer to the question of what this headset is actually for, will come from a single app: Safari.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/20/24044343/apple-vision-pro-safari-killer-app

David Pierce narrates a reality that's quickly forming as a result of the heavy handedness of the recent App Store changes. As Om suggests, this could be the next step change in media experiences, yet, many of the media companies chose to stay on the sidelines. This could be just a priority decision based on potential subscriptions or watch time against the existing larger platforms in mobile. However, that no one is rushing to land grab attention also suggests an overall distrust of Apple as a platform vendor.

Let's take Apple at its word and even consider that the Vision Pro is going to be the next big thing for productivity - a giant canvas of the real world available to be more productive. In this world, one would want to consider that majority of the applications that are now used by people on a Mac are also web apps.

Personally, the web is better for it. The open web is getting some much needed attention thanks to the Fediverse, authors and creators working to diversify and own their content. Combined with a push to own the destiny of the application, the web is the remaining bastion without a platform vendor.

Here's to hoping Apple doesn't lock the browser engine to just be WebKit / Safari. I don't expect them to change it immediately. However, there is increasing pressure for iOS to open up.