The Congress wrested power from the BJP in Himachal Pradesh.New Delhi: The Congress spent over Rs 130 crore for contesting the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls held late last year, according to an expenditure report submitted by the party to the Election Commission.The BJP spent over Rs 49 crore for contesting the Himachal Pradesh elections, it said in its expenditure report submitted to the poll panel.The EC has not yet put in the public domain the BJP's election expenditure report for the Gujarat assembly elections.The BJP retained power in Gujarat, while the Congress wrested power from the BJP in Himachal Pradesh.According to the election expenditure reports filed by the two parties, money was largely spent on funding their respective candidates, advertisement and publicity, and travel of star campaigners.The Congress spent Rs 27.02 crore in Himachal Pradesh and Rs 103.62 crore in Gujarat, according to its expenditure report.In Himachal Pradesh, the party spent Rs 14.80 crore for funding its candidates, Rs 2.74 crore on advertisements and publicity, and Rs 5.28 crore on travel of its star campaigners, which includes expenditure on hiring special aircraft for its top leaders.In Gujarat, the Congress spent Rs 45.34 crore for funding its candidates; Rs 18.08 crore on publicity, including posters and banners; Rs 11.27 crore on advertisements and Rs 9.88 crore on travel of its star campaigners.The BJP has shown its expenditure at Rs 49.69 crore in Himachal Pradesh.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comThe BJP spent Rs 15.19 crore on travel of its star campaigners, Rs 8.5 crore on publicity and Rs 18.57 crore for funding its candidates, according to the party's expenditure report.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP spent almost double of what the Congress spent on its 2022 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections campaign, according to the election expenditure reports submitted by the parties to the Election Commission.While the BJP declared an expenditure of Rs.49,68,71,533, the Congress’ expenditure report showed a gross expenditure of Rs.27,01,78,819. The Gujarat elections, which were held in December 2022 along with the Himachal Pradesh polls, saw the Congress spend Rs.103.62 crore as per the expenditure reports published by the EC on Monday. The BJP’s spending on the Gujarat polls is not known yet as the EC is yet to publish the expenditure report in question. Though the Election Commission places a spending limit on candidates, the amount a party can spend on a campaign is not regulated.In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP spent Rs.26.65 crore on “general party propaganda”, including Rs.15.19 crore on the travel costs of star campaigners like Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda; Rs.8.50 crore on advertisements; and Rs.1.49 crore on public meetings, rallies etc.The majority of spending for both parties was in the form of payments to their candidates or state unit – Rs.14.80 crore of the total Rs.27.01 crore Congress expenditure went to candidates and Rs.28 crore out of the BJP’s spending of Rs.49.68 crore went to the party’s state unit. The rest, Rs.12.21 crore, of the Congress’ expenditure was on general party propaganda. The party spent Rs.5.28 crore on the travel of star campaigners Rajiv Shukla, Anand Sharma, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel and Sukhvinder Singh Sukku, who became Chief Minister after the Congress won the elections. In the results that were declared on December 8, the Congress won 40 seats and the BJP 25.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Washington for a state visit in two weeks, the unfolding geopolitical churn in Asia triggered by China’s rise will form a critical background to his talks with US President Joe Biden. In two and a half years, Biden has made significant strategic gains and reversed the dominant perception that China’s domination of Asia is inevitable and America’s retreat is irreversible.There is no better place than the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, which concluded its 20th edition in Singapore over the weekend, to capture the shifting strategic trends in Asia. Since it was first convened in 2002, the SLD has become the premium forum where defence ministers of Asia gather to publicly articulate their positions on regional security as well as conduct bilateral and minilateral defence diplomacy behind closed doors. It has also become a venue in recent years for quiet consultations among the region’s intelligence chiefs. The Director of US Intelligence Avril Haines as well as the chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) Samant Goel, were among those taking part in this year’s conclave.This year’s SLD highlighted the deepening tensions between the US and China. Even as it mobilises a broad-based coalition to balance China, Washington is seeking to resume high-level talks between the two sides and focus on confidence-building measures to prevent the tensions from escalating into a hot war.Beijing, however, is playing hard to get. China is unwilling to accept the US terms of engagement. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin sought to make nice by walking up to the Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu to shake hands. While the Biden administration is persistent in its call for high-level dialogue, China sees it as a trap.The two ministers outlined their competing visions of regional security. While signalling the intent for dialogue, Austin insisted that the US does “not seek conflict or confrontation…but will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion.” Chinese defence minister Li insisted that he was not against dialogue, but the US must create the right conditions. Li also accused the US of “double talk”. He was, of course, not lacking in displaying China’s forked tongue. While blaming America, the outsider, for the growing regional tensions, Li made no mention of China’s own aggressive military actions against its neighbours. He thundered against the resurgent “cold war mentality” and demanded that “mutual respect should prevail over bullying and hegemony”. Security establishments in Delhi and other Asian capitals at the receiving end of Chinese bullying would roll their eyes at Beijing’s double talk.The rest of Asia is no less hypocritical. Many Asian chancelleries are quick to criticise US actions but bite their tongue when it comes to China’s deeds. That does not mean the region’s leaders are blind to the ground realities. After all, China has been grabbing disputed territories from its neighbours and it is the US that is offering help to defend territorial sovereignty in Asia. Yet, there is a reluctance in the region to jeopardise the deep economic relationship with Beijing and a deliberate effort to avoid politically offending China.Removing the Asian fear by explicitly challenging China’s claim to regional hegemony has been at the core of the US Indo-Pacific strategy in the last few years. This is beginning to generate rewards of its own, as many Asian nations step up political and military engagement with the US. Chinese warnings against such cooperation with the US or rants against “small cliques” like the Quad and the AUKUS are having very little deterrent effect. As Secretary Austin said in Singapore, it was his seventh visit to the region in the two years since he has been in office. Despite the continuing crises in the Middle East and a major war in Europe, Washington has repeatedly reaffirmed that the Indo-Pacific remains the highest priority.Other top officials of the Biden administration have made frequent trips to the region to rebuild old alliances, develop new coalitions, and, above all, demonstrate the political will to confront China. Besides national actions, including measures for control of technology exports to China and growing military support for Taiwan, the US has sought to build the widest possible consortium for “shaping” Beijing’s strategic environment. For one, the US has drawn in its closest partners — the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada – into the grand regional coalition. This year’s SLD saw top billing to the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese who outlined Canberra’s strategy of engagement with China while standing up to Beijing’s military bullying. Canada too is ready to join the geopolitical jousting in the Indo-Pacific. Addressing one of the plenaries at SLD, Canadian defence minister, Anita Anand promised to ramp up Canada’s military presence in the Indo-Pacific.Washington has a more difficult time convincing Europe, which is deeply tied to the China market. But the premier European security institution, NATO, is now raising its game in Asia. Besides Australia and New Zealand, which now participate in NATO deliberations, Japan has taken the lead in drawing Europe into Asian security and South Korea is ready to join hands.The more consequential initiatives have been in the Indo-Pacific. In the two and a half years, Washington has elevated the Quad to the summit level, unveiled the AUKUS high-tech alliance with the UK and Australia, launched trilateral coordination with Seoul and Tokyo, and unveiled a local quad – “along with Australia, Japan, and the Philippines” – to counter the Chinese military pressures against Manila. The US has been encouraging Japan to raise its military capabilities, modernising the military alliance with South Korea, revitalising the frayed military partnership with Manila and enhancing security cooperation with Indonesia.Building a stronger strategic partnership with India has been a high priority for the Biden administration. After the SLD, Austin travelled to Delhi. His talks with the Indian establishment have apparently produced a “road map” for a significant elevation of bilateral defence cooperation, including technology transfers and joint defence industrial production.For nearly two decades, India and the US have talked of transforming defence cooperation. The sea change in the Indo-Pacific and the shared interests in stabilising the Asian balance of power are objective realities demanding a solid India-US defence partnership. The Modi-Biden talks on June 22 will show if Delhi and Washington have the will to seize the moment.The writer is a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, Delhi and a contributing editor on international affairs for The Indian Express
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Washington for a state visit in two weeks, the unfolding geopolitical churn in Asia triggered by China’s rise will form a critical background to his talks with US President Joe Biden. In two and a half years, Biden has made significant strategic gains and reversed the dominant perception that China’s domination of Asia is inevitable and America’s retreat is irreversible.There is no better place than the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, which concluded its 20th edition in Singapore over the weekend, to capture the shifting strategic trends in Asia. Since it was first convened in 2002, the SLD has become the premium forum where defence ministers of Asia gather to publicly articulate their positions on regional security as well as conduct bilateral and minilateral defence diplomacy behind closed doors. It has also become a venue in recent years for quiet consultations among the region’s intelligence chiefs. The Director of US Intelligence Avril Haines as well as the chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) Samant Goel, were among those taking part in this year’s conclave.This year’s SLD highlighted the deepening tensions between the US and China. Even as it mobilises a broad-based coalition to balance China, Washington is seeking to resume high-level talks between the two sides and focus on confidence-building measures to prevent the tensions from escalating into a hot war.Beijing, however, is playing hard to get. China is unwilling to accept the US terms of engagement. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin sought to make nice by walking up to the Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu to shake hands. While the Biden administration is persistent in its call for high-level dialogue, China sees it as a trap.The two ministers outlined their competing visions of regional security. While signalling the intent for dialogue, Austin insisted that the US does “not seek conflict or confrontation…but will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion.” Chinese defence minister Li insisted that he was not against dialogue, but the US must create the right conditions. Li also accused the US of “double talk”. He was, of course, not lacking in displaying China’s forked tongue. While blaming America, the outsider, for the growing regional tensions, Li made no mention of China’s own aggressive military actions against its neighbours. He thundered against the resurgent “cold war mentality” and demanded that “mutual respect should prevail over bullying and hegemony”. Security establishments in Delhi and other Asian capitals at the receiving end of Chinese bullying would roll their eyes at Beijing’s double talk.The rest of Asia is no less hypocritical. Many Asian chancelleries are quick to criticise US actions but bite their tongue when it comes to China’s deeds. That does not mean the region’s leaders are blind to the ground realities. After all, China has been grabbing disputed territories from its neighbours and it is the US that is offering help to defend territorial sovereignty in Asia. Yet, there is a reluctance in the region to jeopardise the deep economic relationship with Beijing and a deliberate effort to avoid politically offending China.Removing the Asian fear by explicitly challenging China’s claim to regional hegemony has been at the core of the US Indo-Pacific strategy in the last few years. This is beginning to generate rewards of its own, as many Asian nations step up political and military engagement with the US. Chinese warnings against such cooperation with the US or rants against “small cliques” like the Quad and the AUKUS are having very little deterrent effect. As Secretary Austin said in Singapore, it was his seventh visit to the region in the two years since he has been in office. Despite the continuing crises in the Middle East and a major war in Europe, Washington has repeatedly reaffirmed that the Indo-Pacific remains the highest priority.Other top officials of the Biden administration have made frequent trips to the region to rebuild old alliances, develop new coalitions, and, above all, demonstrate the political will to confront China. Besides national actions, including measures for control of technology exports to China and growing military support for Taiwan, the US has sought to build the widest possible consortium for “shaping” Beijing’s strategic environment. For one, the US has drawn in its closest partners — the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada – into the grand regional coalition. This year’s SLD saw top billing to the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese who outlined Canberra’s strategy of engagement with China while standing up to Beijing’s military bullying. Canada too is ready to join the geopolitical jousting in the Indo-Pacific. Addressing one of the plenaries at SLD, Canadian defence minister, Anita Anand promised to ramp up Canada’s military presence in the Indo-Pacific.Washington has a more difficult time convincing Europe, which is deeply tied to the China market. But the premier European security institution, NATO, is now raising its game in Asia. Besides Australia and New Zealand, which now participate in NATO deliberations, Japan has taken the lead in drawing Europe into Asian security and South Korea is ready to join hands.The more consequential initiatives have been in the Indo-Pacific. In the two and a half years, Washington has elevated the Quad to the summit level, unveiled the AUKUS high-tech alliance with the UK and Australia, launched trilateral coordination with Seoul and Tokyo, and unveiled a local quad – “along with Australia, Japan, and the Philippines” – to counter the Chinese military pressures against Manila. The US has been encouraging Japan to raise its military capabilities, modernising the military alliance with South Korea, revitalising the frayed military partnership with Manila and enhancing security cooperation with Indonesia.Building a stronger strategic partnership with India has been a high priority for the Biden administration. After the SLD, Austin travelled to Delhi. His talks with the Indian establishment have apparently produced a “road map” for a significant elevation of bilateral defence cooperation, including technology transfers and joint defence industrial production.For nearly two decades, India and the US have talked of transforming defence cooperation. The sea change in the Indo-Pacific and the shared interests in stabilising the Asian balance of power are objective realities demanding a solid India-US defence partnership. The Modi-Biden talks on June 22 will show if Delhi and Washington have the will to seize the moment.The writer is a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, Delhi and a contributing editor on international affairs for The Indian Express
Can the China-India civilisational dialogue — specifically, the Han-Hindu dialogue among the majority communities in our two countries — help in improving the current tense bilateral relations? I am convinced that the accumulated wisdom of the ancient civilisations alone can guide our two nations towards mutually acceptable solutions to the vexed problems that have hindered cooperation.Therefore, here is a plea for an open-minded dialogue between the Communist Party of China and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, whose ideology influences the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.In May 2019, I participated in the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilisations hosted by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The Government of India gave it a miss, which it should not have. In his speech, Xi, who has recently proposed a Global Civilisation Initiative, paid rich tributes to all the civilisations in Asia. He made a surprising observation: “The thought that one’s own race and civilisation are superior and the inclination to remould or replace other civilisations is just stupid, and will only bring catastrophic consequences…What we need is to respect each other as equals and say no to hubris and prejudice.”Another surprise awaited me when I received from the organisers of the conference the book, China: A 5,000-Year Odyssey by Tan Chung. It describes how India influenced China in ancient and mediaeval times. The author’s candour is of the kind that one does not expect in a Chinese government publication. “The civilisations of China and India are the twins of the Himalaya sphere. How unfortunate that the progress of the two civilisations turned Mother Himalaya into a battleground! The two ‘civilisation-states’ that advocated ‘Panchsheel’ (five principles of peaceful co-existence) today behave like ‘nation-states’, maintaining a tit-for-tat armed coexistence. A greater tragedy of history I have not seen! Both countries have committed blunders and are responsible for righting this historic wrong.”Tan Chung is eminently qualified to say this. A renowned Chinese scholar on the history and culture of both countries, he taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University. His father Tan Yun-shan, known as the “modern Huen Tsang”, came to India in 1928 at the invitation of Rabindranath Tagore, set up the Cheena Bhavana at Viswa Bharati, and lived in India until his death in 1983.Countless milestones mark the journey of civilisational affinity between India and China. Sadly, these are now ignored, even denied and derided, because of the current fraught bilateral relations. Here are a few examples. India is currently celebrating Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary. But how many Indians have heard of the name of Xu Fancheng, a Chinese scholar-devotee of Aurobindo, who lived in his ashram in Pondicherry for 28 years, translated the Upanishads and other Hindu texts into Chinese and also wrote books to introduce Confucius and other Chinese philosophers to Indians? How many in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement know about Ji Xianlin, revered in China as a “Gurudev”, who translated the Ramayana into Chinese and devoted his entire life to producing works that illuminate the Buddhist-Hindu links between our two countries? In their book Ji Xianlin: A Critical Biography, Chinese scholars Yu Longyu and Zhu Xuan describe him as “the mirror of our times, the conscience of our society, the benchmark of the academia, and the treasure of our nation.”Yu, with whom I have interacted for many years, heads the Centre of Indian Studies at Shenzhen University, where he has created a marvellous museum in honour of Tan Yun-shan. At its entrance is a large frame with an inscription in Sanskrit of “Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra” (Heart Sutra), the most sacred Buddhist sutra in Chinese Buddhism. “Why is this in Sanskrit?” I asked. Yu replied in fluent Hindi, “Sanskrit is very dear to the Chinese because it is the language of the enlightenment that came from India. I know of wealthy Buddhists in Shanghai and other cities who frequently travel to Hangzhou to learn Sanskrit at one of the oldest monasteries in that city.” When I visited that vast Buddhist shrine called Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, I was surprised to know that it was founded by a Hindu monk from India, named Matiyukti, nearly 1,700 years ago.Beneath all the glitter of Western-style modernity, today’s China is eagerly seeking to re-discover its own proud philosophical and spiritual traditions. Isn’t modern India also engaged in a similar search? Therefore, reducing both the knowledge deficit and trust deficit between our two countries is the need of the hour, and this requires extensive, serious and sincere interaction among CPC and RSS leaders. I call it the “Han-Hindu Dialogue”, not because non-Hindus in India and non-Han races in China do not matter. Indeed, the journey of Islamic influence from India to China is another fascinating story. Clearly, our two countries should rededicate themselves to our precious but often neglected ethos of respect for diversity and commitment to mutual learning.Both India and China aspire to become world powers commensurate to the innate potential of their respective civilisations. But why should these legitimate national aspirations conflict with, rather than complement, each other? True, the RSS is not the sole voice of India’s national aspirations; nevertheless, it is an important voice. Therefore, I have often suggested to high-ranking officials in Beijing that they should invite RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to visit China. Their response was positive. The visit would have two benefits. One, Chinese leaders will know the mind of India’s most influential Hindu organisation. Two, Bhagwat will better understand the factors behind China’s meteoric rise and also the deep appreciation many Chinese people have for India’s spiritual and cultural heritage. Surely, his visit will help reduce the differences between our two nations and partly contribute to breaking the present logjam in ties.The writer was an aide to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Apple has unveiled the Vision Pro, a mixed reality headset that allows “spatial computing” by using the wearer’s eyes, voice and hands. The headset is the biggest breakthrough product from Apple since the launch of the iPhone more than 15 years ago, and could mark the next chapter in personal technology.At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) Apple spent a lot of time on Monday explaining the headset and what it can do.Apple’s first major new product category in eight years, the Vision Pro is a headset that the wearer can control with her eyes, hands, and voice, a feature that other headsets do not have. “It’s the first Apple product you look through and not at,” CEO Tim Cook said. Vision Pro represents “spatial computing”, and brings “a new dimension to powerful personal technology”, he said.The headset features a glass 23 million-pixel screen that covers the upper part of the user’s face like a pair of oversized ski goggles. The facial interface is adjustable, which means it should provide a closer and more comfortable fit than competing headsets.The headset is encased in “aerospace grade alloys”, glass, and fabric, and contains five sensors, 12 cameras, a 4K display for each eye, and a wearable computer that is cooled by a fan.What can it do?Vision Pro is essentially an augmented-reality (AR) headset that “seamlessly” blends the real and digital worlds. The device can switch between augmented and full virtual reality (VR) using a dial. However, Apple did not use the expressions “mixed reality” or “virtual reality” in the presentation.According to Apple, the Vision Pro allows users to consume and create content in a new way, in the spaces around them. They can watch movies in 3D, with spatial audio as though they were in a cinema theatre, look at pictures or video, and play video games.Vision Pro has the ability to see apps overlaid across real-world surroundings. Users can scroll through or select an option by flicking or tapping together their fingers. During the presentation, Apple showed how users would be able to interact with others when using FaceTime, for example.What’s the technology?Vision Pro runs on the same M2 processor that Apple uses in its Macs. It has a proprietary R1 chip, which allows the device to stay silent and stream images without lag.R1 also enables EyeSight, a feature that projects realistic graphics of your eyes to those around you while you are wearing the headset, and also enables you to see the person you are speaking with through the headset. This puts Vision Pro miles ahead of other headsets on the market.Vision Pro uses a custom software called visionOS which, according to Apple, is “the first OS designed for the ground up for spatial computing”. Architecturally, visionOS is similar to macOS and iOS, but it adds an additional “real-time subsystem” for processing interactive visuals.There will be a dedicated App Store for Vision Pro. The apps will be tuned for the 3D interface, and will use the headset’s eye tracking and optic ID, allowing the user to use Apple Pay and autofill passwords. Apple has said no user data will be shared without permission.Who, how much, etc.IF YOU WEAR GLASSES, you can still use Vision Pro. Apple has teamed with Zeiss to create custom optical inserts that magnetically attach to the lenses for those who wear glasses. But how this actually works will be clear only after enough people with specs start using the headset around the world.IT IS NOT FOR CHILDREN. Apple has recommended the user is at least 13 years old.ITS RUGGEDNESS IS NOT KNOWN. Apple has also not said if the headset has received any water resistance rating.BATTERY DOESN’T LAST LONG. Vision Pro requires an external battery pack that you need to charge after about 2 hours of use. The separate battery suggests Apple wanted to keep the headset as light as possible. Meta’s Quest Pro headset includes the battery that makes it bulky.IT IS EXPENSIVE. Vision Pro is priced at $3,499, or about Rs 2,90,000 at the current exchange rate. The Quest Pro mixed reality headset costs only $,1000 (Rs 83,000).YOU CAN’T GET IT TILL 2024. Apple plans to start selling the headset sometime early next year — only in the United States to begin with. The headset could come to India later in 2024.
Tim Cook had “one more thing” to announce as the Apple WWDC 2023 keynote came towards its fag end, having zipped through scores of announcements small and big. The ‘one more thing’ was not a surprise as it would have been during his predecessor Steve Jobs’ times, but the world was waiting to see how Apple’s vision will pan out. And for even those who were sceptical, the Apple Vision Pro, I’m sure, changes their perception of what could happen next in the world of personal computing. In fact, that is exactly what Apple launched, a new personal computer, one that does not need screens like we have been used to, but one that takes the familiar experiences of iPhones and Macs to a virtual world using a headset that can be controlled with your eyes and hands.AR and VR devices are not really new; the first such device I reviewed was over a decade back and came from HP. Over the past few years, a lot of companies have thought of this as the future — HTC bet its bottom dollar on the Vive, maybe a decade too early; Mark Zuckerberg is so convinced that he named his company Meta to start its avatar in the Metaverse. Apple is taking no such risks.Apple’s vision for the Vision Pro is as the next device in the Apple ecosystem. And it takes the ecosystem along though Apple has announced a new VisionOS for the device. Apple claims all the apps you are used to will work there, so will messaging and FaceTime. It will not blindfold and release users into a virtual world where everything is new. On the contrary, they will find themselves in a world where the experiences they are so familiar with can be scaled up and enjoyed in solitude. This is personal computing in the real sense. It is about your space, your time, and your experience, even as Vision Pro opens up new ways to collaborate.But then Vision Pro is not a segue into a new lonely world where you are left to socialise with avatars. In fact, unlike any of its predecessors, this device takes the concept of mixed reality seriously. It keeps a window to the real world open at all times. So much so that if someone comes near you, Apple’s EyeSight technology will ensure they will see your eyes and maybe even have a natural conversation. You can do other things as you use the VisionPro… unimaginable with any of the other VR devices we have seen so far.Users can browse using Safari, chat using Messages, listen to Apple Music or watch a new show on Disney, while you are in a plane or even taking your dog to the park. For those who think they want this experience for work, Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Trackpad are compatible. For others, they just need gestures and eye controls to navigate along with voice commands and dictation. The headset itself has some controls, like a dial that reminds one of the Apple Watch, but there is no fiddling with the controls. Everything is so natural… or at least so it seems.While Apple makes it all look so simple, this is top-end tech. The fact that some 5000 patents have gone into the making of the hardware is proof of that. And it has also taken years. It is almost as if Apple started working on this when the first Oculus devices were showcased, but perfected it before it thought it was ready to be released. Even now the launch date is for next year. That is trademark Apple caution. And with a device like this, it is better to be safe than sorry, especially when you are betting your Siri on this.The price is not for everyone. But Apple is suggesting that this experience is what you will get when you invest in large 4K screens and home theatre rigs and that is maybe the price offset a lot of users will look at. So the big demand might come from the entertainment consumption space where people are now seeking the next big thing. Interestingly, Apple did not talk about gaming much with this device.Apple’s vision for Vision Pro is as a new surface for the experiences it has hooked its users to over the years. It is not a new experience that will take time to grow on users and could well be rejected. It is just a new computing device, a new surface (or the lack of it) to experience familiar things. Unlike Meta, Apple does not conjure up new worlds and avatars… it just breathes new life and scale to experiences we are used to. And that familiarity built into this new cutting-edge product could well be why this might just click as an idea.
