But what a low blow for the prince mohammad bin salman. Saudi Arabia's strongman was ready to announce the arrival of Lionel Messi, the symbol man to legitimize the request for the 2030 World Cup together with other stars, the last step, after the conquest of the main world golf circuits with petrodollars, to make Vision 2030, the immense riviera created on the Red Sea, the Mecca of tourism. However, when everything seemed done, an Apple went sideways. There is the hand of Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), behind the decision of the Argentine champion to choose the recall of theInter Miami, the club run by David Beckham, rather than Saudi money.
Messi in Miami: Apple has a hand behind the choice
The Apple, in fact, is the real owner of the MLS, the league in which, among others, the former Neapolitan Lorenzo Insigne plays (a salary of 14 million in Toronto, the highest salary so far). Apple has indeed paid 2,5 billion dollars to ensure worldwide exclusivity for Apple TV of the soccer tournament and will have, together with Adidas, a key role in the contract of the Argentine "flea". The figure, for now, is top secret but it is known that Messi will have a fee on all new pay TV contracts as well as the prospect of becoming one of the big shareholders in the circus.
Messi in Miami: Apple wants to break into football? Here are the reasons
Why, though, Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), has decided to bet a chip of its gigantic liquidity (over 200 billion dollars) for break into football? A possible explanation lies in theever closer intertwining between technology and gaming, on the increasingly thin line between virtual reality and our everyday life. It is not a case that Microsoft, launched in Artificial Intelligence, chase the purchase of Activision. Or what Nvidia has developed the excellence of its computer graphics chips by practicing video games. And perhaps the launch of Apple's most demanding project, the new viewer, is no mere coincidence apple vision pro presented in Cupertino by Tim Cook and the direct commitment to sport, which could give a boost to the diffusion of the product which for now splits Apple fans in two.
Messi, football and the prospects of Apple Vision Pro
Wall Street is currently skeptical about the product's prospects. The new helmet, it is said, will be too expensive (3.500 dollars, or 4.200 euros including taxes), a toy that will meet the same fate as Mark Zuckerberg's efforts to make us migrate to virtual worlds. And so, after briefly exceeding the highs, the Apple stock has lost several positions, as is understandable given the ride of the big tech companies since the beginning of the year. The history of technology is full of products that, after an initial enthusiasm, have been forgotten. The most famous case is that of Google Glass (not surprisingly another type of hi-tech eyewear) launched in 2013 and finally abandoned to their fate as a flop on March 15th.
But this time the story could be different, at least according to the opinion of the experts who have experienced it in recent days in Cupertino. Almost all enthusiastic after the test. Even The Economist, generally hypercritical, talks about a historic step, no less important than the birth of the Macintosh or the iPhone. Price is not a problem. “Even then, in 2007, it took time for people to understand that that object was not used for making telephone calls but was a real computer in your pocket. And the price, then $499, was no longer a limit".
Vision Pro is very advanced: virtual reality and business ever closer
If anything, once the initial doubts have been overcome, it will be difficult to support the production of a product so far ahead. Yes, assures those who have tried it, the viewer is far, far ahead of the products in circulation. Writes Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch: “I have used every major virtual and augmented reality glasses since 2013. I have tried all the experiences and attempts to make mixed reality. There have been some genuine successes in social, storytelling, or gaming. But none have the advantages that Apple offers with Vision Pro: 5.000 patents and a huge base of talent and capital to work with”. The result? The two cameras aimed at each of the eyes, joined to an algorithm that transforms every slightest movement into a command, allow immediate control of every digital element that appears in the Vision Pro lenses. The gaze is never wrong, we always press exactly what we intend to press. But to do what? Apple has identified some clear areas of use for its viewer. Increase productivity in the world of work and promotes personal communication. But the viewer projects a screen of up to one hundred inches in front of the eyes, a new three-dimensional and "immersive" mode for photos and videos that the glasses can take and then show again. Imagine the effect of a 3D match alongside Messi, in short. Or him who knows what else. Virtual reality and business they are getting closer. Almost one thing.
