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This Nvidia Innovation Could Be Game-Changer for Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest

Joey Frenette

Published: January 9, 2025 10:40 am

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) looks enticing as it comes off a stacked showing at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2025 this week. Undoubtedly, the pace of AI advancements does not appear to be slowing, with physical AI (robotics) models, Blackwell chips, new GeForce RTX 50 Series chips for gamers, and an ambitious supercomputer project named Project Digits, among other notable technologies the firm was excited to show off to the world.

Going into 2025, it will be interesting to see how the firm can keep outgrowing its ever-advancing multiple. While the Blackwell line of chips is sure to be a top story, don’t count out the potential surprises that could help ignite NVDA stock towards a $4 trillion market cap.

In a prior piece, I noted that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) would likely hit the milestone first, given it has less ground to climb and less AI upside baked in. However, after a strong showing for Nvidia at CES 2025, I won’t be the first to admit it will be a very close race in the coming weeks and months. In any case, I’d look for some of Nvidia’s partnerships and collaborations to start bearing fruit.

Notably, the effort between Nvidia and Apple to bring the cloud-gaming service GeForce NOW to the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset is an exciting development to start 2025 off right.

The service will be available on the headset via the Safari browser later this month, allowing headset owners to play over 2,1000 games (including new, big-budget AAA titles) via an augmented 100-foot screen. Though no fully immersive VR titles will be available, the GeForce NOW service will make good use of Nvidia’s RTX (ray tracing extreme) and DLSS (deep learning super sampling) tech.

GeForce NOW: Cloud gaming could change the game for mixed-reality headsets

Indeed, GeForce NOW is an incredible innovation that’s been around for several years. Cloud gaming isn’t new, but it faces unique challenges that only the most innovative firms on the planet can iron out. While cloud gaming isn’t optimal in its current state (latency from gaming in the cloud is a problem that can be tackled with some help from AI), I do view the technology as advancing by leaps and bounds under Nvidia’s hands.

And though such a platform was initially intended to allow people to play AAA titles from less-capable devices (PCs, Macs, phones, and tablets), the mixed-reality market may be where the cloud gaming service shines the brightest. This is a rather niche market that may or may not be key to durable long-term growth. The real opportunity, I believe, lies in mixed-reality headsets.

For those who have a mixed-reality headset, there are a limited number of options when it comes to gaming. The Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Quest headset may have a few impressive titles up its sleeves, including the latest Batman: Arkham Shadow.

That said, the gaming content library needs work if such a headset is to become a serious gaming device. The budget-friendly Meta Quest isn’t exactly a graphics-processing powerhouse. Though, it can pack a pretty decent punch, given the modest, affordable hardware.

As GeForce NOW works its way to Meta Quest headsets and Vision Pro, I’d argue there’s a good chance that the metaverse trend and VR/AR headsets could enjoy a breath of fresh air after fading into the background since pandemic lockdowns lifted a few years ago.

Apple Vision Pro: Could GeForce NOW make it a gaming device?

Undoubtedly, Apple Vision Pro is an absurdly expensive device (at $3,500) that’s really viewed as more of a productivity device than a gaming powerhouse. Once GeForce NOW lands on Apple Vision Pro, I think that could change as more everyday consumers look to embrace the platform as an entertainment-first device once more “killer” applications have the opportunity to lift off.

Of course, only time will tell if GeForce NOW is one of those “killer” apps. It is worth noting, though, that this month’s launch will not be in the form of a native app but through Safari. If enough users take advantage of the service, though, one has to think a native Vision Pro app will eventually represent the next step.

I think GeForce NOW has tremendous potential on mixed-reality headsets once it goes live in a few weeks. Nvidia’s cloud gaming service will bring thousands of new gaming titles overnight that one can enjoy from their headsets without worrying about overheating.

It will be interesting to see how smoothly GeForce NOW actually runs on headsets upon launch. In any case, the service can and likely will get better, potentially emerging as a new “main attraction” for prospective headset buyers to finally make the plunge.

Though I wouldn’t go as far as to label Vision Pro as a gaming device once it has GeForce NOW compatibility, I wouldn’t be too surprised if the collab were to amount to something that changes the game for the headset market. Indeed, the VR/AR headset scene needs a catalyst to propel it out of its current drought.

The bottom line

If cloud streaming and spatial computing are a match made in heaven, perhaps the hardware limitations can be overcome to bring the metaverse back to the forefront. Either way, Nvidia stands out as a serious metaverse enabler that can help breathe new life into Apple and Meta’s spatial computing and metaverse efforts.