But the shocking thing is that Apple may have inadvertently revealed that some of these core ideas are actually dead ends — that they can’t ever be executed well enough to become mainstream.

Given Nilay has a good amount of experience with headsets, I'm surprised at how surprised they appear to be with this statement.

Back when I was in uni in the late 00s, AR and VR were a big thing, to the point that we had a module on it as part of our course. Even then it was clear that any hardware that physically closed you off (digital pass through is still a physical barrier) fundamentally stops the feeling of an argumented reality and puts you firmly in a disconnected (from physical reality) headspace. As in, you feel like you're in a virtual reality.

Google cardboard, which Nilay references:

Apple is also making immersive versions of some of its Apple TV Plus shows, which basically means a 180ish-degree 3D video that feels like the best Google Cardboard demo of all time

Came out 9 years ago, and proved the exact same thing for 1% of the cost of a Vision Pro.

As others have pointed out since the announcement, Glass also failed even without having that physical barrier between you and reality.

Lastly,

Do you want to use a computer that is always looking at your hands?

Nope!