I believe Apple, Google and Meta and many others visualize a very near future where augmented reality has the potential to be a much more significant impact than the personal computer or the cell phone were in the past. Ironically the very large market for video games has been the prime economic driver for more powerful computers, parallel processing with the development of GPUs. But the overall impact of the technology is already changing everything from the movies we watch, the design tools for engineers, video conferencing, video courseware. . . The $3500 initial price isn't all that out of the ordinary for a new innovation.
Especially when considering how initially expensive technology introduced in the past can be significantly less expensive over time. Color TV's initially sold at around $500 in 1964 which is close to $5,000 in todays dollars. If Matthew Ball's book 'The Meta-Verse and how it will Revolutionize Everything' is even slightly predictive Apple is on the right tract. This version of the headset with the currently available software is just one important step forward.

RAMc