Finally, the long battle of anticipation and excitement that stretched almost a decade is finally here.
I am so excited to talk about the Apple Vision Pro that was revealed at WWDC 2023.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the new headset “seamlessly blends the real world and the virtual world”.
“With Vision Pro, you’re no longer limited by a display,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said, introducing the new headset.
The fanciest, most sci-fi ski goggles you’ve ever seen. There, you’ve got it.
As I was literally so immersed in the 2023 WWDC Live Event, Apple announced the Vision Pro headset in a demo room at the Steve Jobs Theater.
I was able to take a brief look at the $3,499 Vision Pro and gaze upon its metallic wonders
“With Vision Pro, you’re no longer limited by a display. Your surroundings become an infinite canvas,” Apple chief executive, Tim Cook, said.
The Design Element Feels Hefty
Based on the little bit we’ve seen, it’s an enticing pair of ski goggles. But, the device’s heft and size are dramatically big and plushy that I guess would sit too heavily on your nose.
Anyway, the goggles are slightly curved and wrap around most faces fairly nicely. The fabricky shield around it and the big, plushy band around the back make it quite bulky, which is obvious.
We could also see a nice silvery color, down to the cable coming out the left side and the iPhone-sized battery pack attached below.
A feature called “EyeSight” uses a front-facing display to reveal your eyes to other people in the room to create an “authentic representation of you” on the curved front glass. This is accomplished through an initial facial scan. That image is also used as your avatar to represent you to other people wearing the headset.
It was revealed that you can have a FaceTime conversation in AR with your contacts appearing in screens floating around them. Apple said, to make a digital face that “dynamically matches your facial and hand movements”.
Vision Pro is also geared toward gamers. As an entertainment device, Apple is keen to highlight the device’s “3D camera”, which users can use to take “spatial photos”, and watch movies in a virtual cinema or play Apple Arcade video games.
The Disney chief executive, Bob Iger, said the company is partnering with Apple on this to showcase their work such as Star Wars-themed virtual cinemas, AR replays for sports, and a Marvel VR experience. “We believe Apple Vision Pro is a revolutionary new platform that can make our vision a reality,” Iger said.
The AR gadget has the equivalent of a 4k screen for each eye, using pixels 64 times smaller than those in an iPhone, with the same M2 processor as in the company’s MacBook laptops, paired with an “R1” chip purposely built for the headset.
My Thoughts
Apple may be late to the market of headsets but it looks to redefine an emerging space of AR hardware that still isn’t established yet. The Magic Leap 2 and Microsoft HoloLens 2, along with a handful of smaller glasses, have all tried but couldn’t properly pull off. Apple Vision Pro has caught our attention because it focuses on everyday needs and use-cases.
