Apple’s World-Wide Developer Conference this year was filled with surprises. At most WWDCs, Apple only goes over the updates to our device’s operating systems, but this year, they have included much more. Not only did they finish their transition from Intel chips to Apple Silicon chips by announcing their new Mac Pro, but they also announced their long-rumored AR/VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro.
A New VR Headset
Like the Apple Car, the Apple Vision Pros have been expected for years. People found out about the Apple Vision Pro when Apple started applying for patents for the product. The entire time of its production, the headset was under the code name T288.
According to Apple and the people who have used this headset, Apple has accomplished the things other headsets couldn’t. Most VR Headsets today have two major issues: clarity and weight.
All the other VR Headsets, like the Oculus Quest and the Microsoft Hololens, makes the content look pixelated and blurry. Apple claims to have solved that problem by somehow packing 23 million pixels into the two tiny screens for each eye. This is more pixels than a 4K TV in a very small screen space. How they managed to do that is a mystery, but this gives the Vision Pro an unimaginable amount of clarity, making the experience extremely realistic. Apple also managed to make the headset much lighter than the competition by separating the battery pack from the headset itself. The battery pack is still connected to the headset but has to be kept somewhere else, like in your pocket. Though the Vision Pros are extremely light, the weight does take a toll after some time. People who got to test the headset says that they started feeling weight after about 30 minutes of use.
Special Features
Those were the industry-changing aspects of the Apple Vision Pro, now for the other specs. The Apple Vision Pro has about 2 hours of battery life per charge. That isn’t the greatest battery life, but it’s good for a start. The headset runs off of an Operating System Apple calls VisionOS, which gives users an experience similar to what they would get using their iPhone or iPad.
Apple calls the Vision Pros a Spatial Computer, meaning that it’s a computer that uses the user’s environment instead of being limited to a screen. Users utilize hand gestures, eye motion, and their voices to navigate the device. This powerful device is powered by both the M2 chip, which powers the 13in Macbook Air and Macbook Pro, and the R1, which is built for this Headset specifically. You would unlock the device using Optic Id, which uses your eye. Apple, of course, made sure to include their infamous Spatial Audio. The last two additional features Apple added to the Vision Pro is EyeSight and Environments.
Apple also added a screen in front of the headset to display your eyes. This is to show the people around you whether you’re focused on something on your screen or if you’re free to talk to them. This screen blocks out your eye if you’re in an environment. Environments immerse you in a whole new landscape to take you out of your home. This in a way makes the Apple Vision Pro a VR headset. This device is truly amazing, but it unfortunately has a not-so-amazing price tag of $3500 since this product is so new. Apple is only going to start releasing the product early next year.
Takeaway
The main reason Apple announced the Vision Pro at this event is because they want to call out to their developer community to start developing apps for this device so that by the time the price comes down or a cheaper version is released for everyone to buy, people have the apps that they use every day already on there.
This device is just a beginning. This device will eventually become the Apple Glasses; simple glasses that we wear every day, like how most of us wear our Apple Watch every day, which is packed with powerful technology. A lot of people think that Apple may eventually replace the iPhone with this device. Who knows what the future holds for this technology?