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Apple Reveals 'Vision Pro' Headset and visionOS
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Did you see anyone in those videos driving a car, crossing a street, or hiking? That's not what Apple is pushing this for. We did see them doing things to improve situational awareness with automatically bringing in people around you and automatically blending in outside sounds to the audio experience. (demoed for AirPods but you know it'll be in the headset, too)
It's like asking what problem the Apple Watch solved for the iPhone. It doesn't really let you do anything you couldn't already on your phone, but it does make certain actions more convenient. It's definitely way easier for me to access Apple Pay from my wrist compared to fishing out my phone and unlocking it with Face ID, for one.
If you were to ask me what problem Apple's mixed reality headset solves, I would say it addresses the matter of consuming content on a smaller display. Even the biggest TV in your living room is just that - a screen that only shows you that much viewable and useable space, and can easily set you back 5 digits. This headset gives me a wider field of view than even the largest screen I can think of (short of actually stepping into an IMAX theatre), all from the convenience of my living room.
It's a luxury, that's for sure, but also a very nice one too.
“She was walking down concrete stairs when the headset lost power…”
Apple Watch isn’t really a great example. It’s a fitness tracker. Its value is obvious. Johnny Ive tried to make it jewelry too but failed.
If this is all about having a big virtual screen? If that’s the whole pitch? It’s finished before the race even starts.
Is the power connector magnetic?
Now you see...Yoink...now you don't.
Now you see...Yoink...now you don't.
There's quite a bit here to question. Apple generally executes products well, but I feel like there are major possible issues with this product that are not trivial:
- Gesturing in the air has to be 100% accurate. This will be a new way of interacting with every aspect of the OS.
- How well will it work with different skin colors, people with skin conditions (like vitiglio)?
- How well will it work in low-light conditions (like an overnight airplane?)
- How small can the gestures be and still be recognized (you can imagine flailing around in an airplane/train/bus and not seeing you potentially hitting your neighbour is a problem).
- How precise will interacting with just your hands be? You can imagine navigating complex interfaces will be cumbersome if the tracking is not as good as a mouse.
- Lastly, what are the limitations of gestures? Because inputting information right now seems to be handled by voice input, which for many seems worse than a keyboard and mouse. And yes, I know a kb/mouse can be hooked up, but that's more gear to carry around, and you wont always be able to see the location of these devices if you're 100% immersed.
- Is the cable removable, and are other standard battery packs usable?
- Can the headset be used with glasses, and without the special zeiss optics? Many VR headsets have enough space to allow for this currently.
- Does it include a travel case, and how portable is the entire device, on the go?
- Will Siri/Voice input be good enough?
- How does the mac integration work? Will it work as well as multiple monitors hooked up to a mac wrt latency, refresh rate, and color accuracy?
Hear that? The sound of the overactive salivary glands of thousands of class action lawyers kicking into high gear.
You don't really want this. Wearing glasses under a headset is uncomfortable and restricts the field of view.
I hope some of these concerns are raised at the conference. If Safety is a primary concern, they really didn't talk about the virtual world vs. the real world much during the presentation. The first question I would ask apple is have they done their homework on the virtual vs real world applications and safety of this product. They talk about health and mental health with the watch, and I wonder how that applies to the headset. Maybe that's why it's so expensive. It isn't meant for the average Joe, even though in 3-4 years it will be and the more people who have this on, the more those safety concerns become valid.
They showed a virtual keyboard. It wouldn’t be ideal but it’s something besides voice typing. Also, the Quest Pro had the ability to bring your real keyboard into VR so it is possible apple will have a similar technology.
The cable looks like it might be removable from the battery end but the connector to said battery looks proprietary (from the shape of the cut at least)
Doubtful. A large problem with VR headsets is clarity and color accuracy through the lenses. I would imagine they would want your eye to be at a very precise distance, I find it unlikely that you can use your glasses.
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
Suspended
Looks to me like they got so far along in this project that they had no choice but to announce something, even though the context around AR/VR has completely changed since they started.
Now, will it ever ship? We’ll see.
Give it maybe 3 months, and we will no doubt see everything you've mentioned. You're forgetting that most people are complete simpletons.
I remember when the iPad was first revealed, I was like why would anyone want that. I have owned 4-5 iPads now. I don't see the purpose at this point, but maybe we'll see it later. But ya, an entry to iPad was $600. Entry to VP is $3500. Maybe Gen 3 with no cable. And 12 m/s is ages when its mission critical control. In music I can set my latency low 3-4 m/s and as I mix I have to change the buffer to 12 m/s and I notice when i overdub to that. Gamers would not want a 12 m/s delay. I can't imagine the tech involved. I noticed the gestures the lady demo'ing and she was uncomfortable on the couch, her left hand she was careful not to move. I don't understand how it would know your hand to operate a gesture to a normal say conference call where you might talk with your hands. Early days
I use my Apple Watch for way more than fitness tracking (and that wasn't even its original pitch). Notifications, music control, unlocking my Mac, I see it more as an accessory for my iPhone (kinda like the remote control to a TV) than a fitness tracker.
That really seems to be the main selling point. I know the keynote tried to make productivity a thing by showing how you could edit videos with it on, but knowing Apple's success rate with voice assistants, I realistically see myself confining its use case to activities that largely involve me passively consuming content with minimal input / interaction required on my end. I don't think I want to wrestle with a task I already struggle with, even with a keyboard and mouse on my Mac.
Eg: even if I were to one day be browsing Macrumours on this headset, I can't see myself crafting this response via Siri dictation. I would still have to reach for my laptop (or maybe the headset also supports wireless keyboards and mice? That wasn't very clear from the keynote, but maybe I missed a memo somewhere).
I do see myself being too self-conscious to go outdoors with it, at least until Apple is able to shrink it down to just a normal-looking pair of spectacles (if we ever get there). Like the AirPods (where we have normal AirPods, AirPods Pro and Max), we will likely see a whole range of headsets eventually. A bulkier, more powerful model for use at home, and a lighter pair for use outdoors perhaps?
No, but in 3-4 years I bet we will. You know how many people even walk while looking at their phones? I admit I'm one of them, which is probably a bad thing on my part. I say give it time, but these are things apple should be thinking about.
32 years later and same battery life.
September 2022 - nailed it:
I think we can assume that there'll be an Vision (standard) but they started with the pro version due to the incredible amount of cutting edge tech that had to go into this. As components become more commoditized, they'll be able to get the price down.
I think we can assume that there'll be an Vision (standard) but they started with the pro version due to the incredible amount of cutting edge tech that had to go into this. As components become more commoditized, they'll be able to get the price down.