Apple Reveals 'Vision Pro' Headset and visionOS

[woolypants]

Interesting early hands on first impression ***LINK TO CNET REPORTER TALKING OF A LIVE DEMO HE HAD***

Now that was fascinating. The only area he talked about with enthusiasm was entertainment, and watching a 3D movie.

This might be the killer feature. Forget about work stuff. That's just a side benefit. Nice to have, but not worth the price of admission.

However, caution's required. We've heard similar things before. There's always some new clever movie technology. And it nearly always fails (including many different attempts at 3D – it's often fun, but never essential).

IMAX is a hugely impressive entertainment experience. THX sound, when it arrived, was a hugely impressive entertainment experience. Even the 3D tech for the Nintendo game handhelds was great. But none has really changed the world of entertainment. They're just things that make movies or games better, if you can buy into that (and there isn't an IMAX on every street corner, and at $3.5K, there won't be an Apple AR headset in every home).

It's easy to be skeptical, I know. But when the reporter talked about the above, it was the first chink of light I've heard so far that indicates how this might be a game changer. Yet, as I said, 3D tech tends to be a bit meh. Fun to play with, but not essential. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[laptech]

Another interesting first impression from someone who has, y'know - actually used an early pre-production unit.

If the eye tracking is as good as he say's it is then this device has huge potential for those with certain types of physical disabilities because eye tracking is already heavily used in this area to aid those who have no physical mobility apart from using their head. Granted an able bodied person would need to be there to put the headset on the person but just look at the possibilities. The disabled person would be able to look at something and say 'click' or 'open' and they could be face timing with their family in clear video quality. There is so many apps out there now that could be converted to be used with the headsets OS that the disabled person would be able to run their life, banking app's, food ordering apps, messaging app's, the list is endless.

I have no doubt the medical profession and charities for the disabled will be looking at this device with some glee.

 

[SFjohn]

The battery pack looks dumb.

View attachment 2212719

It was originally supposed to be a cylinder with a soft rounded bottom & a flat top for the connections. But it was squashed down to prevent insertions… here and there. 😂

 

[zenotds]

Downvote me all you want but the whole presentation gave me MASSIVE dystopian vibes.

Technologically speaking it's a marvel and no one can deny that. It's a step in the right direction and opens a much needed race to real use AR/VR. But until devices will be really wearable (I'm talking google glasses wearable) it will just be an expensive gimmick for techies and weirdos.

Big turndowns:
3.5k for a beta test product, kinda meh.
2hrs tethered battery, super meh.
FaceTime avatar and fake eyes displayed = new heights for uncanny valley

The scenes with the father "recording" his children birthday threw shivers down my spine. The spot was cringeworthy at best. The girl packing up her luggage with the visor on, not gonna happen in a real word. Some of the attempts of normalizing the consumer use felt incredibly off.

 

[SFjohn]

What happens when you are Drunk and put on Vision Pro?

Sounds interesting, do let us know! 😉

 

[Zest28]

Now that was fascinating. The only area he talked about with enthusiasm was entertainment, and watching a 3D movie.

This might be the killer feature. Forget about work stuff. That's just a side benefit. Nice to have, but not worth the price of admission.

However, caution's required. We've heard similar things before. There's always some new clever movie technology. And it nearly always fails (including many different attempts at 3D – it's often fun, but never essential).

IMAX is a hugely impressive entertainment experience. THX sound, when it arrived, was a hugely impressive entertainment experience. Even the 3D tech for the Nintendo game handhelds was great. But none has really changed the world of entertainment. They're just things that make movies or games better, if you can buy into that (and there isn't an IMAX on every street corner, and at $3.5K, there won't be an Apple AR headset in every home).

It's easy to be skeptical, I know. But when the reporter talked about the above, it was the first chink of light I've heard so far that indicates how this might be a game changer. Yet, as I said, 3D tech tends to be a bit meh. Fun to play with, but not essential. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

There is no way a VR set is good for entertainment. There hasn't been a mobile device that beats my home theatre setup (M1 12.9 iPad Pro, 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro, Apple Studio Display, 2 x HomePods, and so on .....)

If you got $3500 to spend, better invest in a good home theatre setup for entertainment.

And, it's also much more comfortable to work on an Apple Studio Display rather than having something on your head. I don't use headphones anymore for conferencing, just use the mic and speakers from the Apple Studio Display, is much more comfortable. Let alone something more heavy like this VR set.

 

[laptech]

Another interesting first impression from someone who has, y'know - actually used an early pre-production unit.

Another thing that comes to mind from this is where he talks about there no need for hand controllers because the device recognizes hand gestures. There is a Tom Cruise movie where he is some kind of time cop, we see him looking at a large glass screen where he uses hand gesturers to pull up various bits of data. The we have Tony Start in Ironman who basically does the same thing. This headset could basically do the same, the user could see the things in the headset and the sensors around the headset would pick up the users hand movements. Thus the in theory the user could swipe there hand from left to right to move through files/folders/music/videos. They could open a document and then have their hands pull apart to zoom out and back again to zoom in.

Exciting times ahead for those who see the potential of this headset.

 

[Mikeeee]

View attachment 2212535

 

[DeepIn2U]

The Vision Pro's use of the digital crown, as I currently understand it, is mainly for expanding and contracting the size of the image you see, and while this is a new use for it (previously it's controlled only audio functions in Apple's AirPods Max, various selection options on the Apple Watch, etc.), this isn't the main innovative feature of the Vision Pro's UI--the major part of the UI is its use of multiple cameras to monitor the user's hand and eye movements, allowing those movements to select, control, etc. what's seen on the Vision Pro's screens.

The Crown's 2 uses are for:
Further immersion into the content on screen - making the AR experience into a total VR experience.
Going back to the Home Screen.

expanding or contracting the image you see - apps or windows is done by your hand via pinching the position bar (?) at the bottom of an app.

My statement was NOT to mention that the Digital Crown enabled a new paradigm of computing which I think you mistaken what I meant. My statement was to show that Dye completely IGNORED mentioning the Digital Crown as an innovation for the Apple Watch which changed the industry. That is a way of shunning Jony Ive.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Another interesting first impression from someone who has, y'know - actually used an early pre-production unit.

At least he doesn’t look like a total tool.

LOL

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Now you can charge Apple Pencil with Vision Pro.

 

[woolypants]

You know, people are going to come back to this thread in 10 years' time to say how dumb we all were...

So, with that in mind, here's my final comments about the headset that I'm happy to get quoted on... Probably...

1. The big thing here is Spatial Computing. Undoubtedly. Forget about the actual hardware. To focus on that is shortsighted. The hardware is just kickstarting Spatial Computing. I'm a little worried this looks very similar to Sun's Project Looking Glass but that didn't have the benefit of 3D glasses, I guess...
2. I'm concerned that Apple is once again leaning on developers to make sense of it. In recent times Apple has had way too much faith in developers, I think. This is why the Touch Bar keyboard failed, for example. Apple was sure developers would figure out a way to make it useful. And that might be the point here. Developers don't figure out a way to make tech useful. Apple must make it useful. Then developers come in and exploit that functionality. Is Spatial Computing and the headset at the point where it's already useful...? Very interesting question.
3. Entertainment seems to be the way forward, and Apple controls the vertical there. They make the TV shows and the movies, and they're good friends with Disney. They will make this happen. I'm just not sure, as incredibly impressive as it is, that it's strong enough to drive this tech forward.
4. People say that Apple isn't into gaming but that's dumb. Open the App Store on your iPhone. Look at the icons at the bottom. Two of the five icons are about games. Yeah, Apple's into games. Apple just isn't into the hardcore triple A game scene. They're more into family gaming. They already control a whole gaming vertical of app gaming. Nobody seems to have realised this. And again, it's perfect positioning for the headset.
5. Work...? I think it'll always be a bit like desktop Linux. I mean, you certainly can. People certainly will, and they'll think it's the bee's knees and be evangelic about it (e.g. Federico Viticci with the iPad). But it'll be difficult and annoying in various ways. We figured out work computing about 20 or 30 years ago. It doesn't require improvement.
6. The next step in the evolution will be ecosystem integrations. Haptic feedback via your Apple Watch, for example. Picking up tunes from your speakers.

 

[Abazigal]

There’s also another unknown right now - how many years of use can one realistically get out of this product? It has a processor and runs an OS, which means Apple will presumably update it annually. How long do we see Apple supporting this for? For the money, I am hoping 7-10 years on average, barring accidents (and the thing looks fairly fragile with all that glass).

 

[downpour]

The only way this kind of product would succeed is if it could be made to look like a pair of sunglasses. Even then it would remain utterly pointless.

You don't need a 3D virtual representation of an app floating in front of you...
when you can just have the app in front of you anyway, minus all the hassle of wearing a helmet to see it.

The demos showed professionals using it to view 3D models, but no professionals are actually going to do this, unless they are trying to impress a particularly clueless boss. They will continue to do 3D work on screens because it is easier and less hassle.

The iPhone made using the internet simple... this makes it complicated.

Apple have been successful up to this point because their products had a sense of style. Some even became fashion accessories. With this product they have forgotten everything.
There is no way anyone could wear one of these without instantly looking like an ubergeek.
Not only that, but any longterm use would be not only uncomfortable but damaging to your eyesight... as Apple themselves hilariously pointed out earlier in the presentation.

 

[Surf Monkey]

If the eye tracking is as good as he say's it is then this device has huge potential for those with certain types of physical disabilities because eye tracking is already heavily used in this area to aid those who have no physical mobility apart from using their head. Granted an able bodied person would need to be there to put the headset on the person but just look at the possibilities. The disabled person would be able to look at something and say 'click' or 'open' and they could be face timing with their family in clear video quality. There is so many apps out there now that could be converted to be used with the headsets OS that the disabled person would be able to run their life, banking app's, food ordering apps, messaging app's, the list is endless.

I have no doubt the medical profession and charities for the disabled will be looking at this device with some glee.

Problem: medical devices are heavily regulated. Getting it through FDA approval would take years. I’m it’s current form it’s also well out of reach for most non-profits. I love the idea but this doesn’t seem like a fruitful market for Apple.

 

[Surf Monkey]

There’s also another unknown right now - how many years of use can one realistically get out of this product? It has a processor and runs an OS, which means Apple will presumably update it annually. How long do we see Apple supporting this for? For the money, I am hoping 7-10 years on average, barring accidents (and the thing looks fairly fragile with all that glass).

7 to 10 years??

Wow. I’d expect 3. No way they support this for a decade.

 

[Surf Monkey]

The only way this kind of product would succeed is if it could be made to look like a pair of sunglasses. Even then it would remain utterly pointless.

You don't need a 3D virtual representation of an app floating in front of you...
when you can just have the app in front of you anyway, minus all the hassle of wearing a helmet to see it.

The demos showed professionals using it to view 3D models, but no professionals are actually going to do this, unless they are trying to impress a particularly clueless boss. They will continue to do 3D work on screens because it is easier and less hassle.

The iPhone made using the internet simple... this makes it complicated.

Apple have been successful up to this point because their products had a sense of style. Some even became fashion accessories. With this product they have forgotten everything.
There is no way anyone could wear one of these without instantly looking like an ubergeek.
Not only that, but any longterm use would be not only uncomfortable but damaging to your eyesight... as Apple themselves hilariously pointed out earlier in the presentation.

This guy gets it.

 

[Zest28]

Another thing that comes to mind from this is where he talks about there no need for hand controllers because the device recognizes hand gestures. There is a Tom Cruise movie where he is some kind of time cop, we see him looking at a large glass screen where he uses hand gesturers to pull up various bits of data. The we have Tony Start in Ironman who basically does the same thing. This headset could basically do the same, the user could see the things in the headset and the sensors around the headset would pick up the users hand movements. Thus the in theory the user could swipe there hand from left to right to move through files/folders/music/videos. They could open a document and then have their hands pull apart to zoom out and back again to zoom in.

Exciting times ahead for those who see the potential of this headset.

Based on his video, there could be a cool application for it. For example, if you watch NBA, you basically have a front-row seat and you can watch the game as if you are a spectator having front row seats.

And maybe you can also move around the court and "sit" anywhere you want to enjoy the game.

An average front-row seats costs around $1500 during the regular season, so you might be able to get your money worth out of this headset, if things like this would be possible with this VR set.

But I do seriously wonder how good it is for your eyes to watch a NBA game with a screen so close to your eyes.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Yeah right, they’re ignoring Jony Ive by mentioning iPod and iPhone and literally including Digital Crown on the Vision Pro? I don’t see it.

By the way who knows if Ive was involved or not? Could be.

Uggh.

Re-watch Dye's opening ... specifically about innovative creations that Apple has done that brought forth a new paradigm to the computing industry.

This was done before and mentioning the Digital Crown when the Apple Watch OG was launched.
Today The Apple Watch was COMPLETELY NOT mentioned when Alan Dye spoke after Tim handed off to him.

As of right now you will NOT see this because it's been edited out by Apple

The original stream DID include this prior to midnight 12AM June 6TH.


But Tim opens up the same way in the edited version. Again the original is now gone.

âï¸ Tim Cook - Vision Pro - Apple historical leaps

18 seconds · Clipped by Deepin2u · Original video "WWDC 2023 â June 5 | Apple" by Apple

youtube.com

EDIT: Aaha! The YouTube video by Apple of their WWDC 2023 does INDEED edit out what I mentioned above.

BUT the WWDC 2023 from their website DOES have what I stated above.

 

[Zorori]

US Only... I wonder how long it will be before this lands elsewhere

 

[laptech]

Problem: medical devices are heavily regulated. Getting it through FDA approval would take years. I’m it’s current form it’s also well out of reach for most non-profits. I love the idea but this doesn’t seem like a fruitful market for Apple.

Just because Apple release something does not mean it is being marketed as such. Due to the electronics used in the headset it has potential to be used outside of what Apple intended it to be used for.

 

[downpour]

Apple will sell a few of these initially because of tech journalists doing reviews.
A few rich people might even buy them for the novelty factor.

However, there is absolutely no way this is the next iPhone.

I'm sure many of you tried AR apps when they first came out...
How many of you 'still' use them on a daily basis... or at all?

Things that are simple and easy to use always beat things that are flashy but impractical.

 

[Michael.S]

These glasses are definitely going to be a good solution for home cinema if you are in a tight space.
Adult industry will jump on this train for sure as well.
Still, I don’t think managing your office tasks with these glasses makes sense.
I believe they only did this to create a valid enough showcase for WWDC yesterday.

What I am afraid though, is that all that new inventions will seperate us even more from each other. Making everyone living more and more in their own bubble.

Don’t want to be pessimistic. But I had this thought when I saw the presentation.

When that goes viral with the pron content, I foresee even more young single men enjoying themselves - instead of longing for connection and the „real deal“.

Also, for the price of these glasses you instead of doing scuba diving from your couch you could become a certified diver yourself and while doing it, have real fun, adventure, connection and sense of life.

But I don’t want to get too philosophical here.

Still, being curious how this develops.

 

[Abazigal]

I'm sure many of you tried AR apps when they first came out...
How many of you 'still' use them on a daily basis... or at all?

Well, Pokémon Go is still fairly popular. And maybe the reason why AR apps haven’t quite taken off is because the right technology for consuming them hasn’t yet been invented, and it’s actually quite a pain trying to hold up a phone or tablet for an extended period of time.

An AR headset is the right medium for interacting with AR (because you don’t have to hold it, and it has a wider and more immersive field of view). Now is just to see whether Apple’s implementation is the right one moving forward.

 

[Natrium]

Another iPhone moment according to Tim Apple, yet he didn’t even dare to demonstrate it live on stage. That says enough.