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Apple Reveals 'Vision Pro' Headset and visionOS
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I think we should be critical of these kind of products, as they can have societal impacts that aren't always obvious at the outset.
Take the iPhone for example... I don't think anyone predicted the damage it would inflict on human society.
Before the adoption of multi-touch phones people were for the most part happy... and had relatively healthy lifestyles and relationships.
Now nobody looks at anyone anymore as we are all looking down while permanently doom scrolling.
Imagine what this will be like when everyone sits in the dark with the internet strapped to their face.
Alternative MR headsets also did not start cheap.
Patel also admits:
I wore the Apple Vision Pro. It’s the best headset demo ever.
Apple’s new don’t-call-it-a-VR-headset is the best riff on some very familiar ideas, but still searching for a purpose.www.theverge.com
Simple game.
And I mean incredibly impressive displays and video passthrough: I was happily using my phone to take notes while wearing the Vision Pro, something no other headset can realistically allow.
It seems to me Patel isn’t using MR much or at all. Someone pointed out that Apple went out of its way to not mention VR during its presentation. And what does Patel do? Mention VR repeatedly.
He goes on to say:
I asked why anyone would want to set the immersion level anywhere other than all-on or all-off, and it appears Apple is thinking of the middle immersion setting as a sort of adjustable desktop workspace for apps while leaving the sides open for you to talk to your colleagues.
Well DUH. He asked and answered his own (dumb) question.
Like this you mean? At least I can say for sure that this will never be me. I love reality.
Yes, the hardware is kind-blowing and Apple killed it there. Not a surprise, Apple’s hardware team is phenomenal and keeps getting better. The question is what is the point of this? They seem to be marketing this as a consumer device which seems odd. When they introduced the iPhone it was clear what its purpose was- a phone, an iPod, a mobile internet browser. What is the purpose of this thing? The Newton was very technologically advanced for its time but it didn’t have a purpose, so it failed. I feel like with this launch Apple has solved all the hardware problems associated with VR but they haven’t solved the fact that it’s a giant headset you need to put on.
me trying to beat the boss in rec room but my headset is on 2% (this actually happened once because I only had a 3 foot charging cable)
I think the OG iPhone had a similar issue. It was marketed at consumers but it was pretty expensive and had some very business-y software, yet lacked a lot of features business consumers would want until the next year with iPhone OS 2.0. This can and will be ironed out with time.
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IMO your comment is wrong on every point. Pros accept tools when they help them get the job done, and over time this will provide a good value add. And FYI surgeons, dentists and others have been "putting up with a thing on their head" for years when necessary to help them get the job done.
You’re way too invested in this. It’s kinda sad.
The original Macintosh was priced at $7,000 if converted to today's currency. The first Tesla was $100,000. Price doesn't matter in the beginning if the tool works and solves a problem. The price will come down later as the product is refined over multiple revisions. The real question is whether this device solves a problem and whether or not it can be used as a true productivity tool. Apple knows this and this is why they focused more on productivity as opposed to gaming. It's also why they gave it the "Pro" moniker.
There are plenty of gimmicky VR devices out there. If the Vision Pro can be used with real productivity applications that people use for work, like the Adobe Suite, FCP, CAD, Maya, Z-Brush, etc. then I can see this working... maybe. The one issue is, who really wants to wear goggles firmly stuck to your face for 8 hours a day? I think that's probably going to be the biggest barrier to overcome with this. Basic comfort for long usage sessions.
But then again... it's also super uncomfortable to sit in a depressing 6x6 cubicle under bad fluorescent lighting for 5 days a week. If wearing some goggles means you can escape to a beach and do your work on multiple 100' screens while hula girls spin fire and dance around a bbq pit in the background... well hell... some goggle discomfort might be worth the tradeoff there.
Only time will tell whether this one is a winner or not. Will it sit among the alter of the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad? Or will it join the basement along with the Quicktake, the Newton and the Cube?
What practical achievable thing (not theoretical) can this actually offer though, that can't be done better another way? Because it has to be good to counter the fact you are wearing a bulky heavy object, as well as loosing your natural vision and replacing it with a video stream. A lot of shortsighted people won't even be able to use this without getting bespoke prescription Apple lenses fitted (sold separately of course).
This thing is also going to make people sick. Shining unnatural light directly into your eyes from a short distance is not good for your vision. No matter how good Apple make this, having virtual stuff floating around you for any length of time will make people feel disorientated and ill after a while... this is before you even get into the psychological effects.
Apple's size, cultural reach, and relevance will make it virtually impossible for this device to join the dusty basement dwellers. Now, what defines a winner is not easily defined. Apple is heavily invested in making this category of wearable computing devices a priority in the near future, further expanding on its already wide-reaching ecosystem.
I think it's exciting, and I can't wait to see if and how it reshapes how we interact with tech long-term.
I quite liked yesterday's presentation and it wasn't because of the Vision Pro.
The presentation was absolutely aseptic, cold and dystopian. People alone on the couch or in a chair. Eyes virtually generated through screens that look and feel ridiculous and far from reality.
People recording moments in 3D to see them later in your "memories" (which looks like one of the chapters of Extrapolations). The scenes of the photos and memories were quite... creepy. It looked as if your family had died and you were viewing your memories in 3D and VR.
Overall the presentation of the glasses generated cringe for me and I watched a lot of dystopian movie scenes to see how society may end up if this becomes popular.
However, I think the technology they incorporate is interesting, the interface looks great and potentially has applications... but in a potential way, since Apple didn't release any "killer apps" that would blow people's minds.
Overall, I have the feeling that they have presented a technically excellent product, light years ahead of their competition, but I think they do not solve any problems, and they have many, both for autonomy and for comfort and weight, as well as moral and ethical level.
The presentation showed people alone, with hardly any social connection, the photos and "memories" was the most social thing they showed of the device and at least under my perception it was cold and dystopian, as well as being able to see your memories, I think it has been what has generated me more rejection of the whole presentation.
When you show photos you are with people, you share them, you enjoy them in a group. But only people were shown alone, with super advanced and technological glasses that seem that, a priori, the only thing they can do is to isolate (even more) to society.
The cell phone has isolated us a lot, even though we are constantly connected, and this device, as it has been presented, seems to do it even more. That makes me feel bad for us as humanity.
I think everything has a limit and I'm not an old person, far from it, but I like to enjoy life, enjoy reality, and this device is anything but "real", because everything it's going to show you is 100% fake, like your own avatar for FaceTime.
It may be a pessimistic view of reality, but that's the feeling I got yesterday when I saw this long-awaited new Apple product.
The presentation was absolutely aseptic, cold and dystopian. People alone on the couch or in a chair. Eyes virtually generated through screens that look and feel ridiculous and far from reality.
People recording moments in 3D to see them later in your "memories" (which looks like one of the chapters of Extrapolations). The scenes of the photos and memories were quite... creepy. It looked as if your family had died and you were viewing your memories in 3D and VR.
Overall the presentation of the glasses generated cringe for me and I watched a lot of dystopian movie scenes to see how society may end up if this becomes popular.
However, I think the technology they incorporate is interesting, the interface looks great and potentially has applications... but in a potential way, since Apple didn't release any "killer apps" that would blow people's minds.
Overall, I have the feeling that they have presented a technically excellent product, light years ahead of their competition, but I think they do not solve any problems, and they have many, both for autonomy and for comfort and weight, as well as moral and ethical level.
The presentation showed people alone, with hardly any social connection, the photos and "memories" was the most social thing they showed of the device and at least under my perception it was cold and dystopian, as well as being able to see your memories, I think it has been what has generated me more rejection of the whole presentation.
When you show photos you are with people, you share them, you enjoy them in a group. But only people were shown alone, with super advanced and technological glasses that seem that, a priori, the only thing they can do is to isolate (even more) to society.
The cell phone has isolated us a lot, even though we are constantly connected, and this device, as it has been presented, seems to do it even more. That makes me feel bad for us as humanity.
I think everything has a limit and I'm not an old person, far from it, but I like to enjoy life, enjoy reality, and this device is anything but "real", because everything it's going to show you is 100% fake, like your own avatar for FaceTime.
It may be a pessimistic view of reality, but that's the feeling I got yesterday when I saw this long-awaited new Apple product.
I got the same feeling as you: emphasizing isolation. It's like the early vision of the smartphone was supposed to bring us closer together and connect us more tightly. History has shown that it's achieved the opposite effect.
Perhaps Apple is just unapologetically leaning more into the obvious reality that people are isolated by choice or circumstance. Humans are also frequently dwelling in the past with nostalgia, even more so people that are established (and hence, older) enough to afford this expensive piece of kit. What 40-something isn't thinking back fondly of their 20s?
Technology is also robbing us of the ability to stay in the moment and make deep, meaningful connections that can last for a long time, so Apple is offering the next best thing. Record your present to relive it when you're sitting home, alone, miserable and drowning in nostalgia of better times past.
I don't get it. What problem does this solve? When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone and iPad, he told us how awful smartphones and netbooks were and elegantly presented the solution - the iPhone and iPad. Tim Cook didn't tell us what problem these goggles solve. He didn't even bother demoing the product live, unlike Jobs. I suppose watching movies would be awesome, but what if others want to watch with you?
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Exactly. I think the people who are the most excited for this headset live really sad (IMO), isolated lives, cut off from in-person human contact and social interactions. I mean, to each their own, but that's no way to live as far as I am concerned. We've already seen how isolation and anti-social behavior negatively effects mental health. We need less of this, not more of it. Don't get me wrong, I generally abhor being in public. However, I prefer face to face social interactions with my friends and family over sitting in some room alone, donning my AR/VR headset.
But that’s why Apple created the journaling app, duh.
I didn't watch...they still arn't having people and doing it live again...good lord, let's get back to reality.
This is the same issue that impacts all the other AR/VR attempts that came before as well. What is it for beyond gaming? Who wants to spend excessive time isolated in a device and viewing the world through a video screen? Who’s clamoring to spend hours working in such a device?
The misstep here is blatant. Back in 2020 this probably looked like the perfect solution for a population that was struggling with the isolation that comes with a global pandemic. In what amounts to forced isolation a device like this would be able to provide a sense of connection and live interaction with people who aren’t actually there. But the pandemic is over now. People aren’t isolating. The zeitgeist is towards reconnecting in the REAL WORLD with people we’ve been unable to be with for several years now.
Tone deaf.
And as if the inherent isolating, anti-social aspects weren’t enough to turn people off Apple wheels out no less than Bob Iger, arguably the most loathed media CEO in the midst of the contentious WGA strike to tell us all about Disney’s awesome content, produced on the backs of people who aren’t being fairly compensated for their work.
Ultra tone deaf to the point of being outright insulting.
I hope Tim Cook’s Newton succeeds, but I see no signs that it will and a bunch of them that suggest it will be an unmitigated flop.
You ask "What is it for beyond gaming? Who wants to spend excessive time isolated in a device and viewing the world through a video screen? Who’s clamoring to spend hours working in such a device?"
I was reminded of this quote from some random dude -
“Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.”
― Steve JobsYou're just making things up at this point. If you had any experience with actual VR headsets you'd know how important contrast ratio is for making things seems lifelike...and in terms of making an AR passthrough image lifelike, the improved contrast ratio by Apple here is huge improvement, far surpassing other HMDs out there.
The only thing I see holding this thing back is processing power, but maybe they've made huge strides in foveated rendering, to to the point where they can keep resource/power requirements in check. I'm skeptical about that, but if they did, it would be a massive win.