Apple Vision Pro is 'Over-Engineered Devkit,' Says Former Oculus Head

[MacRumors]

Apple's first-generation Vision Pro headset is an "over-engineered devkit" that ships with more sensors than is necessary to deliver Apple's intended experience. That's according to Hugo Barra, former VP of Android and head of Meta's phased-out Oculus headset brand.

Barra, who oversaw the Oculus team in 2017 after it was acquired by Facebook, has published a surprisingly balanced in-depth analysis of Apple's spatial computing device, which is well worth a read. But a couple of reflections are worth highlighting.

Barra notes that Apple has packed Vision Pro with an impressive six tracking cameras, two passthrough cameras, two depth sensors, and four eye-tracking cameras. This "over-spec'ing," says Barra, is "characteristic of a v1 product where its creator wants to ensure it survives the hardest tests early users will no doubt want to put the product through."

Apple's decision to over-spec the Vision Pro, however, inevitably makes the headset weigh over 600 grams, and "makes it difficult for most people to wear it for more than 30-45 minutes at a time without suffering a lot of discomfort."

Because of its heavy weight, Vision Pro has inevitably landed in the world as a high-quality "devkit" designed to capture everyone's curiosity, hearts & minds with its magic (especially through the voice of enthusiastic tech influencers) while being realistically focused on developers as its primary audience. In other words, the Vision Pro is a devkit that helps prepare the world to receive a more mainstream Apple VR headset that could have product-market fit in 1 or 2 generations.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes Apple is working on multiple new Apple Vision models, exploring both a low-cost version and a second-generation version. With the low-cost version, Gurman believes Apple will eliminate the EyeSight feature and the M-series chip, using more affordable components.

In another notable claim, Barra reckons Apple has made the Vision Pro experience intentionally blurry in order to hide pixelation artifacts and make graphics appear smoother, which he sees as a "clever move" by Apple.

One of our biggest product positioning struggles within the Oculus VR team from the very beginning — especially when trying to convince reviewers — was always related to having underwhelming displays. Every single Oculus headset that ever shipped (including the latest Quest 3) has suffered from resolution/pixelation issues varying from "terrible" to "pretty bad". It's like we're living in the VR-equivalent world of VGA computer monitors.

By making the Vision Pro optics slightly out of focus, Apple has achieved "way smoother graphics across the board by hiding the screen door effect (which in practice means that you won't see pixelation artifacts)." However, Barra laments the Vision Pro's "significant motion blur and image quality issues that render passthrough mode unusable for longer periods."

Barra claims that it was this motion blur in passthrough mode that was one of the many reasons why he decided to return his Vision Pro. "It's just uncomfortable, leads to unnecessary eye strain, and really gets in the way of anyone using the headset for longer periods of time," he adds.

You can find Barra's lengthy write-up of his experience with Vision Pro over on his blog. Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 in the United States, with the device expected to launch in more countries later this year.

Article Link: Apple Vision Pro is 'Over-Engineered Devkit,' Says Former Oculus Head

 

[truthsteve]

nearly every impression I've read about the Vision Pro has been so far, wrong IMO after owning the device
- solo knit band is more comfortable than the dual band
- passthrough is blurry while some reviewers say it's amazing.
- it's not any less comfortable than my Quest 3
- have no problems wearing it for 2 hours straight

 

[gleepskip]

Aoole need to follow up with a vastly improved model immediately, but they won't.

 

[Shalev]

He is not mistaking and it's not a bad thing, this all spatial computing revolution will take time and effort and the visionPro is the start.

 

[sirdir]

I'm old enough to remember VGA as a huge progress ^^

 

[MacProFCP]

Barra claims that it was this motion blur in passthrough mode that was one of the many reasons why he decided to return his Vision Pro.

The primary reason being that he already spent all the time he needs to learn from the unit and, as a competitor, has no use for it. 😎

 

[Abobrek]

nearly every impression I've read about the Vision Pro has been so far, wrong IMO after owning the device
- solo knit band is more comfortable than the dual band
- passthrough is blurry while some reviewers say it's amazing.
- it's not any less comfortable than my Quest 3
- have no problems wearing it for 2 hours straight

Wild that this guy has worn more VR headsets and has more experience with VR than you, yet, somehow he is “wrong”. If you actually read the entire article, he is quite positive about the AVP and states several factors that makes it far superior to other VR headsets. It seems as all you have done is picked out the negatives and why he is “wrong”.

 

[Apple_Gabe]

I can see why he's saying it is over-engineered based on the examples he brought up. It probably would have been a better move for Apple to release a cheaper regular Vision non-pro model to test out the waters before going big on a Pro, they clearly went for gold.

 

[Abobrek]

The primary reason being that he already spent all the time he needs to learn from the unit and, as a competitor, has no use for it. 😎

He’s not a “competitor” at all. He doesn’t work for Meta any longer and in fact, makes valid points about how the AVP is superior. You clearly did not read the entire article. The author of the article clearly states that he is a VR ENTHUSIAST and was so even prior to working for Meta.

 

[klasma]

Aoole

Did Apple merge with Google and I missed it?

 

[Abobrek]

He is not mistaking and it's not a bad thing, this all spatial computing revolution will take time and effort and the visionPro is the start.

Don’t ignore other companies and now they have seen Apple’s hand. In the article he alludes to the partnership between LG and Meta, and the purpose is to produce CHEAPER MicroLED displays. Apple made a giant mistake by making AVP so costly. I understand the displays are very costly, but Apple should have made their margins much lower than they are used to.

 

[Abobrek]

I can see why he's saying it is over-engineered based on the examples he brought up. It probably would have been a better move for Apple to release a cheaper regular Vision non-pro model to test out the waters before going big on a Pro, they clearly went for gold.

Exactly. With Meta partnering with LG for production of cheaper MicroLED displays, AVP could fail miserably due to such a high cost. VR headsets aren’t like phones where the screens are everything and if a competitor makes the same screens for cheaper, consumers will more than likely choose the cheaper option. There are many other companies that produce phones with superior phone screens compared to the iPhone, in fact the majority of them are more superior (refresh rate) BUT that clearly doesn’t effect why consumers purchase iPhones. VR headsets on the other hand will be much different.

 

[Abobrek]

Aoole need to follow up with a vastly improved model immediately, but they won't.

That’s true but they have an exclusive deal to produce MicroLED screens. LG and Meta just made an agreement, and due to the difficulty and complexity of MicroLED, it will be years before the agreement produces anything. Apple knows this, therefore they are in no rush to produce an AVP 2.

 

[miric]

If the former, why bother? I'd rather worried about so-called "ocoooloos" is Under-Engineered and zückebro $ucks. Looks like somebody wants to follow susunk way of competition.

 

[vantelimus]

Wild that this guy has worn more VR headsets and has more experience with VR than you, yet, somehow he is “wrong”. If you actually read the entire article, he is quite positive about the AVP and states several factors that makes it far superior to other VR headsets. It seems as all you have done is picked out the negatives and why he is “wrong”.

The guy may have more experience, but when he states as an absolute something that is contradicted by people who actually use the product, not just “test“ it from a competitor’s vantage point, then it is reasonable for someone to point out that he is mistaken. For example, I wear the device for hours at a time with no discomfort. For this reviewer to say then that people can’t wear it for longer than 30-45 minutes without discomfort is absolutely false.

 

[Kylo83]

All it’s good for is watching movies and tv will always be better, so for 3500 it’s a joke, I have the quest 3 and barely use it

 

[L92]

It's a faceiPad for people who gave up on having sex. But I want one.

 

[Kylo83]

It does nothing better than normal day to day life like using external monitor and watching tv

 

[JippaLippa]

Talking trash about your competitor?! Oh imagine my shock.

 

[Abobrek]

The guy may have more experience, but when he states as an absolute something that is contradicted by people who actually use the product not just “test“ it, then it is reasonable for someone to point out that he is mistaken. For example, I wear the device for hours at a time with no discomfort. For this reviewer to say then that people can’t wear it for longer than 30 minutes without discomfort is absolutely false.

Those “people” are you. He on the other hand is making a comparison of AVP to all of the other headsets he has worn. You also are suggesting that he only “tested” AVP, yet there isn’t anywhere in the article that states how many HOURS he “tested” it. Also, I do not understand why you are so caught up on how he is wrong. Read the ENTIRE article. He makes valid points and is praising the AVP. It’s great that the AVP is comfortable for you and you are happy with using it for hours, but don’t compare yourself to most people and their comfort.

 

[darngooddesign]

Did Apple merge with Google and I missed it?

I think that's the spicy mayo sauce I sometimes get with my sushi.

 

[User 6502]

The guy may have more experience, but when he states as an absolute something that is contradicted by people who actually use the product, not just “test“ it from a competitor’s vantage point, then it is reasonable for someone to point out that he is mistaken. For example, I wear the device for hours at a time with no discomfort. For this reviewer to say then that people can’t wear it for longer than 30-45 minutes without discomfort is absolutely false.

The fact you wear it with no discomfort doesn’t prove much, other than perhaps the fact you have a very strong neck or high tolerance to pain and discomfort. Pretty much every review I have seen points out the opposite and how heavy the unit is and how painful it is to wear it for more than a few minutes. A single data point saying otherwise it is just an outsider, not an evidence of anything.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes Apple is working on multiple new Apple Vision models, exploring both a low-cost version and a second-generation version. With the low-cost version, Gurman believes Apple will eliminate the EyeSight feature and the M-series chip, using more affordable components.

Yeah, I don’t see Apple ever trying to compete in the “low cost” category on anything. Mega Quest products would eat Apple’s lunch. And using something other than Apple silicon?

 

[Abobrek]

Talking trash about your competitor?! Oh imagine my shock.

READ the article. He isn’t a “competitor” at all, nor does he “trash talk” he in fact, PRAISES the AVP. You are just ignorant and basing your opinion on THIS article and not the actual source. This article is biased and only points out some of the negatives the original article points out.

 

[vantelimus]

I can see why he's saying it is over-engineered based on the examples he brought up. It probably would have been a better move for Apple to release a cheaper regular Vision non-pro model to test out the waters before going big on a Pro, they clearly went for gold.

The phrase over engineered is a value judgment. In over four decades of engineering I have never heard anyone say “let’s over engineer the first version.” What this guy thinks of as over engineered is proper engineering. He probably believes that the emphasis these days on barely sufficient MVPs is what true engineering is about.