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

[IIGS User]

“ In other words, the Vision Pro is a devkit that helps prepare the world to receive a more mainstream Apple VR headset”

Well, I see Captain Obvious is alive and well 🙄

 

[Nekronos]

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.

You're either missing the point or you are just arguing semantics.

 

[Hopefully Smarter]

He worked for port-fascist Palmer Lucky and you quote him like he's a god.

 

[a m u n]

I love and appreciate this kind of “over-enginrered DevKit”:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1767898459024040088

 

[Kimchi_Cowboy]

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

It does give me a migraine. Thats the things with this spatial "revolution". Until they figure out a way to stop it from making my brain explode and giving me motion sickness... we will talk.

 

[GeoStructural]

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.

The start? I remember playing with a device like this at a tech conference back in 2017... it played video, audio, virtual reality games, etc. If anything Apple is kind of late to the segment, as usual.

Also, the Quest has been in the market since 2019 I believe... and it has close to 1000 games available.

 

[spazzcat]

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.

That isn't how Apple works.

 

[bobbie424242]

That man (Hugo Barra) is no joke, best known for waving like trophy a ****ing Nexus 7 tablet in 2012 at Google I/O. Good times.

 

[contacos]

I don't understand why Apple started with the expensive version first like wouldn't you want to try to get people that have no previous experience with VR / AR hooked first and then you can be like "ok now that you got used to it, we have this even more incredible version for another 1k" a year or so later like those people have nothing to compare it to (as long is it somewhat better than a quest 3), anything AR / VR would be a nice experience until you get used to it and are craving for a change

 

[contacos]

That isn't how Apple works.

well, the first iPhone did not ship with 3G and everyone made fun of it back in the day. They waited another generation to introduce it

 

[mevans7]

Where are the
- Vision Mini
- Vision Air
- Vision
- Vision SE
- Vision Ultra

 

[spazzcat]

well, the first iPhone did not ship with 3G and everyone made fun of it back in the day. They waited another generation to introduce it

Because of battery life, but the phone itself was built better than most phone of the day.

 

[SpanishAppleNerd]

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

Aoole Viion Poro?

 

[vantelimus]

You're either missing the point or you are just arguing semantics.

That’s easy to say. Tell me what you think the point is and then maybe we have something we can discuss.

 

[obamtl]

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”.

If you used movies as an analogy, he's a film critic. At the end of the day, the studio cares about how many people are voting for the movie with their wallets and time. Sure if the critics don't like it because it doesn't meet their technical/expert expectations, it won't win the Oscars, but the studio will take a lot of solace it they rake home billions from paying customers that like it.

So long as Apple satisfies enough people in the general public to part with $3,500 and help them make a healthy profit, they won't really care what the 'expert with more experience with VR than their customers' thinks.

 

[citysnaps]

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.

That's funny and a real knee-slapper!

 

[Mr_Ed]

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 quote I saw was:

“makes it difficult for most people to wear it for more than 30-45 minutes at a time without suffering a lot of discomfort."

I would hardly call that an “absolute” statement. Claiming that statement is “absolutely false” because you can wear the AVP for hours on the other hand …

 

[Surf Monkey]

“ In other words, the Vision Pro is a devkit that helps prepare the world to receive a more mainstream Apple VR headset”

Well, I see Captain Obvious is alive and well 🙄

If it’s a dev kit why is Apple marketing it to suburban housewives on Good Morning America?

 

[Hewhowalksbehindtherows]

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."
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.
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

 

[Surf Monkey]

That’s easy to say. Tell me what you think the point is and then maybe we have something we can discuss.

Your argument is pure anecdote. That’s the problem with it.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Because of battery life, but the phone itself was built better than most phone of the day.

Was it? I had one. I don’t recall it being that much better hardware wise than many other phones.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

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."

Was the Oculus similarly “over-spec’d”? If not, then Oculus didn’t want to ensure it survived the hardest tests early users would put the product through?

When engineers feel forced to “market”. LOL

 

[mtngoatjoe]

People complain about the weight, but when the Army moved from the old Kevlar helmets to the ACH, the ACH felt positively light at 1700+ grams! I'm not sure I'd even notice 600 grams, especially with the dual band! Of course, I'm a lot older now and not nearly in as good a shape as I was back then, so maybe I'd notice the 600 grams ;-)

 

[turbineseaplane]

You can tell who only read the headline and not the actual interview/article

(psst... AVP fans ... he's quite positive about AVP overall!!)

 

[CubeHacker]

Steve Wozniak would like to have a word with you.

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.