Apple's AR/VR Headset Said to Feature Digital Crown, Waist-Mounted Battery Pack, and More

[robbietop]

These two comments show me that you have no idea how VR works. That’s fine, but please at least try a modern VR headset so you have some frame of reference.
As the reply below says, a VR headset doesn’t need to know where your eyes are looking to display virtual monitors, any more than actual monitors do. The virtual monitors are anchored to real space, not your head. (You technically can anchor virtual displays to your head, but that’s visually uncomfortable and nauseating.)
Also, the physical distance of the screens from your eyes is irrelevant for visual comfort, because the lenses in front of the screens make the focus distance of the screen one to two meters out, which is a further distance than most people use a physical monitor. Prototype headsets can adjust the focus distance on virtual object to match real world focus distances. Some current VR headsets have diopter adjustments so you can manually adjust the lens focus distance.
You are criticizing a strawman version of VR. I wouldn’t like that version of VR either. Some of your other concerns are legitimate, but will vary depending on personal circumstances. I won’t claim that trying VR will change your mind about it overall, but at least it should give you some context for these conversations.




I think part of this is that the 3D is not from your natural perspective. And there are other issues. My local cinema uses a single projector system, which means it alternates showing images to each eye, and that causes me a mild level of discomfort.

Hi, first time caller, long time listener. Look, I am just trying to grasp all this. I'm not looking for a flippant wave of the hand.

Please tell me, oh genie, how I am to scratch my eyes when they itch in the VEEEEEE-AAARRRRRR

 

[fatTribble]

I really want to love this. Can’t wait to see the keynote!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

We are saying your vision is incorrect and unrealistic. Apple’s is probably not close to what you are imagining.

"We" is mostly you.

And if Goggles can't display a simple virtual screen, I'll have a dramatic drop in interest. That would mean they can't be a computer screen or even a TV or movie screen. If they can't do what seems to be relatively simple stuff, it seems like they have little chance at doing anything more complicated.

As my last post said, Apple and all companies **** up big time. Couldn’t get the USB ports and speakers working on our brand new display for half a year. Monitors should be easy.

Jony Ive designed a laptop keyboard that resulted in angry users and Apple had to pay fines for it. A keyboard should be easy.

My $6K Mac Studio Ultra can't maintain a consistent connection to a third party enclosure that works perfectly fine with any of my Intel Macs through the very same cable. Port speeds are not up to the marketed speeds. Much of the duo tech does not yield double the speeds. It can't even deliver the power through the ports that it should given the power supply.

I 100% acknowledge that Apple stuff has bugs. And this will have bugs. I simply don't think this is a functional flop as you seem to perceive. It will do SOMETHING. Apple won't roll out something that can't do anything.

It won’t be a bomb it just won’t be what you have been imagining. We are always going to have a multi device eco system and some of those devices will only be an accessory.

I never once said we won't have a multi-device eco system. What I have shared is this could be an augment to use like we use laptops now. That's not REPLACING all things but offering another thing that can do some of the same stuff... like iPhones, iPads, Laptops and Desktops can all do some of the same stuff as the other things.

Whether it can be an any-size screen on demand, I'll grant you that it very well may not be able to do that. But I won't accept that it's impossible. 4K to each eye means it can show SOMETHING to our eyes. A simple flat screen for movies/TV and maybe the equivalent of an Airplay target all seem plausible to me.

That’s not going to happen and when your science fiction dreams are broken you can look back at this discussion and you will understand everything we have been telling you. Your Mac isn’t going to be replaced with a headset.

I never said my Mac would be replaced with a headset. I said that the monitor part of a laptop MIGHT be replaced FOR MY PURPOSES. That doesn't mean laptops would no longer be made. This would just offer another way for mobile computing... especially for anyone that wants a mobile screen bigger than 16"

And that's YOU'VE been telling me, not "WE." You cheerlead this "it's nothing" very hard mostly alone. Others are certainly pessimistic about the potentials too, but most of them are open to new possibilities about what it might be able to do.

Other than you, the most pessimistic minds here are apparently here because they have some interest in Apple. Part of their aggravation about this concept is they don't have a good sense of what it can do. Posts like yours don't help at all because you don't offer them anything but enormous support that it won't do ANYTHING anyone else offers as possibilities. They are seeking information. You are sharing only product doom.

If you are so certain about this, go take Cook's job and straighten Apple out. He's wasted years of development and who knows how much money on this product that apparently can't deliver anything anyone will want. Save Apple!

 

[Jensend]

Hi, first time caller, long time listener. Look, I am just trying to grasp all this. I'm not looking for a flippant wave of the hand.

Please tell me, oh genie, how I am to scratch my eyes when they itch in the VEEEEEE-AAARRRRRR

The same way you scratch your ears when you are wearing over the ear headphones? Again I won't claim that VR has no downsides, but when you don't even understand the basics of how they work, it's hard to explain the upsides.

I would imagine a simple virtual screen(s) application is one of the simpler tools to get working on this product. Apple is quite good at getting existing apps to display on all of the new screens they roll out. Airplaying makes existing apps work just as well on any other screens like TVs or projectors too made by others.

The nice thing about the virtual screens thing is that it can be useful from day one. You don't need custom apps, so some early customers can still get good value from their purchase. I just hope I can have MacOS class apps, not just iOS/iPad OS apps.
I really hope they can do the 4K per eye thing. The 2K per of of current headsets would be fine for video, but have limited use for serious work.

There are still a lot of hard problems to solve in developing VR. I'll admit that some of these projected use cases aren't possible (or comfortable) with today's hardware. But there are prototypes that can solve individual shortcomings of current devices, so it seems there is at least a plausible roadmap to devices that can do most of what I want.

Meanwhile, many of the more pessimistic people here are describing what they see as potential issues, when some of those concerns have already been solved in currently shipping consumer headsets (such as not being able to see your keyboard, or concerns with motion sickness, which is a complete non-issue for the virtual monitors use case and many others)

 

[akidokraja]

They will sell a family 4-pack like Airtags with $10 discount.

And you will need a stand for $999.

 

[Jensend]

Plus, with a VR monitor, super sized even, that's a lot of neck movements with added weight. Are you not thinking about the eventual head and neck aches from this? At my desk, I can level my monitor to always be at eye sight, but what you're implying is the circular command center from Mass Effect or Matrix.

VR currently has ergonomic disadvantages, and will for a long time. But it does have advantages as well.

You mention using a monitor at eye level. When you are using a laptop on your lap, you have to angle your head downwards to look at the display. This is hardly the most ergonomic setup. What if you could physically grab the display half of a laptop, and move it to eye level, and it would just hang in the air there—would that would be useful to you? What if you could grab the edges of the display and pull the edges further apart to make a bigger display? Maybe you are taking notes in the notes app. You could pull that one app window off the screen and float it next to your monitor or keyboard. And you could freely adjust the curvature of the display, or leave it flat. You can also add extra screens. Maybe use the new Stage Manager feature and have a different virtual display layout for each set of apps. (I don't currently use Stage Manager, but I think it would be more useful if there were fewer limits on available desktop space.)

I don't think anyone would turn down the ability to do those things. But the question is if the ability to do that is worth potential downsides to you. The biggest current downsides for doing this in VR would be the poor comfort of current headsets. And resolution isn't good enough. And there is some isolation (though you'll be able to show the real world behind the virtual screens, so it's more the awkwardness of having a device blocking your face than any real functional problem)

As the headsets get better quality and comfort, the tradeoffs will become more tolerable for more of the population. I don't know what percentage of the population each step of improvements will capture. Some will never use it. I'm not trying to convince anyone that the tradeoffs will be worth it for them, just that there are tradeoffs.

 

[schrodinger_cat]

I sincerely hope it has HDMI 2.1 input. This way it would be a nice portable OLED TV replacement with the price actually justifiable.

 

[WanderingKnight]

The obvious question is what type of people will use the device on a day-to-day basis. The article clearly says the device will NOT come with hand controllers and will not be focused on gaming. This eliminates gamers and part-time gamers. Ask anyone who has experience with a VR headset outside of a trial period at the mall or fiddling with VR at a friend's house; no way users are going to pay 3k and replace their flat screens or their computer monitors for an apple VR headset. Why? Because it's uncomfortable having weight on your head while you watch tv. Secondly, ALL of the headsets make you sweat after wear them long enough. Sure you may endure the heat every Blue Moon but you are definitely not going to watch tv via a headset often. Meta tried to convert desktop displays and conference calls/meetings into a metaverse experience but failed miserably. We know this by the lackluster annual sales reports even after they launched a new version of Meta VR. Apple and Meta have failed to understand the target demographic, which are gamers and kids between the age of 7 and 21. This demographic is the only group who will tolerate the negatives associated with VR headsets if the games exist. The problem is an always will be lack of original VR games. The VR glasses may be a product that can cross cultures, but we all know they are at least 3-5 years out. If Apple tries to target adults to utilize the headset for movie viewing, conferencing, and extending desktop displays, they will inevitably fail like their counterparts.

 

[Jensend]

Ask anyone who has experience with a VR headset outside of a trial period at the mall or fiddling with VR at a friend's house; no way users are going to pay 3k and replace their flat screens or their computer monitors for an apple VR headset. Why? Because it's uncomfortable having weight on your head while you watch tv.

Yes, current headsets are not comfortable for long, in my experience. But I don’t think that making a comfortable headset is impossible. I can wear easily wear a big pair of headphones for several hours.

Secondly, ALL of the headsets make you sweat after wear them long enough.

Not in my experience, using VR for up to about 4 hours at a time.