xrOS: Everything We Know About the Software Designed for Apple's Mixed Reality Headset

[enterthemerdaverse]

Well, consider that in a few years for AR we won't be using a headset anymore, but just glasses. That won't ruin our hair or skin. But still, I want a see-through display. That was my point.
I want to see the world in first person.

That’s the dream, but then comes the reality. Where do you put a battery, SoC and sensors in normal reading glasses size? Even the battery and SoC of the Apple Watch are too big for reading glasses form factor.

You must completely remove science fiction from your mind. You must think about :

1 user friendliness, comfort, it must feel natural, the weight must not be distracting.

2 it must not leave any physical marks on user’s face.

3 the battery must be able to last at least 10 hours (equal to a working day including travel times) and must not lose 50% battery capacity within 2 years.

4 the operating system and apps must be very lightweight, fast and bug free.

5 unlike all other devices, an AR device’s operating system and apps can’t slow down after major updates otherwise the user will physiologically suffer from their reactions to unpredictable lags, slow graphics, app crashes, etc.

6 the apps must not encourage too much head movement otherwise the neck and spinal column will suffer from tiredness and wear and tear (Early ageing).

It will either take more than a decade to achieve every one of the points, or all points will never be achieved together In one device.

Without achieving all conditions in one device it fails to satisfy all user demands, remains a niche or very imperfect product.

When has Apple reduced the size of their products lately? MacBook Pro 15 became 16. 13 is being replaced with the 14. The MacBook Air grew. The iPhone, iPad and Watch introduced larger sizes. So if you want more and more processing power and battery life, even if your SoC becomes more energy efficient, it becomes very hard to maintain a small form factor.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

We have seen AR in sci fi movies in the last 40 years. Always wanted to see in real life but in those sci fi movies it was always without a headset, which is near impossible. It requires super dense stable plasma in the air.

I personally will never wear a headset just to do whatever I can do on a monitor anyway, especially because AR can’t have the image fidelity of a monitor.

I can think of some kind of table top games where it can be useful. Like animated chess. But I’m not paying $3000 for that.

Note that one individual's limited vision of the utility of AR does not define AR.

Initial usages will of course be limited, just like early PDAs were limited. But look what the best smartphones now allow as compared to those PDAs - - and they continue to get ever more competent.

 

[enterthemerdaverse]

Note that one individual's limited vision of the utility of AR does not define AR.

Initial usages will of course be limited, just like early PDAs were limited. But look what the best smartphones now allow as compared to those PDAs - - and they continue to get ever more competent.

There’s no such thing as ‘unlimited’ and saying someone has “limited vision” is just a cheap insult. Every device category has limits, including AR etc. Read my reply to someone at the top of this page 7. I outlined the problems this category has going forward, and yet I can outline several more issues.

I’m old enough and in tech and design long enough to have visualized every application of AR that could possibily exist with emphasis on ‘possibily’. I do not care for impossible, impractical, unfriendly or uncomfortable use cases. Devices and apps like that don’t have longevity.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

eOS, Would make much more sense!

Unfortunately eos is already used for cheap Canon DSLRs and a zillion other things.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

There’s no such thing as ‘unlimited’ and saying someone has “limited vision” is just a cheap insult. Every device category has limits, including AR etc. Read my reply to someone at the top of this page 7. I outlined the problems this category has going forward, and yet I can outline several more issues.

I’m old enough and in tech and design long enough to have visualized every application of AR that could possibily exist with emphasis on ‘possibily’. I do not care for impossible, impractical, unfriendly or uncomfortable use cases. Devices and apps like that don’t have longevity.

Sorry, no insult was intended. I just opine that one individual's vision (specifically including mine) is by definition limited. Your ability to envision AR possibilities no doubt is hella better than mine.

 

[enterthemerdaverse]

Sorry, no insult was intended. I just opine that one individual's vision (specifically including mine) is by definition limited. Your ability to envision AR possibilities no doubt is hella better than mine.

Sorry I know you didn’t intend insult but always remember, it’s quite easy to visualize all the possible AR concepts that could arise. We not only have been helped by 40 years of AR in sci fi movies, some of which are not possible but entertaining anyway, but also the last decade of VR and AR apps. It’s not hard.

The hardest parts are the things I outlined in the post at the top. Those 7 conditions are extremely hard or maybe impossible to achieve in one device.

The two hardest are : how this device category affects a user physically and how unforgiving will the user be when they experience software bugs and slowdowns?

The first half of this discussion shows that nobody has faith that any tech company can produce bug free software, especially in a very complex device like AR/VR/MR headsets. Apple has major issues with all their operating systems. I can’t even figure out how they ****ed up the last Ventura and iOS updates. Graphics have slowed down, jerking at random times on my new systems, and when I boot up either my Mac or iPhone the Wi-Fi won’t work unless I turn it off and enable it again.

A headset is just so much more unforgiving with interface and graphic bugs because the OS and apps are moving with our head and gestures. Will updates come with new bugs? Will major OS updates be slower than last year’s OS? Will the device throttle when battery is running low? When the battery degrades after a year or two will it be replaceable? We can tolerate some of this on a laptop, desktop or phone. On a headset or glasses, I expect upset reactions to these problems and maybe physical incidents such as neck pain and falls caused by OS bugs and apps that push the user too much.

 

[Le0M]

Unfortunately eos is already used for cheap Canon DSLRs and a zillion other things.

Thank god I was joking, then!