The alpha:
- Today at the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled its long-awaited mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro. The high-performance augmented and virtual reality headset, which represents the company’s first brand new product category since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2014, could have a major impact on the future of the metaverse.
- The main applications of the device are gaming, communication, video consumption and productivity. According to BloombergMark Gurman, at least one person who worked on the device at Apple, has called it “the future of computing.”
- The device combines augmented and virtual reality, is powered by an M2 chip in addition to a new R1 chip, and costs $3,499.
Dive deeper
The unveiling of Vision Pro, which has been speculated for years, marks a major milestone in the company’s product line. The headset is designed to provide users with an immersive experience that integrates real-world environments into a virtual space.
“It’s the first Apple product that you look through and not at,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the presentation. “Apple Vision Pro introduces us to spatial computing.”
Design
The entire front of the device is 3D-shaped laminated glass, which merges into an aluminum frame with a button that allows users to take photos and videos. The headband is a single piece of 3D-printed material that holds the device’s audio pods close to the ears.
For individuals who wear glasses, Apple has teamed up with Zeiss to make Vision Pro prescription lenses, as the headset sits too close to the face to wear glasses. A separate battery that can be carried in the pocket powers the device.
Applications
All your apps are accessible with Vision Pro – from FaceTime to Spotify. Users operate the device with their eyes, voice and hands, tapping their fingers to select an app and swiping to scroll. Furthermore, Apple states that users can extract 3D objects from apps to view them from any angle.
Immersive entertainment
The Vision Pro promises a more immersive environment for entertainment; it can “transform any room into your own personal theatre” with “Cinema Environment”. Be it a movie or a video game, Apple claims that the screen can display 4K video.
3D memories
The Vision Pro is Apple’s first 3D camera. It can be used to capture 3D spatial images and video with “immersive spatial audio”. When you record a video, the headset makes it clear to others that you are recording.
Eyesight
One of the more compelling features that Apple Vision Pro comes with is EyeSight, a feature that reveals a user’s eyes to the outside world when another person is nearby, allowing for clear communication while the device is being worn. When a user is engrossed in a task or watching a movie, the device clearly hides their eyes and signals to others that they are unavailable.
Apple’s ripple effect
Rumors and reports of the headset unveiling have been so intense in recent weeks and months that Apple’s VR and AR competitors got ahead of WWDC by announcing their own headsets, including Meta’s Meta Quest 3 ($500) and Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX ($1,299).
Several NFT figures expressed their thoughts on the Apple headset after the unveiling, expressing their excitement about how the device could affect the creative atmosphere. Even Oculus founder Palmer Lucky went to Twitter to praise the development and say, “The Apple headset is so good.”
Which metaverses work by default* on Apple VR?
-On Cyber
-Voxels (also called CryptoVoxels)
-Somnium*browser VR ready
—Bryan Brinkman (@bryanbrinkman) June 5, 2023
Shut up and take my money https://t.co/H8rqeiW3Ok
— Claire Silver (@ClaireSilver12) June 5, 2023
The headset will be available in early 2024. Until then, we can only imagine its possible impact on the future of the metaverse.
In case you missed it
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- Here’s what Web2 brands need to know before entering the metaverse
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