Apple Vision Pro, a Spatial Computer Headset, Revealed
Apple has revealed their much anticipated virtual reality headset, called Vision Pro.
Apple describes the headset as their “first spatial computer”, and the device offers both augmented reality and virtual reality experiences on a screen that “feels 100 feet wide” and includes a spatial audio system for fully immersive experiences.
Trying to describe the device or it’s experience is difficult, but while it looks like a pair of fancy ski goggles, the interactive virtual interface itself looks like something straight out of a science fiction movie. Users interact with the device through eye tracking, and flicks, swipes, and pinches of their fingers.
Running the all-new visionOS as an operating system, Vision Pro offers a three dimensional user interface where your apps and Home Screen are floating in space, which Apple says offers “infinite screen real estate”.
The Vision Pro headset can also run Mac apps seamlessly, projecting a virtual Mac display – the size of your choosing – into your field of vision. Vision Pro also supports Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, so you can use the device just as you would a Mac, except with a portable and private 4K display.
Truthfully, no amount of writing is going to adequately explain the Vision Pro, so it’s highly recommended to watch the product video from Apple, which offers a visual look at various features and capabilities of the device.
Vision Pro starts at $3499, and will be available sometime early next year.
If you’re curious about the Vision Pro, check out the Apple Vision Pro website for more information.
The WWDC23 Apple event delivered few unexpected surprises in terms of new apple product lineup and upgrades vs prior gen. The biggest surprise of all was seeing Mac Studio getting an upgrade together with Mac Pro and without offering any differences.
M2 Ultra chip on both models…So what are the users paying the extra $3k? Seems like the extra $3K price tag on Mac Pro vs Ultra is just for the extra internal PCIe slots? This is a very costly mistake Apple is making! Marketing-wise how do you differentiate the two?
That’s how Apple is making serious financial and strategic mistake here with such a lineup by risking cannibalizing their most high-end product – Mac Pro and seriously undermine Mac Pro sales in 2023/2024. This was a great day for Mac Studio as there is no need to buy Mac Pro unless you need to have those internal PCIe slots. But, If a user needs an extra expansion and slots, that user can just purchase the older intel-based Mac Pro. It’s much cheaper, more practical and makes more sense to do..
For the new Mac customers in 2023-24, they will be better off with buying the cheaper Mac Studio that runs on the same chip, same specs and cores as Mac Pro. That’s why upgrading Mac Studio this time was a shock to many of us as we did not expect it this time.
Overall, Apple’s desktop product segment at the WWDC23 seemed a bit chaotic and we have not seen any major iMac updates yet. Apple needs to better streamline their processes to make sure they keep timely updating the tech that sells well and generates them big profits + keeps them loyal & dedicated fan base.
Apple sadly seems very out of touch with ordinary people. Their Vision Pro seems like one of Marie Antoinette’s brioches rubbed in our faces.
Nothing of interest in Sonoma either, to me.
$3500 for a luxury concept tech toy. I appreciate the ambition and I can see how this interface could be the future of wearable tech, but the price is about $2000 too much for most people to consider.
Apple usually has 40% to 60% margins, I wonder if thats the same margin on the Vision Pro?
Also the headset is just way too big and clunky, with a battery pack, ehhh. This is for the most extreme early adopters only.
This is cool but why
For some perspective, Google Glass was released in 2011 and promptly killed off because it was considered ridiculous looking and overpriced. Now Google Glass was basically just a thin glass frame with a Star Trek looking lens on there and it was $1500. Apple Glass Goggles Vision Pro is a giant pair of goggles with a battery pack and it’s $3500? Uhmmmm ok.
I do think the interface is cool in a Minority Report kind of way (ie: futuristic, dystopian), but one thing that struck me about the video is how everyone is alone, and I guess that makes sense because putting a big pair of goggles on your head is anti-social.
Maybe in 10 years, Apple will shrink down the tech into a pair of normal looking glasses, and it’ll be like Google Glass was a decade ago, and still cost $1999 or something, but be more adoptable by the average person.
Basically this feels like a concept product to me. It is very cool in concept, but I do not see the high price, large size, etc, being practical for anyone really. I can see why Wall Street was unenthusiastic as reflected in AAPL performance today. What will come tomorrow? That will be more interesting, because they’re going to have to really slim Vision Pro down into a genuine wearable, and dramatically reduce the cost, before it becomes more widely used.
Also do we really need the VR components of things? Why not have a pair of Google Glass style glasses that augments simple commonly used stuff like messages, calendar, calls, FaceTime, etc into your reality, and then offloads major rendering to an iPhone, Mac, or iPad, when you want an immersive VR anti-social experience?
Vision Pro looks like an over engineered and over priced brilliance that most can’t afford to purchase and experience. It’s going to be a hard sell for anyone but the affluent. Maybe eventually this will take off in future with less expensive versions.