Hey there! Another year, another Apple gadget that will make you feel saddeningly pauper. This year, at the WWDC conference, Apple revealed the Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset. But for Apple, it’s a “spatial computer,” well, because when you wear it, you will see multiple screens floating spatially in the air. And you will also hear spatial audio. How spatial is all that?
Up front is a laminated glass meeting seamlessly with a metallic frame. There are two micro-OLED screens inside, each delivering over 4K resolution per eye and over 23 million pixels in total. At the expense of looking like a total idiot, you can wear the headset and record sweet memories using the front cameras in 3D view to cherish them later in a dark room.
Just for the sake of memory, when Google Glass users did the same a few years ago, they were called “Glass-holes.” Sweet days!
Alright, let’s talk cool features. When you are wearing the headset, and someone comes close to you, the outside glass will project a view of your eyes so that the other person doesn’t think you are an arrogant rich prick. Apple calls this Eyesight, and this is how it looks:
And this is how the person sitting next to you will appear through the glass:
Next, we have OpticID. Think of Face ID, but instead of creating a 3D map of your face from an iPhone, the headset scans your eyes as a biometric authentication key and unlocks the headset.
On the software side, it runs what Apple calls visionOS, which brings all your favourite Apple ecosystem apps like iMessage, Safari, and Photos, alongside access to Apple Arcade games and streaming services such as Disney – playing movies for your luxurious ass in 3D.
You control all the UI elements with the movement of your eyes and hand gestures. Very, very futuristic, I'd say, but also prone to mistakes. Trust me, I've tried eye-tracking tech before. By the way, when watching movies wearing the headset, you get a screen as wide as 100 feet in front of your eyes.
If you want more of that AR / VR overload on your human senses, there is something called Apple Immersive Videos, which is essentially 180-degree 3D 8K recordings captured with Spatial Audio. Or, you could simply watch Apple TV+ shows like Ted Lasso on a regular flat screen floating in thin air.
Since VisionOS has been built atop the iOS and macOS foundations, you will be able to access a majority of iPhone and iOS apps on the headset. Now, here is the cool part.
You can pair this headset with your Mac, and get floating macOS screens, each offering a cool 4K resolution. Yes, there will be Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse support. Duh! This is what it feels like to work wearing the headset:
The cameras on the headset will read your hand gestures. So, if you gesture with your fingers, you can zoom in/out on images, and pull out 3D images from a web page to float in the air, just like Tony “Iron Man” Stark making cool tech atop a 3D table.
You can also make FaceTime calls. The cameras on the headset scans your face and create a life-like Persona, which is basically a Memoji, but disturbingly human-looking. By the way, Apple is gonna charge you $3,500 for the headset. Phew!!!
By the way, the Vision Pro headset needs to constantly stay connected to a battery pack, which in turn only lasts for two hours. If you want to work wearing the headset all day, better keep it plugged to a Mac, or run to the nearest charging outlet. Wall-hugging is back, baby!
Plus, it will only be released in the market early next year. So, you have plenty of time to plan an ATM robbery with Dominic Toretto from the "Fast and Furious" franchise and indulge in your short-lived Apple Vision Pro online bragging journey!