Apple unveils ‘Vision Pro’ mixed reality headgear

After years of speculations Apple on Monday (June 5) finally unveiled the company’s first-ever mixed reality gadget Vision Pro at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) event in Cupertino.

. The company calls Vision Pro, a spatial computer, as it can work independently without any special accessory. It houses an array of high-resolution cameras and state-of-the-art sensors that can take inputs with just the eye movement, finger gestures and voice seamlessly.

. The new gadget looks like a beautifully sculpted advanced skiing goggle made of high-quality glass and metal along with an array of numerous cameras. The glass flows into the custom aluminum alloy frame that curves around the user’s face and the modular system allows for a tailored fit to accommodate a wide range of sizes to precisely fit on people’s face and head structure.

. The Light Seal is made of a soft textile and also comes in a range of shapes and sizes. And, the flexible straps ensure audio (delivered via dual-driver speakers) remains close to the user’s ears, while a Head Band — available in multiple sizes — is three-dimensionally knitted as a single piece to provide cushioning, breathability, and stretch. The band is secured with a simple mechanism, making it easy to change to another size or style of band.

. Apple has used micro-OLED technology to pack 23 million pixels into two displays, each the size of a postage stamp, with wide colour and high dynamic range. This technological breakthrough, combined with custom catadioptric lenses that enable incredible sharpness and clarity, to deliver an immersive viewing experience, which can outmatch any expensive home theatre system.

. To take input from eye movements, Apple has incorporated a high-performance eye tracking system in Apple Vision Pro, which uses high-speed cameras and a ring of LEDs that project invisible light patterns onto the user’s eyes for responsive, intuitive input.

. And, those with vision correction needs, will have to use ZEISS Optical Inserts to ensure visual fidelity and eye-tracking accuracy.

. “Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing. Just as the Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro introduces us to spatial computing. Built upon decades of Apple innovation, Vision Pro is years ahead and unlike anything created before — with a revolutionary new input system and thousands of groundbreaking innovations. It unlocks incredible experiences for our users and exciting new opportunities for our developers,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

. Users can watch movies and TV shows, or enjoy stunning three-dimensional movies on the Vision Pro. Apple Immersive Video feature offers 180-degree high-resolution recordings with Spatial Audio. Not just videos, Apple Vision Pro will support more than 100 games on Apple Arcade from day one of the launch.

. Apple’s Vision Pro is powered by M2 and the brand new R1, a special silicon developed specifically for this device. While the former promise to deliver unparalleled standalone performance, the latter can processes input from 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones to ensure that content feels like it is appearing right in front of the user’s eyes, in real time. Apple R1 chipset helps the device to stream new images to the displays within 12 milliseconds — 8x faster than the blink of an eye. Apple Vision Pro is designed for all-day use when plugged in, and up to two hours of use with its external, high-performance battery.

. It runs visionOS, which features a three-dimensional interface that frees apps from the boundaries of a display so they can appear side by side at any scale. Apple Vision Pro enables users to be even more productive, with infinite screen real estate, access to their favourite apps, and all-new ways to multitask.

. Add to that, users can use standalone Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, to create a workspace and be able to be productive as owing a Mac. It can also be able to offer an enormous, private, and portable 4K display-like viewing experience with incredibly crisp text.

. With the Digital Crown, users can control how present or immersed they are in an environment. Also, video calls on FaceTime will get better than ever before. Users wearing Vision Pro during a FaceTime call are reflected as a Persona — a digital representation of themselves created using Apple’s most advanced machine learning techniques — which reflects face and hand movements in real-time. Users can do things together like watch a movie, browse photos, or collaborate on a presentation.

. Apple is setting up a new App Store for Vision Pro, and will be compatible with most of the apps we use on iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Apple is offering numerous kits for app developers to build Vision Pro-compatible apps to deliver better app experiences, and most importantly reimagine existing ones for spatial computing.

. As said before, Vision Pro’s visionOS interface has an entirely new input system controlled by a person’s eyes, hands, and voice. Users can browse through apps by simply looking at them, tapping their fingers to select, flicking their wrist to scroll, or using voice to dictate.

. Another notable aspect of the Vision Pro’s screen is that it can turn transparent when a person approaches the owner. This new feature aptly called EyeSight, will help to instantly connect with those around them. When a person approaches someone wearing Vision Pro, the device feels transparent — letting the user see them while also displaying the user’s eyes. This gives a visual cue to others about what the user is focused on.

. As for privacy is concerned, it comes with state-of-the-art tech dubbed Optic ID. Like the FaceID, this new biometric secure authentication system can analyze the user’s iris under various invisible LED light exposures, and then compares it to the enrolled Optic ID data that is protected by the Secure Enclave to instantly unlock Apple Vision Pro.

. Apple Vision Pro will be initially available in the US in early 2024 for $3,499 (approx. Rs 2,88,707). The company has announced to expand the availability of the device in more countries later in the year.

. Must read | Apple WWDC 2023: New MacBook Air, Mac Studio, Mac Pro unveiled

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Apple unveils ‘Vision Pro’ mixed reality headgear

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