Apple’s new Vision Pro headset is finally here, announced at WWDC 2023 on Monday, and it’s both more and less compelling than the initial rumors had us believing it would be. While Apple is claiming to have some of the most advanced augmented reality technology packed into its $3,449 wearable device, the Vision Pro’s gesture-based controls and focus on well-worn Mac apps means its appeal will largely depend simply on a “coolness” factor rather than any real-world use case.
Despite the hype among the VR development community, Apple isn’t necessarily trying to compete with all the likes of Meta in its quest to create a new digital realm, AKA the “Metaverse.” Unlike the Meta Quest headset, Apple’s upcoming device has no controller and instead uses a combination of hand gestures, eye tracking, and voice controls to select and control apps. Though the Vision Pro combines both VR and AR capabilities into what Apple calls “mixed reality,” most of the press materials stick to showing apps in the augmented reality setting, with users’ surroundings still visible, as opposed to full-screen virtual reality.
You can tell what Apple wants from its device and its expected user base by what the company showed during its presentation. Most of it included people in a living room or office setting surrounded by displays. One user was looking up hotel bookings while listening to music. Another talked with coworkers while going over boring product slides.
The company did share a fair bit of how users could watch movies on the device, including a partnership with Disney for more “3D experiences” and more “immersive video” that can include spatial video akin to the holographic movies out of the 2002's Minority Report. Movie watching in a headset can be a fun experience, but it’s much more fun to watch movies with friends and family than sitting in a room alone.
Other people who get close enough to headset users will appear in the UI, no matter if users block out the world around them. Apple wants users to feel present in the world around them by showing their eyes, but by their nature, headsets are an isolating experience.
In effect, Apple has created an incredibly sophisticated, suped-up, ultra-expensive MacBook for your face. Apple analyst Ross Young wrote on Monday that the displays themselves make up 10% of its price. Even if the headset is as capable as Apple claims it will be, so much of what’s on offer feels like its geared only to enthusiasts. Apple is already positing it as a luxury product. According to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the device’s shipments in 2023 are likely to be lower than the industry might expect.
While the device means to stick out from the crowd in its general application, the headset still runs into the same problems people have had with VR goggles for years. Apple is claiming the device is extremely lightweight compared to other VR goggles out on the market, and that could be the case. The battery, often the heaviest part of a headset, is housed in an external pack meant to sit in users’ pockets,attached via wire.
We collected up some of the most interesting aspects of Apple’s big reveal showcasing just how strange Apple’s entry into the AR market truly is.
