Monday, June 5th 2023

Apple Announces Apple Vision Pro AR Spatial Computer

Apple today unveiled Apple Vision Pro, a revolutionary spatial computer that seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world, while allowing users to stay present and connected to others. Vision Pro creates an infinite canvas for apps that scales beyond the boundaries of a traditional display and introduces a fully three-dimensional user interface controlled by the most natural and intuitive inputs possible—a user's eyes, hands, and voice. Featuring visionOS, the world's first spatial operating system, Vision Pro lets users interact with digital content in a way that feels like it is physically present in their space. The breakthrough design of Vision Pro features an ultra-high-resolution display system that packs 23 million pixels across two displays, and custom Apple silicon in a unique dual-chip design to ensure every experience feels like it's taking place in front of the user's eyes in real time.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "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."

"Creating our first spatial computer required invention across nearly every facet of the system," said Mike Rockwell, Apple's vice president of the Technology Development Group. "Through a tight integration of hardware and software, we designed a standalone spatial computer in a compact wearable form factor that is the most advanced personal electronics device ever."
Extraordinary New Experiences
Apple Vision Pro brings a new dimension to powerful, personal computing by changing the way users interact with their favorite apps, capture and relive memories, enjoy stunning TV shows and movies, and connect with others in FaceTime.

An infinite canvas for apps at work and at home: visionOS 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 favorite apps, and all-new ways to multitask. And with support for Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, users can set up the perfect workspace or bring the powerful capabilities of their Mac into Vision Pro wirelessly, creating an enormous, private, and portable 4K display with incredibly crisp text.

Engaging entertainment experiences: With two ultra-high-resolution displays, Apple Vision Pro can transform any space into a personal movie theater with a screen that feels 100 feet wide and an advanced Spatial Audio system. Users can watch movies and TV shows, or enjoy stunning three-dimensional movies. Apple Immersive Video offers 180-degree high-resolution recordings with Spatial Audio, and users can access an exciting lineup of immersive videos that transport them to entirely new places.

Spatial computing makes new types of games possible with titles that can span a spectrum of immersion and bring gamers into all-new worlds. Users can also play over 100 Apple Arcade games on a screen as large as they want, with incredible immersive audio and support for popular game controllers.

Immersive Environments: With Environments, a user's world can grow beyond the dimensions of a physical room with dynamic, beautiful landscapes that can help them focus or reduce clutter in busy spaces. A twist of the Digital Crown lets a user control how present or immersed they are in an environment.

Memories come alive: Featuring Apple's first three-dimensional camera, Apple Vision Pro lets users capture, relive, and immerse themselves in favorite memories with Spatial Audio. Every spatial photo and video transports users back to a moment in time, like a celebration with friends or a special family gathering. Users can access their entire photo library on iCloud, and view their photos and videos at a life-size scale with brilliant color and spectacular detail. Every Panorama shot on iPhone expands and wraps around the user, creating the sensation they are standing right where it was taken.

FaceTime becomes spatial: With Apple Vision Pro, FaceTime calls take advantage of the room around the user, with everyone on the call reflected in life-size tiles, as well as Spatial Audio, so it sounds as if participants are speaking right from where they are positioned. 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.

Even more app experiences: Apple Vision Pro has an all-new App Store where users can discover apps and content from developers, and access hundreds of thousands of familiar iPhone and iPad apps that run great and automatically work with the new input system for Vision Pro. Apple's developer community can go even further and take advantage of the powerful and unique capabilities of Vision Pro and visionOS to design brand-new app experiences, and reimagine existing ones for spatial computing.

A Revolutionary Operating System and User Interface
Built on the foundation of decades of engineering innovation in macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, visionOS was designed from the ground up to support the low-latency requirements of spatial computing. The result is a revolutionary operating system that delivers powerful spatial experiences that can take advantage of the space around the user, unlocking new opportunities at work and at home. visionOS features a brand-new three-dimensional interface that makes digital content look and feel present in a user's physical world. By responding dynamically to natural light and casting shadows, it helps the user understand scale and distance. To enable user navigation and interaction with spatial content, Apple Vision Pro introduces 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.

Apple Vision Pro also features EyeSight, an extraordinary innovation that helps users stay connected 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. When a user is immersed in an environment or using an app, EyeSight gives visual cues to others about what the user is focused on.

Breakthrough Design
Apple Vision Pro builds on Apple innovation and experience designing high-performance products like Mac, iPhone, and wearables like Apple Watch, culminating in the most advanced personal electronics device ever. To achieve ambitious goals for performance, mobility, and wearability, Apple utilized the most advanced materials possible.

Apple Vision Pro has an astonishing amount of technology in a compact design. A singular piece of three-dimensionally formed and laminated glass is polished to create an optical surface that acts as a lens for the wide array of cameras and sensors needed to blend the physical world with digital content. The glass flows into the custom aluminium alloy frame that gently curves around the user's face, while the modular system allows for a tailored fit to accommodate a wide range of people. The Light Seal is made of a soft textile, and comes in a range of shapes and sizes, flexing to conform to a user's face for a precise fit. Flexible straps ensure audio 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.

Unrivaled Innovation in Hardware
Apple Vision Pro is designed to deliver phenomenal compute performance in a compact wearable form factor. Featuring a breakthrough ultra-high-resolution display system built on top of an Apple silicon chip, Vision Pro uses micro-OLED technology to pack 23 million pixels into two displays, each the size of a postage stamp, with wide color and high dynamic range. This technological breakthrough, combined with custom catadioptric lenses that enable incredible sharpness and clarity, delivers jaw-dropping experiences. Users with vision correction needs will use ZEISS Optical Inserts to ensure visual fidelity and eye tracking accuracy.

An advanced Spatial Audio system is core to the Apple Vision Pro experience, creating the feeling that sounds are coming from the environment around the user and matching the sound to the space. Two individually amplified drivers inside each audio pod deliver Personalized Spatial Audio based on the user's own head and ear geometry.

In addition to creating a breakthrough display and advanced audio experiences, the high-performance eye tracking system in Apple Vision Pro uses high-speed cameras and a ring of LEDs that project invisible light patterns onto the user's eyes for responsive, intuitive input. These groundbreaking innovations are powered by Apple silicon in a unique dual-chip design. M2 delivers unparalleled standalone performance, while the brand-new R1 chip 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. R1 streams 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.

Industry-Leading Privacy and Security
Apple Vision Pro is built on a strong foundation of privacy and security, and keeps users in control of their data. Optic ID is a new secure authentication system that analyzes a 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. A user's Optic ID data is fully encrypted, is not accessible to apps, and never leaves their device, meaning it is not stored on Apple servers. Where a user looks stays private while navigating Apple Vision Pro, and eye tracking information is not shared with Apple, third-party apps, or websites. Additionally, data from the camera and other sensors is processed at the system level, so individual apps do not need to see a user's surroundings to enable spatial experiences. EyeSight also includes a visual indicator that makes it clear to others when a user is capturing a spatial photo or video.

Pricing and Availability
Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 (U.S.), and will be available early next year on apple.com and at Apple Store locations in the U.S., with more countries coming later next year.
Source: Apple
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73 Comments on Apple Announces Apple Vision Pro AR Spatial Computer

#26
theGryphon
It looks ridiculous.
Wake me up when they make a AR/VR set with a front-end as small as a tiny pair of goggles/glasses.
Mind you, I said front-end. The hardware can reside on the sides, etc...
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#27
mechtech
You have to put the price in the headline. ;)
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#28
AusWolf
Spatial computer... :laugh:

Aka a fully integrated and way overpriced AR/VR headset that they're desperate to sell, so they gave it a fancy name. Genius! :rolleyes:
Posted on Reply
#29
RegaeRevaeb
FouquinYes, actually. Apple gives bulk order discounts for industry clients. As long as you're ordering as a business you can ask about discounts. It's usually not more than 15% though.
The more you buy... Oh, sheeee-it.

Anyway, EyeSight feels creepy at first blush, eh? You're just walking by someone watching their VR gonzo flicks when the proximity sensor makes the fella's dilated pupils pop out while you and other passerby interrupt the, er, best part. :-p
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#30
dyonoctis
AusWolfSpatial computer... :laugh:

Aka a fully integrated and way overpriced AR/VR headset that they're desperate to sell, so they gave it a fancy name. Genius! :rolleyes:
If you look at all the sensors that they put into it, the price make sense although it's overkill if you simply want to consume entertainment in VR/AR. There's two micro-oled screen with a resolution above 4k, there's eye tracking with infra-red inside, a retina scanner for ID, a lidar for 3D mapping, head and hands tracking without controllers, the front cover is actually an OLED screen, it can take pictures and videos in 360°, the lenses are made by Zeiss, and there's a whole M2 chip powering it.

Feature for feature there's no direct equivalent to it.
Posted on Reply
#31
trsttte
MarsM4N
I lost it with the "you can see them and they can see you" right at the beginning. God damn, this shit is absolutely ridiculous, what a swing and a miss. If this is the "tag line" they wanted to go with - you can remain in and with the world around you or whatever - they should have copied google's work, the google glass as a concept was so much better than this
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#32
AusWolf
trsttteI lost it with the "you can see them and they can see you" right at the beginning. God damn, this shit is absolutely ridiculous, what a swing and a miss. If this is the "tag line" they wanted to go with - you can remain in and with the world around you or whatever - they should have copied google's work, the google glass as a concept was so much better than this
I feel like Apple shot a bit too high with this one - hence the desperation to sell it.

Too much gimmick, not enough substance.
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#33
matar
LOVE IT BUT... $3500 & don't forget + TAX why i put plus tax because on 3500 tax is about $350 so true cost in CA, Los Angeles $3850.
And one year latter a NEW version comes out and your $3850 is worth $1000 or less of Facebook marketplace.
SO to be fair I think it should be around $1500 - Most $2000.
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#34
Scrizz
dyonoctisIf you look at all the sensors that they put into it, the price make sense although it's overkill if you simply want to consume entertainment in VR/AR. There's two micro-oled screen with a resolution above 4k, there's eye tracking with infra-red inside, a retina scanner for ID, a lidar for 3D mapping, head and hands tracking without controllers, the front cover is actually an OLED screen, it can take pictures and videos in 360°, the lenses are made by Zeiss, and there's a whole M2 chip powering it.

Feature for feature there's no direct equivalent to it.
This is just a 5 year newer Hololens.

Even the price is the same. www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens/buy
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#35
Bwaze
This would need a lot of sweet software to satisfy the few buyers that can throw away $3500 for a gimmick. I don't see any big push in that direction, so it will mainly be "but wait, more will come" for the whole working life of the device...

And anyway, VR in PC is again looking like "too little, too soon", especially if the graphics card power will really stagnate from now on - you know, they can be used for AI, no need to sell them to gamers...
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#36
erocker
*
One of the few things I'd want a device like this is for having diagrams, schematics, specs, guides for instructional use for building, repairing, constructing, soldering, etc. But in a form akin to reading glasses. This is very cool, but not for me.
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#37
TumbleGeorge
$3500 propably is start price of basic. How is price complected with all accessories?
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#38
dyonoctis
ScrizzThis is just a 5 year newer Hololens.

Even the price is the same. www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens/buy
They overlap a bit, but the specs are not the same, a Snapdragon 850 is not even close to an M2 :D. Hololens use See-through holographic lenses to see the world around you, when the Vision pro is actually opaque and use a video feed. The resolution of the Hololens is also lower, and doesn't come with integrated speakers, or the same software ecosystem. Hololens can't record 3D video/photos either. If anything, if Microsoft didn't had success with professionals, the fact that the Hololens is still sold for 3500$ would have been in their disfavour. But as it stands, Hololens seems to have the edge for professional work.

Hating Apple from the bottom of your heart is okay, but an orange and a mandarine are still not the same.:p You can't exchange them and have the exact same experience/ functionality.

The Varjo XR is actually closer (but still not a 100% feature parity) but it's only for pro and much more expensive



The varjo XR-1 was sold at 9995€, but since the brand is less popular than Apple, I guess that no one bothered to hate on them, Haha
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#39
KrazyT
AusWolfSpatial computer... :laugh:

Aka a fully integrated and way overpriced AR/VR headset that they're desperate to sell, so they gave it a fancy name. Genius! :rolleyes:
I'm not into Apple things, but i must recognize they are mastering, and way above the top, the art of marketing !
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#40
R0H1T
QUANTUMPHYSICSFor people who thought the Air Pod Max was overpriced.
Wait for the car :nutkick:
Posted on Reply
#41
AusWolf
R0H1TWait for the car :nutkick:
It's already here. It's called Tesla.
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#42
Garrus
kongaI find the device to be pretty impressive actually, but the completely closed ecosystem is a dealbreaker. Maybe I'd see more utility in it if I could project virtual screens from other devices, but mac-only? Nahh. And of course, there's no way to tether it to a PC for PC VR, but I think we all expected that already.
I'd like to be able to use the device as a TV to hook up my PlayStation five for example
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#43
SN2716057
It sounds impressive, including the price. But..
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.
2 hours is ..poor. And while I get the external battery pack they could've added it in the device (quick detachable). The battery doesn't look that big/heavy.

Another thing is the spectacle user; inserts or is it able to be used with the glasses on?
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#44
Dimitriman
All I ever wanted was to wear my ski goggles and look at ads all day long for two hours. Thanks apple!
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#46
Moofachuka
If Apple can pull this off and create a new market (which they're really good at), Samsung will most likely do something similar and copy their homework for Android just like what they did with their Galaxy Series.
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#47
Bomby569
MoofachukaIf Apple can pull this off and create a new market (which they're really good at), Samsung will most likely do something similar and copy their homework for Android just like what they did with their Galaxy Series.
Apple didn't invent AR or VR and they didn't invent the capacitive touchscreen phone, so they basically copy themselves with more marketing
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#48
dyonoctis
Someone who actually got to use it. The tech is really good, but it does feel dystopian in some way. It doesn't take 360° video/photos, but stereoscopic 3D video and photos... the question is, do you really want to wear it while witnessing important moments in your life? I understand the intent to use technology to "connect", have immersive photos of great moments in your life... but in practicality, it might end up being another case of "starring at your phone instead of being fully in the moment", but in an immersive way.
Bomby569Apple didn't invent AR or VR and they didn't invent the capacitive touchscreen phone, so they basically copy themselves with more marketing
Yhea, they don't invent new technology, they are just better than most at actually selling the tech to the mass. Who know what could have happen If Xerox put a patent on the mouse/GUI, and sold an OS and computer themselves?
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#49
Guwapo77
AnarchoPrimitivThe question is what kind of experience will it offer compared to something like the Varjo XR-3, widely considered to be the absolute BEST AR/VR headset on the market.
Just looking up this set, I think Apple's might be better spec wise. Varjo requires a full up computer to be plugged into. Also, it costs almost 3 times as much. I could go into a long list of pluses here on Apple's product, but it means nothing since it can't be purchased today like Varjo. So ultimately the win goes to Varjo until next year. LoL
Bomby569Apple didn't invent AR or VR and they didn't invent the capacitive touchscreen phone, so they basically copy themselves with more marketing
Apple is has has been known for taking new bootleg tech and morphing into something would need/want to use. While at the same time making sure you don't need a PhD to use it - the ish just works.
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#50
swirl09
I would buy one just to stream games to it tbh, if the weight is ok. It could also replace the need for a laptop. Just really comes down to weight.
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