Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Apple Technology

Apple Vision Pro is Apple's New AR Headset (theverge.com) 360

Posted by msmash from the it's-here dept.
Apple has announced an augmented reality headset called Apple Vision Pro that "seamlessly" blends the real and digital world. "It's the first Apple product you look through, and not at," CEO Tim Cook said of the device, which looks like a pair of ski goggles. From a report: As rumored, it features a separate battery pack and is controlled with eyes, hands, and voice. Vision Pro is positioned as primarily an AR device, but it can switch between augmented and full virtual reality using a dial. The device is controller-free, and you browse rows of app icons by looking at them. You can tap to select and flick to scroll, and you can also give voice commands.

On top of that, the headset supports Bluetooth accessories and lets you connect your Mac to use inside the headset. You're also not, Apple promises, isolated from people around you. The headset will display your eyes with a system called EyeSight, and if you're in full VR, a glowing screen will obscure them to suggest you're not available. The device uses passthrough video that lets you see the real world in full color, but you can also project 3D objects into real space, including pulling objects out of a message thread into the real world. Starting price: $3,499.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Apple Vision Pro is Apple's New AR Headset More

Apple Vision Pro is Apple's New AR Headset

Comments Filter:
  • headset, it'd be Apple. Maybe V2....
    • The dorky part isn't an issue IMO. The issue (to me anyway) is still the same as every other VR/AR headset: "What's the Killer App/Use Case?" My wife has a Quest 2 she uses for exercise, and it has a little mini-golf game that's kind of fun, but it's not like those are must-haves, and they don't become must-haves by virtue of Apple finally creating one with hardware that doesn't suck shit. I just don't get it.

      • Killer app? A knife. Club will do in a pinch. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by denzacar ( 181829 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @05:12PM (#63578371) Journal

        You see someone wearing one of those, you know they have money to burn and not much common sense not to carry it around.
        Simply threatening them should do the trick.

        Alternatively, convince them that being mugged is the coolest new thing and that anyone who is anyone is doing it.

        • You have keyed in to something that I believe is important with many Apple products: Distinctive look. They are excellent tools, but also carry "cachet", and this is a big part of the appeal to many people. An example: The white headphone wires on the original iPod. Distinctive, and a part of the appeal (I think I recall they were featured in ads with silhouetted dancing people to underline how distinctive they were. It will probably be the same here, and perhaps the hololens, meta quest, et al will join th

  • Killer App (Score:5, Insightful)

    by alvinrod ( 889928 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @02:56PM (#63577767)
    What does this enable that wasn't previously possible? Unless your a technology enthusiast that just buys new products to try them out, why would I want to spend money on this as opposed to anything else? For the asking price I can purchase plenty of other things that could augment reality even more effectively while providing just as much use.

    • Re:Killer App (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:14PM (#63577837) Homepage Journal

      The iPod was worse than many of the devices that came before and after it... Never underestimate Apple's ability to sell crap.

      • Yep. I was at the university this afternoon and all the kids stopped working to watch the presentation.

        • Yep. I was at the university this afternoon and all the kids stopped working to watch the presentation.

          Not at all surprised.

          Meta stock to be delisted in 3..2..1

      • What was better than the iPod when it was released?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Creative Nomad. More space, WiFi, superior.

          It's one of the oldest Slashdot memes.

          • Oh. I remember those and their odd shape. I had a 6GB Archos Jukebox at the time. It was pretty decent but the iPod seemed better all around when it was released. I was more upset that people thought Apple invented the high-capacity player.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              Non replaceable batteries were a crime against humanity.

              • If you can find the Archos, you can simply throw a new set of nicad AAs in there and it would be ready to go. It would probably show up on a modern device as USB 1.0 storage. You would even browse your music collection based on filename and folder structure.

        • What was better than the iPod when it was released?

          Burning your pirated music to CD-Rs and playing them on a cheap portable CD player.

          Hard drive based MP3 players were an overpriced niche product for quite awhile. People tend to forget that the iPod didn't really become a runaway success until Apple released iTunes for Windows and made a few price cuts.

      • The iPod was worse than many of the devices that came before and after it.

        The product category of "portable audio players" was already well-established at the time it was released. The iPod may have not been the best hard-drive based modern (at the time) evolution of the Sony Walkman, but it entered a market that already existed.

        VR/AR on the other hand, has been a tough sell thus far. Yeah, Apple had amazing success transforming smartphones from a product for businesspeople and geeks into something with mainstream appeal, but I have significant doubts they'll get lightning to st

    • Re:Killer App (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Applehu Akbar ( 2968043 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:17PM (#63577853)

      What does this enable that wasn't previously possible?

      How about real-time correction of visual field defects like macular degeneration? People with conditions like this will gladly put up with the dorky look for improved vision.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by torkus ( 1133985 )

        What does this enable that wasn't previously possible?

        How about real-time correction of visual field defects like macular degeneration? People with conditions like this will gladly put up with the dorky look for improved vision.

        No such thing as correction (realtime or otherwise) for AMD. There are low vision aids that can help one leverage what vision they do have - such as magnifying lenses which, arguably, this could do but for 1000x the cost and 2h battery life.

        Besides, this headset isn't being sold as an accessibility device and magnifying things isn't exactly new technology.

    • Re:Killer App (Score:5, Informative)

      by BeepBoopBeep ( 7930446 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:20PM (#63577877)
      You clearly didnt see the WWDC video, this has M2 and R2 (AR) chip. Its basically a macbook with this headset to project things into space. They went so far as to project your face onto the outside the glass to make it appear like a completely transparent pane of glass from another persons's perspective (you can see their eyes/nose) but its all through cameras and display magic.

    • Re:Killer App (Score:5, Interesting)

      by NoMoreACs ( 6161580 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:32PM (#63577931)

      What does this enable that wasn't previously possible? Unless your a technology enthusiast that just buys new products to try them out, why would I want to spend money on this as opposed to anything else? For the asking price I can purchase plenty of other things that could augment reality even more effectively while providing just as much use.

      Infinite display area, seamless blending of reality and generated content, non-hokey AR and VR, a serious stab at eliminating motion-sickness inducing display lag (ultra critical to believable AR), Realtime Spatial Audio (which is getting better and better), the promise of some truly spectacular games, Video conferencing and Facetime sessions that are much more engaging, especially with Vision Pro at both ends, effortless integration of your Mac screen with other virtual "displays".

      Show me another consumer AR/VR goggle that provides all that (and more!). I'll wait.

    • It's Apple VR glasses. So you can download VR chat from the appstore and won't have to hobby around with 3D graphics settings to get it to work.

      Also it has the Apple logo so it will automatically get huge adoption so some people will probably make some useful apps for around the house with the "AR" features. Not much different from ipad stuff, but more immersive.

    • Re:Killer App (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Dixie_Flatline ( 5077 ) <<moc.liamg> <ta> <hog.naj.tnecniv>> on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:51PM (#63578027) Homepage

      Three things, mostly.

      1. Standalone functionality. It's not running Safari off your MacBook, it's running Safari on the headset. You CAN have your MacBook as a window on the headset, if you want, but you don't need to. It senses your hands for input without the need for controllers.

      2. Extremely high resolution displays. Other VR headsets have pretty low, chunky resolution. That ends up being important for alleviating motion sickness.

      3. Mixed reality. It's an independent overlay on the world with a pretty sophisticated looking pass-through.

      Every other VR headset I've tried (only a couple, to be fair) has been a single-app experience driven by an off-board computer into a completely black headset.

      I think this is a big step forward for the space. I expect in a year or two we'll see comparable options from other companies, but everything else in the wearable headset market looks really primitive by comparison at the moment.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        It's not even out until next year. Time to catch up, and time for Apple to cancel it.

        I wonder if it even works. Why else would it not be available for at least six months, missing the lucrative Xmas period?

      • I think this is a big step forward for the space. I expect in a year or two we'll see comparable options from other companies, but everything else in the wearable headset market looks really primitive by comparison at the moment.

        I agree with everything in your Post except for the 2-3 year competitor catch-up.

        Sorry; Apple is just too far ahead in this, even at Version 1.0. In 2-3 years, we'll have Reality Pro 3.0 (likely already in Development).

        Just like with other people's ARM SoCs; always a few generations behind.

        And now Apple is going into the Display Business for themselves. . .

        • Apple is just too far ahead in this....

          Apple has definitely mastered charging WAY too much for something only the Apple faithful will ever use. That thing looks like it took a trip down to Uncanny Valley and decided to give a master class in creepiness. I laughed out loud when I saw the headset screenshot on the Verge. It looks absolutely terrible, like something a child molester might wear to entice children into his van.

          • I don't think it looks great, but most of the use cases seemed to be in the house. The eyes were REALLY weird at some angles, though, I agree. And the digital avatar was SO Uncanny Valley I literally said, "Eugh," out loud. But other than that, a lot of that stuff looks really great. If they can get the price down another couple thousand bucks, I'll start thinking about saving up for it.

      • It is indeed its own compute platform with the M2 in it. The headset is actually a VR concept with cameras pumping the real world to your eyeballs to create an AR effect. Cameras are pumping your nose and eyes to the exterior display so people can "see you" like a transparent pane of glass, but it isnt transparent at all. This really is an interesting concept.

  • Oh my... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @02:57PM (#63577769)

    Those look worse than Google Glass - and that's with the benefit of a decade's technological advancement. On the plus side, we can start using the term "glassholes" again.

    I know its Apple so there will be at least some buyers, but - come on.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • It looks like a dive mask, so I guess you could add a snorkel and pretend you're just going to the beach. Uhm. Well. Maybe not.

        When I look across an average group of humans these days, do I see faces? No. I see crooked necks staring down at screens.

        No matter how nonsensical you may feel something is or appears, I promise addiction can defeat it.

      • It looks like a dive mask, so I guess you could add a snorkel and pretend you're just going to the beach. Uhm. Well. Maybe not.

        So, genius, how do you propose to do all that in a more svelte package?

    • Those look worse than Google Glass - and that's with the benefit of a decade's technological advancement. On the plus side, we can start using the term "glassholes" again.

      I know its Apple so there will be at least some buyers, but - come on.

      There will be more sales in the first month than Oculus has had since day one.

      And unlike 99.998% of other AR/VR devices, these won't end up in a drawer in a month after purchase.

      Mark my words.

  • Enter ye olde... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Strider- ( 39683 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:02PM (#63577791)

    . No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

  • Nomad (Score:3, Insightful)

    by necro81 ( 917438 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:10PM (#63577825) Journal
    A dozen comments in, and no one has yet to say "No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame." ?

    For shame, slashdot, for shame.

    • A dozen comments in, and no one has yet to say "No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame." ?

      This attitude will change as soon as the first Linux-based knockoff comes out. It won't work properly, but it will be a tinkerer's dream.

  • Does It Require Perfect Vision? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by crunchy_one ( 1047426 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:16PM (#63577849)
    A question that hasn't been addressed is how well (if at all) this device works for people like me without perfect vision. Do I cram my glasses inside this thing or what? How do glasses or contacts affect the eyeball scanning it does? Will my floaters swim around crazily like when I try to look at an object in the sky on a cloudy day?

    • Re: Does It Require Perfect Vision? (Score:5, Informative)

      by angularbanjo ( 1521611 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:25PM (#63577887)
      If you watched the video they revealed that theyâ(TM)ve partnered with Zeiss to develop custom lens inserts for people who normally need glasses. They donâ(TM)t look cheap but I guess if someone is dropping $3.5k on these thatâ(TM)s not a worry.

    • A question that hasn't been addressed is how well (if at all) this device works for people like me without perfect vision. Do I cram my glasses inside this thing or what? How do glasses or contacts affect the eyeball scanning it does? Will my floaters swim around crazily like when I try to look at an object in the sky on a cloudy day?

      You didn't watch the Demo.

      They have partnered with Zeiss to develop a corrective lens pair that magnetically fits to the inside of each display. Details to follow; but they have thought of that.

  • That outside display looks suspiciously like the one Facebook demonstrated in their lab (fish eye lens array + display gives a low resolution 3d image).

  • I'll wait (Score:5, Funny)

    by gtall ( 79522 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:26PM (#63577895)

    I'll wait until I can get a magic eyeball like Alasdair Moody of the Harry Potter series. Being able to see out of the back of my head would be trip. Errr....so would peeking...never mind...

  • .. but I want to try VR and I think I'm gonna setup a fake account and get a Quest 2 for $300.

    Persuade me not to!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by djb ( 19374 )

      Ask around and you will most likely find someone who will happily give you one for free. The pointing devices are so imprecise, that it renders the device pretty much unusable.

    • Persuade me not to!

      I've tried:

      Nintendo's attempt back in the mid-90s
      Disney's VR at their (now closed down) DisneyQuest indoor theme park
      Samsung's goggles for their Galaxy S6

      It all just feels like strapping a display to your face. I'd personally rather just sit in a comfy couch and play a video game on a TV.

  • .. does that mean they don't have any good ones?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by djb ( 19374 )

      They said the head tracking has a 12ms delay on it. That gives a frame rate of at least 84Hz.

  • battery that lasts up to two hours (Score:3)

    by julian67 ( 1022593 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:38PM (#63577957)

    "battery that lasts up to two hours"

    Aaaaaaaaaggggghhhhh! 2 hours? That is so feeble. However appealing the features people who own this are going to get very, very bored of low battery warnings and having yet another damn thing to charge, especially if it's several times a day.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Thud457 ( 234763 )
      Well since your eyes slough out of their sockets at 121 minutes with this device, the two hour battery life isn't much of an issue.
      /jk, jeeze...

    • "battery that lasts up to two hours"

      Aaaaaaaaaggggghhhhh! 2 hours? That is so feeble. However appealing the features people who own this are going to get very, very bored of low battery warnings and having yet another damn thing to charge, especially if it's several times a day.

      I assume home and office users will just use an AC adapter cable, and third parties will offer 4-6 hour battery packs.

  • Unaffordable iSh*t (Score:3)

    by e065c8515d206cb0e190 ( 1785896 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @03:42PM (#63577977)
    Yet again
  • What is the field of view? This sounds like a HoloLens to me.

  • Usual Slashdot response (Score:5, Insightful)

    by djb ( 19374 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @04:04PM (#63578083) Homepage

    I’m guessing all the instant hate comes from people who just sat through a two marketing pitch, so they could validate their Apple hatred.

    To me it looks like Apple have solved most of the issues with current VR headsets, but I still don’t know why I would want one.

  • apple will sell a load of them...just to spite meta

  • A lonely future (Score:3)

    by HeyBob! ( 111243 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @04:23PM (#63578157)

    Looks like the future has no human interaction - even Facetime is fake. No sharing of a space for couples/families? Cool for when you are alone, but maybe only for a few hours a week, not most of my day.

  • state of the art.... (Score:3)

    by SETY ( 46845 ) on Monday June 05, 2023 @04:51PM (#63578271)

    83 frames a second. Greater than 4k per eye. Special lens for everyone (pile of sku's). Special forehead cushion for everyone (more sku's). Iris based secure unlock. It doesn't look like you share this and take turns like you would a VR headset playing the latest game. This is made for a single person as their singular main device.

    If this was iPhone price range it would sell sell sell. At this price....not many can afford $3500 and you don't have the cell phone companies subsidizing it or monthly payments. So rich people buy V1. 20-somethings living alone on the 40th floor in NYC buy it. Who else? Or $1000 down and pay us over the next 3 years? Maybe trying it at the apple store and people will open their wallets?

    For business with the right software, it might be a game changer. Can you stand to wear it to code all day? Is it worth putting on?

    I'm not sure the facetime machine learning avatar will fly. Looks like Zuckerberg thought it up. Placing a 3rd party camera in the room and generating it that way combined with the VisionPro might work better. But that's more clunky.

    They really thought about it and it doesn't look rushed out the door (it's not even out the door yet). Just admire the hardware and software integration. No one does it better (after others did some of it before). We shall see if that's enough....

Slashdot Top Deals

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

Close