Apple Vision Pro: Futuristic VR Headset Experience
TLDR; The Apple Vision Pro is a high-end VR headset with impressive features like spatial computing, immersive experiences, and a digital representation of the user's eyes for external viewing.
⏳ Introduction
The Apple Vision Pro is described as one of Apple's craziest and most radical products, offering new technologies like spatial computing, infrared eye tracking, and virtually reconstructed versions of the user.
🕹️ Hardware Overview
The Vision Pro is a high-end virtual reality headset made of metal and glass, equipped with displays, lenses, speakers, fans, and various sensors.
It weighs 638 grams, slightly less than some other VR headsets, but the weight distribution is different due to the battery being placed off the headset, requiring a cable to the head.
The non-removable battery has a capacity of 3,366 milliamp hours and provides 2 to 4 hours of battery life, with the option to connect an external battery for longer usage.
🔋 The Battery
The battery has a small capacity with a non-removable four-foot cable and no on/off button, requiring the user to twist and unplug the cable to turn off the headset.
The battery life of 2 to 4 hours is in line with other VR headsets, and additional battery life can be achieved by plugging the battery into the wall or connecting another battery.
👀 The Controls
The Vision Pro supports eye and hand gestures as the primary input method, with the ability to control and interact with the interface using eye tracking and hand gestures.
It offers an impressive spatial positioning lock and allows for intuitive and responsive control within a 180-degree bubble in front of the user.
🌐 VisionOS
VisionOS is described as similar to iPadOS but with an extra dimension of 3D space, providing an app drawer, intuitive scrolling, and impressive spatial positioning within the environment.
👓 Passthrough
The Vision Pro features an advanced passthrough mode that allows the user to see the space around them through the cameras, providing an experience close to augmented reality.
The passthrough is noted for its high-quality and low latency, allowing for seamless interaction with the real world while wearing the headset.
🎮 What Does It Actually Do?
The Vision Pro offers apps specifically designed to take advantage of its capabilities, including Apple's stock apps, media apps, and third-party apps.
While there is no single 'killer app' yet, the ecosystem and seamless integration with Apple services and devices are considered the most compelling aspects of the headset.
👁️ Personas
The headset features a unique external display of the user's eyes, known as Personas, created through a scanning process to generate a digital representation of the user's face.
Personas allow for realistic interactions in immersive environments and integration with apps that require a front-facing camera, such as FaceTime.
👤 Realistic Avatars
The use of Vision Pro for FaceTime calls allows for incredibly realistic avatars, with subtle movements for eyes, cheeks, and mouth.
The avatars are described as just at the edge of the uncanny valley, not quite human-like, but technically speaking, incredible.
The FaceTime windows appear as glassy windows floating in space, with people looking through them.
The angle at which you look into the window matches the angle seen by the other person.
This includes hand gestures, which are tracked by the cameras and show up at the correct angle towards the person being gestured at.
Spatial audio is well developed, with the voice of the person coming from the right side or left side matching their position in the room.
Moving the window around changes the angle of the sound and video, creating a more immersive experience.
The avatars, while not quite human-like, are considered to be the best avatar anyone has ever made in 2K.
However, the weakness lies in the hair, as it appears as a frozen lump instead of flowing realistically.
💬 Vision Pro Experience
The FaceTime experience using Vision Pro is described as the most well thought out and futuristic experience.
It is highlighted as the most amazing and unparalleled aspect of the Vision Pro.
However, the speaker mentions that there are still many more aspects to consider when deciding whether to buy and own the device, including use cases, functionality, philosophy, and pricing.
The speaker acknowledges that there are parts of Vision Pro that are absolutely amazing and unparalleled, making it the best they have ever seen in a headset.
However, they also mention some downsides, such as weight and comfort, app selection, battery life, and price.
The overall experience with the Vision Pro is described as a mix of upsides and downsides, with some features being the best the speaker has ever seen in a headset, while others present challenges.