Working with four giant screens around. Watch movies and videos in a completely immersive way, with images that envelop the viewer at 180 degrees. These are some of the promises of Apple Vision Pro. Theheadset for Cupertino’s augmented reality it has been presented in recent days as a “space computer”. And the specifications are all there: the processor is the same as the latest MacBooks, and the operating system is also reminiscent of that of apple PCs, even if the sense of depth is added. There is also a high resolution 3D camera. The screen dedicated to each eye has more pixels than a 4K television. Everything takes place around the user. “I felt like I was in my own IMAX theater,” writes Steve Kovach on CNBC.
The price and the functions
For the price of 3,500 dollars – it is not yet clear how much will be sold in Italy, where the cost of Apple products rises compared to overseas – the “mixed reality” viewer promises those who use it to be able to switch from work to leisure, from meditation to writing, to shooting videos without ever having to switch devices and in an intuitive way. Managing it is easy, with a button above the right eyewear the apps appear, which, after a scan of the hands, can be controlled with simple gestures. No dramatic movements or the need to keep your hands in front of your eyes. Pinch with your fingers, the applications are closed, keeping the two fingers in the same position you can move the windows. From videos that look like real scenes, to FaceTime calls with virtual avatars of your family members.
Risk of isolation?
Just its versatility, its naturalness, its comfort, in these hours are arousing the concern of some. Apple reassures: «Create the workstation of your dreams. Move from one application to another without interruption. All while remaining present in the world around you». And again: «Vision Pro helps you stay connected to the people around you. Eyesight reveals your eyes to the speaker. When someone approaches, Vision Pro warns you, and at the same time shows them your eyes». The headset also has a control to decide how much of the real world you want to see at any given moment. Yet there are doubts: indeed, it is difficult to imagine how to show a video to someone, like watching a film with your partner. Generally speaking, how to quickly share something with a person in the real world without having to switch to your phone. Being immersed in your own world full of screens – as Allison Johnson writes on The Verge – «it is more insulating than being in a six-inch screen that we hold in our hands».
The typical day
From the videos that the Cupertino-based company shows on its website to advertise the viewer, we get the idea that Apple Vision pro, which is to all intents and purposes what Shira Ovide defines on Washington Post a “facial computer”, is a tool to be worn at home, perhaps throughout the day or almost. “How was that pancake recipe I made for breakfast last month?” you might ask. «I start preparing them and in the meantime I check it on the Vision Pro. And if my daughter kicks the ball at me in the meantime, I can see it and kick it back», would add the protagonist of one of the promotional videos. At work, the promised productivity seems incredible, with the possibility of having all the information you need under your eyes.
Battery
Then I have lunch watching some videos on YouTube to relax and finally a good movie in the evening. We will have to wait to understand what the real uses of a tool that at the moment seems perfect for those who work remotely, rather than to wear all day, even given the weight that approaches half a kilo. However, at the moment the best feature of the Vision Pro to prevent users from being too detached from the real world seems to be the battery life. A couple of hours. And then it will be reloaded. Either by taking it off, or the cable will remember where you are. In mid-2024 the first answers.
Cover photo: Apple
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