Yesterday evening, on the occasion of WWDC 2023, Apple presented to the world its augmented reality viewer, Apple Vision Pro, which innovates in the field in question with some excellent features but at what price!
Let’s start from the aesthetics of this viewer which comes with a front glass panel through which, unlike other viewers, the user will be able to see what surrounds him in reality but at the same time allows him to interact with everything that surrounds him. the viewer can (and will) do. The shell is made of aluminum in the Apple Watch style and, in the lower part, it has the audio speakers, in the upper part there is a button to take photos and the “Digital Crown” as in the Watch which will allow you to zoom and much more; on the sides that connect the viewer to the rear band we find the speakers for spatial audio, for a more immersive experience.
The back band consists of a fabric with vertical cushions, breathable, soft and flexible for maximum comfort; this band has a wheel on the sides which will allow it to be adjusted according to the size of the end user’s head.
The internal lenses where we will go to see the contents are Micro Oled which allow the various contents to be viewed in 4K; on the front of the viewer there are a set of cameras that can be used to take photos or record videos, obviously there are also sensors including the LiDar that allow you to scan the surrounding environment for better interaction.
On the hardware side, Apple Vision Pro amazes for having the Apple M2 chip supported by the brand new Apple R2 chip dedicated precisely to the virtual reality viewer; the software is a fusion of watchOS, macOS, iPadOS and iOS, in fact the interface will be Apple Watch style with the transparent background that allows you to see the room in which we are. Obviously it has a dedicated store with various dedicated applications and games.
With Apple Vision Pro you will therefore be able to open Safari for navigation, also have the classic widgets, browse the photo album, play and watch movies or TV series having the possibility to increase or decrease the size of the vision, for example like at the cinema. The viewer has no controller but everything will be managed with the movements of our hands thanks to the sensors placed on the front; we will therefore be able to open applications simply by “pinching” them, or write via a virtual keyboard and so on. Obviously, the compatible applications at launch are all those from Apple, the Microsoft Office suite and Disney Plus which, as the official partner of the viewer, has studied a really interesting immersion in its contents.
I remember that the viewer will work via wireless connection and will use all the data we have stored in iCloud; plus there’s a battery that connects to the headset with a simple click, made to last a full day (at least that’s what Apple claimed). Battery that we can comfortably keep in our pocket while using the viewer.
Obviously, Apple reports, all the actions that will be performed with Apple Vision Pro will be encrypted on the M2 processor and therefore not accessible by Apple or anyone else for maximum privacy.
Apple Vision Pro, as you may have noticed, stands as an innovator in its field giving the possibility even to take photos and videos, make FaceTime calls, use it without peripherals simply hands-free and, fundamental part, it is very powerful thanks to the processor that we find on the Recent Macs. But now comes the sore point, the price will be $3499 and will be available in the first months of 2024 only in the United States; we do not know if it will also be marketed in the rest of the world. If it ever arrives in Italy, given the prices of all the other Apple products, it will have a price that will be around €4500/5000, totally out of the market for most; just think that there are other Oculus-type viewers that require powerful computers but in total you don’t reach that figure anyway. Perhaps, over the years, this viewer will become more “cheaper” even if we don’t think it will drop much in price, or perhaps even increase, but time will tell if it will be a failure for Apple or not.
What do you think about it? Eventually, will you buy it if it ever comes from us?