Apple Vision Pro, 1 Year: The Future Needs to Hurry
I woke up late one night and watched a 2011 documentary from Wim Wenders Pina In Apple Vision Proand it was magic. This beautiful 3D film about Pina Bausch, a pioneer of German dance theatres, felt like sitting in the theater with the performers.
A year after release, a magical moment It keeps pop up In Apple’s Vision Pro, I need to look for them. And most of the magic happens when you watch a movie or when you turn your headset into a huge curved monitor on your Mac. The remaining possibilities of Vision Pro remain unmet.
Apple’s $3,500 spatial computer was not an overnight success, but at that price it never happened. Vision Pro is a technology showcase for bleeding edges and the most sophisticated standalone VR/AR headsets are available. This offers an enchanting taste for a future visual visual experience. Also, for specific professional zones (such as those interested in simulation, displays to explore high-resolution 3D models, or flexible iPados-based platforms to build some ideas), Vision Pro is powerful It will become a tool.
But in my life it is primarily a film screen and a very fancy wearable monitor.
I do ‘VR stuff’ from games to video chat, exercise routines, and other headsets. There aren’t many Vision Pro apps that are so interesting from developers and from Apple itself. And that’s just one of the issues that bothers me about the Vision Pro, even after a year of using it pretty regularly at home.
There is absolutely area where Apple has succeeded, and there are areas that paved the way for a place where headsets and glasses can move on. But they are not enough. Without addressing other big missing pieces, Vision Pro doesn’t feel like it’s jumping up to be a successor or important extension for your phone or Mac. Here’s my view on the success and missed opportunities for Vision Pro last year:
My first demo with the Vision Pro was an early indication that the interface was almost a huge success.
Success: Hardware-free gesture control and eye tracking
The eye and hand tracking quality in Vision Pro, and the way they work together, really makes many basic navigation quite easy. I was spoiled by the simple way I saw it, pinching my fingers a bit and swiping to open the app and scrolling through the window. It’s hardly a problem to not have a Vision Pro controller. This feels as bold as shipping your first iPhone without a keyboard.
Since the announcement of Vision Pro, Apple has added additional gestures and improved shortcuts. I love slap my fingers and tilting my hands to check the time and adjust the volume. Yes, sometimes it drifts out of sight, so you need to readjust your gaze tracking. And tapping and grabbing some edges of the window or app is still awkward. Prefer to having more precision with optional wearables or accessories Sony’s professional-focused XR headset rings and pointersBut Apple is primarily proving that point.
Success: Best Personal Display and Film Experience
As a big TV on my face, Vision Pro remains undefeated. It’s never perfect: the field of vision is still narrower than I would like, and I sometimes see the reflective glare with the prescription lens inserted, but the experience with Apple’s audio and Vision Pro video makes me feel I’ll let you do it. Ve has got the device that screens the best movies I’ve ever tried. If I know I can watch it on its own, it’s my favorite way to watch any film or show. Evil in 3D? Stunning. I’m still amazed at that.
in Curved screen monitor formatcombined with a Mac, I feel like I have my own little world of wraparound work. I’m using it now. When I set it up, it’s as satisfying with my job as my personal movie outing. The nasty size of the headset has been improved with improved and rebuilt straps from companies like Belkin.
Apple’s unique place here will not last forever. Other devices have also acquired micro OLED displays. Samsung Project Muhanthe first Android XR headset of the year is very similar to the Samsung/Google Vision Pro, and the quality of the display during the short demo was impressed with me. Sony’s headset also comes with a micro OLED display. And there are display glasses including XReal Oneits feature is a vibrant (but 1080p) display enough to watch the movie at a much lower price.
Running regular everyday apps on XR is boring but important.
Success: How to fold XR into everyday apps
Apple has made the Vision Pro feel like the iPad on your face. This was a major shift from previous AR and VR headsets building custom app stores and interfaces. This focus allows Vision Pro to be seen a little pedestrian. Because most of the apps are like emails, memos, and Apple Music. Meanwhile, that seamless flow between what I already use is something that makes the whole thing feel like a natural computer. It’s boring like hell, but that’s a useful and previously missing part of the VR experience.
In comparison, Meta has a hard time finding a truly daily work app that can be usefully run in quests. Meta has a wealth of games, but Horizon OS is naturally not Android or iOS compatible. Google’s Android XR This year, we have full support for Google Play onboarding, and Vision Pro can run a ton of iOS apps. Meta is caught in the middle.
My App Life in Vision Pro hasn’t changed much from my experience a year ago.
Missing: Where can I find a good new app?
A year has passed and I’m browsing what feels like a random scattering of games, an immersive experience, an occasional productivity app, and drops of all new Vision Pro immersive format 3D short films from Apple. Immersive videos are well made, some like weeknd’s amazing music videos or Edward Burger’s submersion – The best I’ve seen. But that isn’t enough, and there aren’t many video releases that are often enough to justify getting a Vision Pro.
There are many apps available to view on Vision Pro, but that doesn’t mean there are many meaningful things. With Meta’s Quest Headset, I feel that one day you will be able to find a new game or two to catch your eye. Vision Pro doesn’t easily know what’s good or what to use. Also, Apple doesn’t seem to invest much in portraying big, amazing experiences. Even Apple Arcade’s Vision Pro Games are primarily port or casual and simple.
And why isn’t Apple itself making some of these killer apps? There are still many obvious shortages. Maps – Apps that already showcase detailed 3D landscapes and cities would have been an amazing Vision Pro Showcase. (Google is already showing off the map app for Android XR.) GarageBand may be compatible with spatial instruments that third-party developers have already dabbled in. Apple doesn’t have its own spatial creative apps. Cut or Draw/Sketch/Engraving app. If you don’t dream of them, they don’t exist – and Vision Pro needs new dreams.
Fitness is still a lack of Apple’s vision despite the workouts have Let’s become something I love About Meta Quest. If Vision Pro can double as a virtual peloton, it might help absorb the price. But that’s not the case yet. And while the heavier design and hanging battery packs of the current Vision Pro make for a strange fitness fit, the Apple Arcade Game Synth Riders is a game that Apple is active with lighter, more affordable headsets. It shows what you can do with.
Missing: I’m using an iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad
For me, the huge missing piece is what I thought Apple had on the first day of Vision Pro. The ability to use your iPhone, Apple Watches, iPad, Mac. The Vision Pro is standalone, but still works with your Mac and acts as an extended monitor, and feels like the connected part of a computer you’re already using. It should work that way on the iPhone, a device that literally everyone has in their pocket. As a handheld controller, how to extend connected apps, make phone calls, use iPhone to instantly sync something to Vision Pro using cameras, remote control for friends trying Vision Pro We will assist you in the demonstration. I don’t know why it’s not working yet.
Similarly, the Apple Watch can be used to collect and sync health data to gestures, input shortcuts, accusations, or some apps (such as heart rate in meditation or active games). The iPad also acts as a portable keyboard/touchscreen part of the Vision Pro, and should be able to expand the display just like your Mac does.
Vision Pro ($3,500) is located next to the Xreal One display glasses ($500). Although it’s a completely different product, XReal glasses do a good job as wearable displays at least in a small portion of their size and cost. Meta’s hardware is also under $1,000.
Missing: Price reduction in one year
The most obvious mistake is the price of the Vision Pro. Certainly, it’s really an early adopter kit type computer. And for professionals who may need it – for example, for medical simulations – $3,500 isn’t like the previous business target XR headset Hololens 2 (And cheaper than an industrial headset Shadow’s XR-4).
But the price never appeals to the average person I know. It’s hard enough to convince someone to get 500 dollar quest 3. To make Vision Pro feel remotely attractive, you need to fall within the cost range of your iPhone or iPad Pro. Otherwise, Apple needs to work even harder to justify anything else that can use this high-end one.
Vision Pro surprised me, and it still continues to surprise me. But $3,500 in particular isn’t enough. It feels like the first stab wound with a bigger idea, but the second stab wound is invisible. It appears that Apple has cancelled its plans for small AR glasses, but perhaps as another step towards glasses, it will be smaller, lighter and easier to use in the coming years.
With the ability to do more with what you already own, gaining vision on less faces is a difficult bridge to cross. But with Google’s Android XR and Meta headsets, and perhaps other competition from Valve and elsewhere, Apple is going to make it seem like it’s just… well, how will it overcome for the pros, no matter how Vision is. It is something that needs to be overcome.