Category
Taking up most of the WWDC 2023 event was the unveiling of Vision Pro, a mixed reality headset with a bunch of unique Apple technology. Despite being introduced, it will not be until early 2024 that this mixed reality headset will officially be sold.
Finally, the Apple Vision Pro headset using mixed reality technology was officially introduced during the WWDC 2023 event. This is the latest product that Apple has introduced over the years. As its name suggests, this device allows you to blend the digital world into the real world around them. Like how the iPhone surprised the smartphone market, Vision Pro is expected to boost the AR/VR sector, which has yet to attract much attention in recent years. Even many experts believe that this device will likely be Apple's new Next Big Thing, similar to iPhone.
Apple Vision Pro
As a mixed reality headset – or can also be seen as a mixed reality device – when you can switch between 2 modes of augmented reality and virtual reality with the touch of a button. Unlike the Meta Quest virtual reality headset, you will not need a controller to use it.
Instead, you can view and access the application icons in this VisionOS operating system just by looking at them. The operating system includes some of Apple's most popular apps, like Messages, Books, Camera, FaceTime Music, and Safari.
You can tap to select or tap your finger to swipe and give voice commands via Siri. It also supports Bluetooth accessories, including the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, and allows you to connect it to your Mac for use inside the device. The cameras on the bottom of the device can record your hand gestures even when your hands are low, so you don't have to put your hand in front of the camera to use it.
Control by selecting and tapping with your hands
During the WWDC 2023, you can know that the Vision Pro headset's exterior is a layer of glass with an aluminum frame around it, with each eye containing a total of 5 sensors, 12 cameras (side-and-bottom cameras, TrueDepth camera, and LiDAR sensor) and a 4K screen.
In charge of all these processing tasks is Apple's own M2 chip, along with a new chip called R1. These 2 chips will take care of processing information about the surrounding space collected by the camera combined with an LED light that tracks the user's eye movements.
M2 and R1 Chip
Downward cameras and side cameras
LiDAR scanner and TrueDepth camera
The mask around the glasses (which Apple calls the Light Seal) and the strap around the head (which Apple calls the Head Band) are lined with fabric and have a modular design. They can be adjusted to fit a variety of face and head shapes, Apple says.
LightSeal and HeadBand
Zeiss also makes custom optical lenses that are attached with magnets to the lenses for those who have to wear near- or far-sighted glasses. As originally rumored, the device comes with an external battery that lasts for 2 hours and is connected via a "flexible woven cable" that can be tucked into a pocket. You can also connect it directly to the mains and use it throughout the day.
Apple promises sharp images and 4K video transmission. More importantly, Apple Vision Pro headset users can observe the people and objects around them. Meanwhile, the front of the device will have a screen that shows what the user is looking at, so people outside can follow your eye movements as they move around. If you switch to VR completely, a glowing screen will obscure them so people around you know you're not watching.
IR cameras and LED illuminators
In addition, the Apple Vision Pro headset can create a realistic avatar by scanning your face. The device will show videos of your surroundings to see the real world, but you can also project 3D objects into real space, including dragging them out of the message to bring them up.
This mixed-reality device will substitute for all other display media today, including phones, tablets, laptops, computer monitors, TVs, and even cinemas. movies, especially 3D movies, when it can zoom in and out of the image in front of the user with many different sizes.
During the introduction, Apple also announced a partnership with Walt Disney Studios when CEO Bob Iger promised to bring more virtual reality content in the near future.
Vision Pro is expected to be sold in early 2024 in the US market for $ 3,500 before expanding to other markets.
With the launch of this product, Apple and Meta officially become direct rivals on a new playground: virtual reality glasses.