Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the Vision Pro.
Cupertino With its first computer glasses, Apple dares to enter a new product category with uncertain prospects of success. The iPhone group presented the device called Vision Pro at its WWDC 2023 developer conference on Monday, which looks like high-tech ski goggles.
The headset can show digital objects in the real environment on its displays. An unusual feature of the device is a display on the front that shows users’ eyes when other people are nearby. It is controlled by voice and hand movements.
Technically, this form of immersion is a mixture of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The display can show and hide the environment as required. Apple emphasized that eye contact can be guaranteed when using the glasses – as an essential part of social interaction. But a complete immersion is also possible, with the glasses signaling exactly this to the outside world. If someone approaches, they fade in.
It is Apple’s first entry into a new product category after the presentation of a computer watch in 2014. Apple sees a possible use for the Vision Pro in the workplace because many large virtual displays can be superimposed on the field of vision. Another application is intended to be entertainment with videos in large format, even on the move.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was able to present a prominent ally: Disney CEO Bob Iger explained that his streaming service provides Disney+ content for the Vision Pro. As an example, he showed games in the football league NFL, in which statistics appear as a “second screen” right next to the game. An apparently interactive variant of the Marvel animation series “What if…?” was also on display.
With Apple’s first glasses, the environment is captured by cameras on the housing and displayed on displays in front of the eyes. The competition also follows this principle.
Apple is entering the market at a moment when a short-lived hype surrounding the business with virtual worlds and objects has noticeably died down.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in particular is banking on a future in which large parts of life will take place in a digital world – the “Metaverse”. To underline this, he renamed the Facebook group Meta. But despite billions in investments, VR glasses and virtual worlds have so far remained a niche business – which brings Meta billions in losses.
More: This is already known about the new Apple glasses.