In the acclaimed biography of the late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, penned by Walter Isaacson, a revelation was laid bare: the tech genius was captivated by the idea of creating an Apple-branded television. He made a bold claim to Isaacson, asserting that he had “cracked” the television. However, in the dozen years since Jobs’ departure, Apple remained conspicuously absent from the television market, barring its multimedia content box, Apple TV, and the Apple TV+ video streaming service. Until today. The company has now unveiled its pioneering augmented reality headset – the Apple Vision Pro.
While it’s debatable whether Jobs envisaged the Apple Vision Pro, his aspiration of an Apple television has surely been realised in the shape of this revolutionary spatial computer. Apple has audaciously presented it as a staggering large-screen virtual TV, amalgamated with a spatial audio sound system and paired with a potent personal computer.
Impressive, futuristic screen tech
The Apple Vision Pro screen’s exceptional flexibility is rooted in virtual and augmented reality. It can be as vast or compact as desired, adopt any orientation, and seamlessly integrate into a virtual environment. This extraordinary flexibility was previously only imaginable in the fictional holodeck of Star Trek’s starships. This explains why Apple’s augmented reality headset is a mixed-reality one.
The Apple Vision Pro’s impressive screen technology employs two layers of curved glass to generate a 3D layer. This is supported by dual 4K resolution screens equipped with microLED technology, promising a mind-bending experience that arguably surpasses that of most high-end OLED televisions available today. However, the true allure of this ‘TV’ is its portability — it can accompany you and transform any setting into your personal home theatre. The shrewd magnetic battery pack offers not only two hours of portability but also a return to the design pragmatism that had been missing under former product designer Sir Jonathan Ive’s leadership. No traditional TV can compete with this headset.
Apple has also maintained its reputation of ensuring immediate compatibility with legacy apps on new platforms. This was demonstrated when iOS app support was introduced with the launch of the iPad, followed by the integration of iPad app support in macOS, and, more recently, with Rosetta 2 enabling support for x86 Mac apps on Apple silicon-powered Macs. The Apple Vision Pro operates on Vision OS, which shares the same core OS as iOS and macOS, promising support for iOS and iPadOS apps from the outset. This device has access to millions of apps, dwarfing the offerings of any other augmented or virtual reality platform.
Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, came to Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in California – the event where the Vision Pro was launched on Monday – to showcase the immersive experiences his company has been developing for the product. Additionally, he revealed that the Disney+ streaming service would be ready for use on the device from its launch day.
Also read: Sony can’t ride long on PlayStation success. Must think beyond Project Q, in to the cloud
New gaming, work experiences
Disney also demonstrated a virtual reality gaming experience based on What If! – a series that explores the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “pivotal moments” – highlighting the immersion possible in a virtual reality game. This could potentially bolster Apple’s ambitions in the gaming sector, an area where it has traditionally struggled.
This addresses the content issue from not only an entertainment perspective but also from a productivity viewpoint. The device can run apps and facilitate a multitude of custom experiences. For instance, Apple demonstrated Microsoft apps such as Word, Excel, Teams, and a host of its own apps such as Safari and FaceTime, operating smoothly on the device. The company showcased its product’s ability to work in perfect sync with the Mac, transforming the user’s work into a colossal virtual canvas. Moreover, the device is equipped with the M2 chipset, like that found in the 15-inch MacBook Air, enabling heavy-duty tasks. The device is further enhanced by the new R1 chipset, which combines all the information from its 12 cameras, multiple sensors and LiDARs (Light Detection and Ranging technology) to provide a level of responsiveness three times faster than a blink of an eye.
Jobs was vocal about his dissatisfaction with the user interface of televisions during his lifetime. The Apple Vision Pro seeks to address this issue by adopting the most intuitive of all interfaces – the use of one’s eyes and hands, completely erasing the need for a remote or controller. It employs advanced eye-tracking technology, promising the precision of a mouse and keyboard and the tactility of a touchscreen.
When Jobs introduced the original iPhone in 2007, he described it as a “phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough internet communications device”.
In a similar vein, Mike Rockwell, vice-president of technology at Apple, stated regarding the Vision Pro: “With the most advanced display we’ve ever made, a revolutionary spatial audio sound system, two powerful Apple Silicon chips, a groundbreaking spatial operating system, and a stunning design made from aerospace-grade alloys, the Apple Vision Pro is the most advanced personal electronics device ever.”
As I mentioned in my previous article, Apple has turned its mixed reality headset into an all-in-one device — an incredible TV, a unique spatial audio sound system, and a disruptive new mobile computer that supports iOS apps. If taken separately, the value of these items (especially if they came with the Apple label) would easily surpass the $3,499 price point of the Vision Pro.
As outlandish as it may sound, from that perspective, it is indeed “affordable”. Of course, it will not sell like an iPhone, but Apple has the pitch right. If it iterates it surgically, as it has done with the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, Vision Pro will be a dawn of a new form of computing, something Apple has often been at the forefront of.
Thus, we witness the fulfilment of a dream that Jobs could not actualise during his lifetime.
Sahil Mohan Gupta is Editor, Technology at Acko Drive. Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)