At WWDC 2023, Apple unveiled the long-awaited AR/VR headset dubbed Apple Vision Pro, which aims to take over the AR and VR markets with a ridiculously premium design, high-end hardware, and Apple’s signature software experience. The headset is aimed at bringing your favourite iPhone apps to life by overlaying digital content into your surroundings and boasting a few genuine firsts such as EyeSight, a novel way for people to see the user’s eyes even while wearing the headset, and controller-less input using voice, eyes, and hand gestures.
From the release date and pricing to the key features and specifications, here’s everything you need to know about Apple Vision Pro.
When will the Apple Vision Pro be available?
According to Apple’s WWDC 2023 announcement, the Apple Reality Pro mixed reality headset will be available in the United States in early 2024, with other countries following later in the year.
How much will Apple Vision Pro set you back?
The kicker, especially if you were hoping for something similar to Meta’s affordable Quest 2 headset, is Apple’s Reality Pro headset, which costs an eye-watering INR 2,89,999, making it the most expensive consumer-focused standalone VR/AR headset on the market in 2023, surpassing even the pricey 83k Meta Quest Pro and 90k HTC Vive Elite XR headsets.
Design
The goal of Apple’s Vision Pro is to introduce you to the world of spatial computing, simply blending the real and virtual worlds into one. It enables you to run your favourite iOS apps on large floating screens in the real world, complete with shadows to make them appear more realistic, as well as immerse yourself in 3D content, movies, and games, all without the need for a PC or Mac.
Apple Vision Pro appears to be a true next-generation AR/VR headset, with a much slimmer design than many competing all-in-one headsets like the Meta Quest Pro and Vive Elite XR, as well as a better display, more processing power, and Apple’s signature software design.
First and foremost, the Vision Pro is the most lightweight, slimline VR/AR headset we’ve seen thus far, with a rather unique design that resembles ski goggles rather than the Quest 2.
There’s plenty of swappable padding to perfect the experience, as well as a look designed to naturally fit the curvature of your face. There are also flexible straps that conform to your head’s shape, as well as a 3D-knitted headband that Apple claims provides greater movability and stretch than more rigid headsets on the market.
Eyesight Technology and Voice Control
While the overall design is impressive, it’s the front of the headset that stands out; it features a polished glass surface with a number of cameras and sensors hidden within, with the glass front disappearing into the curved aluminium frame. Although you wouldn’t know it by looking at it, there is a flexible OLED panel within the headset that serves a specific purpose: EyeSight.
Unlike most other VR headsets on the market today, Apple’s Vision Pro headset will feature eye-tracking, hand-tracking, and voice control. Sensors in the headset can detect where you’re looking and use that information to select UI elements, and a quick tap of the fingers allows you to select and open applications. You can also use Siri’s power to open apps, start FaceTime calls, and even dictate replies to messages.
R1 and M2 Chips
The Apple Vision Pro headset is powered by two chipsets: the Apple M2 and the new Apple R1. The former is what enables the headset to provide such a high-quality, high-resolution experience, whereas the latter is primarily intended to reduce the sum of lag between the various sensors and what you see in the headset.
According to Apple, the R1 chipset handles input from 12 cameras, 5 sensors, and 6 microphones at the same time for a quick 12ms response time – 8x faster than the blink of an eye.
The ability to run your favourite iOS apps in the real world is one of the Vision Pro headset’s key features, with Apple confirming the existence of several apps including Messages, Safari, Mail, and FaceTime, as well as the ability to play Apple Arcade titles in AR.
Apple’s Digital Crown
Apple’s Digital Crown is quite adaptable; in addition to being a key feature of the Apple Watch, it has also found its way to the AirPods Max and, now, the Vision Pro headset – though it serves a slightly different purpose here.
While the digital crown can still be used to control the headset’s audio output, it is also intended to be used as a slider to adjust the level of immersion within the headset. By default, the headset will show a colour passthrough view of your surroundings, allowing you to use iPhone apps in your physical environment. That’s great for work and productivity, but what would happen if you want to watch a Disney Plus movie? After all, the company confirmed that the streaming behemoth would be available from the start.
Battery Life
The Apple Reality Pro headset appears to be a capable (if expensive) AR/VR headset, but there is one catch: the battery. To keep the headset as light as possible, Apple removed the battery, instead opting for a small battery pack that attaches to the side of the headset with magnets. That’s fine because it’s only a thin cable, but the connected battery pack only provides two hours of use. That’s not ideal if you intend to use the headset as a laptop replacement, as Apple suggests.
There are a couple of alternatives – you could buy a second battery pack and swap it out when the first dies, or you could connect directly to a wall charger – but neither is ideal for a headset that costs more than triple the price of some of the most premium AR/VR headsets on the market right now.
