Article summary
- Apple has finally unveiled its long-awaited mixed reality headset, called Vision Pro, marking a significant expansion of the company’s hardware ecosystem.
- The Vision Pro will be priced at $3,499, which is more than double the price of Meta’s Quest Pro, indicating that Apple aims to offer a superior product.
- The headset features advanced technology, including the M2 chip, micro-OLED displays, and a three-element lens, and it will support Microsoft Office apps, teleconferencing services, and games through a dedicated App Store.
Apple on Monday unveiled its long-awaited mixed reality headset in its most anticipated hardware product launch since Steve Jobs revealed the iPad in 2010.
This marked the expansion of the technology giant’s unrivaled hardware-and-software ecosystem into a new realm of computing. The Vision Pro is also Apple’s biggest attempt at a new product yet from chief executive Tim Cook, who took over from Steve Jobs in 2011.
According to Cook, the launch represented the beginning of a journey to what the company calls spatial computing, predicting it would one day become as important as personal computing on the Mac and the iPhone’s introduction of mobile computing. Cook also said the headset would be used for seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world and was “the first Apple product you look through and not at”.
Here are key importing things to know about the device
- The gadget, called Vision Pro, will be available will not be available in the market until early next year. And Apple said it would sell for $3,499, which is about N2.7 million.
- The Price of the Apple Vision Pro is more than double the price of Meta’s Quest Pro, which currently sells at $1,499. The Vision Pro is, therefore, expected to be a lot better.
- The headset runs on the standard M2 chip, paired with a new R1 chip, which takes on video streaming. The displays are micro-OLED, with 64 pixels in roughly the space of a standard iPhone pixel. The three-element lens is designed to improve imaging from all angles. The company also teamed up with Zeiss to bring custom prescription glass inserts, rather than accommodating the wearer’s glasses.
- The hardware utilizes a new feature called “EyeSight,” which uses a front-facing display to reveal your eyes to other people in the room (compensating for the opaque visor), creating an “authentic representation of you” on the curved front glass. This is accomplished through an initial facial scan. That image is also used as your avatar to represent you to other people wearing the headset.
- Apple says the system will work with Microsoft Office apps, as well as teleconferencing services like WebEX and Zoom. VisionOS runs on the same framework as iOS and iPad OS, meaning that existing apps will port over. The company is also launching a new App Store specifically for the headset. It’s teamed with Unity, as well, to support development tools for games, which should offer a better experience than simply porting over existing games.