Apple officially unveiled its long-awaited mixed reality Vision Pro at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, after a considerable period of rumors, analysts' and leakers' statements. By revealing them, Apple unleashed a pioneering technology and a new revolution in the world of virtual reality, to the point that it seemed like pure science fiction, and as usual when Apple introduces something new, it is revolutionary and leads technology. There were touch-screen phones before the iPhone, but things changed after it, and there were smart watches, but the concept changed after Apple Watch, and so on for the rest of its devices and services, you will find all that distinctive without a doubt. Before Apple's glasses, there were those who occupied the metaverse world, and after the appearance of Apple's Vision Pro, everyone will follow them, here is everything we know about Apple's Vision Pro.
Apple Vision Pro
Apple Vision Pro are new mixed reality headset from Apple, announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference WWDC 2023. This headset uses virtual reality VR, augmented reality AR and mixed reality MR technologies to integrate the real world with virtual elements for entertainment and productivity. And the Apple Vision Pro has advanced technical specifications.
Specifications of Apple Vision Pro
Design
◉ Apple Vision Pro resembles ski goggles.
◉ Apple Vision Pro front is made of glass and their frame is made of aluminum.
◉ Equipped with a fabric strap padded with cushions along its length that ventilate the head, as well as a rubber strap that can be extended when needed, making the user feel comfortable.
It is equipped with Fit Dial feature which is a small wheel located in the back of the headset, used to tighten or loosen the strap to fit your head precisely.
The screen
◉ Apple Vision Pro is equipped with two micro-OLED screens in front of each eye with a resolution of more than 4K TV for each eye, which means displaying about 23 million pixels, providing stunning resolution and colors. And the lens is a three-element lens specially designed to create a sense of screen everywhere you look.
◉ Apple Vision Pro also has an external screen that is seen by the person standing in front of the wearer of the headset, so when you talk to him he will see your eyes and their movements directly in a live video but they will be from the avatar that you made previously and just an image of your eye interacting with your real eye movement, where EyeSight optical vision system detects your eyes and allows people close to you to know if you are using applications or when you are busy. And when someone approaches you, the headset allows you to see the person and reveal your eyes to him at the same time.
And when you are busy or using something in virtual reality, the external screen will display a spectrum of colors that shows to the person in front of you that you are busy.
The sensors
This camera system also helps to provide accurate tracking of head and hand movements and real-time three-dimensional mapping, all with understanding hand gestures from a wide range of positions and different places.
◉ Among the sensors, we will find two very important ones, a light radar sensor or what is known as LIDAR sensor and the other one is for depth or what is known as TrueDepth camera, which are responsible for forming a very accurate image of the real world in front of you or creating a real-time map of the location Real-Time Mapping. This ensures seeing the real world without removing the headset.
◉ Apple Vision Pro is equipped with several LED lights that work with infrared IR technology and these things project invisible light patterns on each eye and gesture from your hand in low light conditions. It is a high-performance tracking system, for ultra-precision inputs for commands without needing other inputs such as mouse or touchpad, and you can select elements with extreme accuracy, thus distinguishing clicks and drag as well as browsing and writing, and then controlling everything you see in the headset.
This sensor also captures OpticID eye print for biometric authentication like FaceID face print and TouchID fingerprint for authentication, and payment confirmation.
◉ Apple Vision Pro is equipped with six microphones that capture ambient sounds as well as capture your voice primarily as an input for voice commands to the headset.
Sound
◉ Apple Vision Pro is equipped with two speakers supported by Spatial Audio features. And these speakers rely on bone conduction technology, which is the transmission of sound directly to the inner ear, through the skull bones. This makes you aware and hear the sounds clearly from around you in the real world, as well as from the digital world from inside the headset.
◉ Apple also introduced Audio RayTracing technology for the first time, which relies on the sensors in the headset so that they can understand all the elements in the physical environment around you in the real world, and how sound is affected by them such as reflection, absorption, scattering, occlusion, diffraction, delay, and others.
The Audio RayTracing technology adjusts the sound scene to match the objects in this environment. It uses complex calculations to simulate these effects, and generate sound filters that apply to the sound sources in the game or application. These filters change the shape, direction, intensity and quality of the sound, to make it more realistic and consistent with the environment.
Performance
◉ Apple Vision Pro contains two processors from Apple: Apple M2 processor and a new processor affiliated with Apple also called R1 which is the first generation of this type.
◉ The M2 processor, which is the same processor as Mac devices, is responsible for processing all data on the system from running applications and traditional features such as those found on iPhone, iPad, Mac and other devices, in addition to processing advanced graphics efficiently, and it is also responsible for rationalizing battery consumption and maintaining the temperature of the headset, which are already equipped with an advanced cooling system in their front.
◉ While R1 processor is responsible for collecting, analyzing and managing data collected by mixed reality technologies from sensors, cameras and microphones of the glasses. And broadcasting images to screens within 12 milliseconds for real-time display almost free of delay.
◉ Apple Vision Pro have an external battery that connects by cable to the headset, and provides about two hours of continuous use with a full charge.
◉ Apple Vision Pro runs on visionOS, which is a new system from Apple that resembles iPadOS, but is designed to take advantage of mixed reality capabilities. The user can use familiar applications from Apple, such as Safari, Photos, Messages and Maps, as well as new applications specific to the headset, such as Vision Studio, Vision Gallery and Vision Arcade.
Usage
◉ When you open Apple Vision Pro and use them for the first time, you have to place your face in front of them, to capture a three-dimensional image of your face and create an avatar that is an exact replica of you. It can be used in social communication applications when making video calls (and showing your eye as we mentioned earlier).
◉ If you wear medical glasses, you will need to put lenses customized for your vision, and Apple has contracted with Zeiss to make these lenses, and we think that when you buy Apple Vision Pro you will provide them with data with your vision measurements and a customized lens will be installed for you in the glasses themselves in front of your eyes removable, or you have to use contact lenses instead of medical glasses, as Apple did and asked one of the attendees at the developers conference, when he was trying out the headset.
◉ When you wear Apple Vision Pro headset for the first time, you will see the applications in front of you in the same layout as Apple Watch applications. And you can navigate through these applications through eye movement, and if you want to open a specific application, all you have to do is move two fingers, index and thumb, and make them touch each other as if you pinch.
And if you want to scroll down or up, just move one of your fingers up or down. You can also zoom in and out of the screen as you wish through hand and finger movements.
◉ And through your voice, you can give commands by writing and searching through Siri, just say Siri once and then give her commands open app so-and-so or write so-and-so or search for so-and-so.
◉ Apple Vision Pro has a rotating button, like the digital crown on Apple Watch, which you can use to switch from augmented reality where you see applications and the real world around you.
And also, you can switch to virtual reality completely, meaning that you and the applications are in another environment other than the place where you are. Meaning that you will be isolated from the real world around you. And you can use mixed reality MR between augmented and real, meaning that the background of what is displayed is virtual reality, but you see next to you the walls and furniture in the real world.
◉ You can open more than one application, and they will be displayed in an organized way in front of you, and they will take a spatial character, meaning that no matter how much you move, these screens will remain fixed in their place unless you modify them and move them to another place. And if you leave the headset on their position for a period of time, you will come back and see everything in its place.
◉ Apple Vision Pro supports Bluetooth connection with any supported devices. Such as game controllers, AirPods headphones, as well as connecting them to a laptop or computer and displaying your work in an augmented or virtual reality environment.
◉ And through the 3D camera, you can capture images of your memories, diaries and activities that you can relive again.
Apple Vision Pro are revolutionary glasses in the world of technology, promising to change the way of experiencing reality and communicating with others. Its price is $3499, which is very high compared to other mixed reality headsets, and at this high price, it is not intended for the average user, and its case is like that of all devices that we use today, they were high-priced when they first appeared, until time came and competitors entered the line, then its price became affordable for most people. It is expected that Apple Vision Pro will be available in markets in early next year.
Apple Vision Pro is available in America only, and don’t think that even if you pay $3500 that you can get them, because it is expected that Apple will produce small quantities, and they will end immediately, and they will be even more expensive perhaps double in the black market, so as we mentioned these glasses will be for every specialist only, and it is a glimpse into the future.