Apple Vision Pro: Is it the future of computing or just needlessly expensive?

Apple did their yearly WWDC event and had a ton of news about their various products. Among upgrades to their Mac lines and a focus on audio, they finally revealed what they’ve been working on for the past several years: the Apple Vision Pro.

Apple took two hours for the entire presentation. But, the final hour of it was dedicated to the Vision Pro, their new mixed reality headset. But, what is it exactly? How does it compare to what’s also on the market? And why is it so expensive?

Productivity and space saving design

Apple Vision Pro is, at the core of its being, a full “spatial” computer. It runs a remarkable amount of power while also keeping itself cool and quiet. That’s a feat on its own. But, it goes one further by saving you a ton of space in your office.

Image: Apple

Since it’s self-encompassing, there is no need for any monitors. The world (or at least your office) is your monitor. You can move screens as you place to anywhere you want and the headset tracks your eyes to know exactly where you want to go.

Unlike most other VR headsets, the Vision Pro doesn’t have “clumsy controllers”. It utilizes your hand gestures and understands where you’re looking. Pinch, zoom, and click with your finger tips. The AR cameras take care of the rest. Typing is as simple as using voice dictation. You can also use a real keyboard and mouse, if you prefer.

If you own a Mac, the camera also understands and will pull the screen to be a full size screen in front of you as another window. It’s a fully immersive experience.

Entertainment in an entirely new way

Speaking of immersion, let’s talk about entertainment for a minute. The Vision Pro allows you to utilize both your own reality or theirs. You can set up on your own couch or desk for a more familiar setting, or head to the mountains to watch a movie (or work).

While the idea is nothing new to those that have used virtual reality in the past, they offer a completely immersive experience with audio and visuals this time around. I have to give it credit. It looks good. And if they can deliver half the experience that they showed off in their videos at the event, it’ll be fantastic.

Image: Apple

Then, they brought out Bob Iger of Disney to show off Disney Plus on the Vision Pro. They seem to have entirely redesigned the interface for use in mixed reality. The video showed off the ability to get more information about the show you’re watching on the fly, such as knowing the planet that the Mandalorian is currently on. They did that from the comfort of a speeder in the Star Wars universe as a fully immersive backdrop, as they were watching the show.

They didn’t show a ton of gaming during the presentation. But, they did say that Apple Arcade will be compatible with the Vision Pro. They even showed someone wearing the headset while using a PlayStation Dualsense controller.

It’s assumed that there will be a wider variety of games for the system as time goes on.

I see you: EyeSight allows you to have a full conversation while wearing the headset

The real first thing you need to know about the Apple Vision Pro is that it isn’t just a virtual reality (VR) headset, nor is it just augmented reality (AR) either. This is a fully mixed reality (MR) experience. That means it’ll offer a seamless experience for anyone wearing it.

Apple explained that one of the biggest problems with virtual reality is how impersonal it can be. They’re right. Once you put on a headset, you lose the real world and the real world loses you. The Vision Pro is bent on solving that.

In what might be one of the goofier things shown off, they introduced EyeSight, their technology that allows you to have a full conversation with another human in the same room as you, while still wearing the eye covering headset.

You can see them, no matter what you’re doing. And they can see a virtual version of your eyes, placed where they should be on your face. That part uses neural technology to show you under the lenses. If you are unavailable for a real-life conversation, it understands and doesn’t show your eyes during it.

It’s neat but feels goofy at heart. It reminds me of the close ups of Tony Stark’s face in the Iron Man armor in Marvel movies.

Facetime gets a facelift in mixed reality

They’re bringing Facetime to the Vision Pro. You can run entire meetings and presentations from your Vision Pro, while wearing the headset. The announcement showed off someone in their bedroom, showing off a presentation while able to see their audience as well.

Image: Apple

I wondered the entire time what the audience saw in terms of the Vision Pro user. They finally explained later on that they see a neural engineered version of you. When you first set up your headset, you also have it scan you. It creates a digital avatar of you. They didn’t use the term, but it deep fakes you for the sake of Facetime. The avatar’s mouth and eyes move and it emulates your movement and gestures.

My concern is the uncanny valley effect when it comes to Facetime now. The EyeSight capability does something similar to those viewing you from outside the headset, in person. But, I wonder how distracting it’ll be for those having to concentrate on you when it’s not actually you.

I’ve bought cars for less money: Apple Vision Pro Pricing

At the end of the nearly hour-long presentation on the Vision Pro, showing off how powerful and capable it can be, they also announced the incredibly decadent pricing. The Vision Pro starts at a whopping $3.499.

Image: Apple

Earlier this month, Meta dropped details about their new Meta Quest 3 in a bid to steal a tad bit of Apple’s upcoming thunder. While the Meta headset doesn’t have all the same bells and whistles, the $599 for their top-tier model is a lot more attractive to the everyday person.  That means that you can buy five Meta Quest 3’s and some games for the price of one Apple Vision Pro.

The tech in this thing is ridiculously awesome. But, at the $3499 minimum price tag, it may be out of reach for the majority of the public for now. Apple boasts this as the “most advanced personal electronics device ever”. Unfortunately, according to the history of technology, that means we have to wait for a few iterations for that price to come down.

For those that have the money, the Vision Pro is a welcome addition to all of the awesome technology that comes out year-after-year. But, for the everyday person, this is just entirely out of range of anything that someone will buy for everyday use. While the system is entirely cool, it feels like it’s made for a very niche market, currently.

The Apple Vision Pro, as mentioned, starts at $3499 and will be available early next year, 2024. You can find out more, including all the specs of the system, on Apple’s official site. Or read the marketing fluff from the official press release. There’s a lot more detail to this thing, such as the materials it’s made from and how it fits your head.

If you want to learn more about virtual reality headsets in 2023, we broke down Meta’s presentation earlier this month for the Oculus Quest 3 and a bunch of games coming to the Meta Quest Store. Or maybe you just want to know about some awesome tech coming soon, instead. You might like our breakdown of cool stuff found at Computex 2023 in Taipei.