7/2/2023 0 Comments Panic button app rippleThe only reason the Vision Pro isn’t going to be an immediate sensation is its cost. It feels like this may be another instance in which Apple has accomplished something that has eluded other tech companies by cracking the code to make both virtual- and augmented-reality more compelling and less disorienting than a variety of other ho-hum headsets have done over the past decade or so. My mixed feelings about Apple’s first foray into mixed reality ironically stems from just how well-designed the Vision Pro is by a company that has been behind this sort of game-changing technology on numerous occasions during the past 40 years, ranging from the Macintosh computer to the iPhone. To Apple’s credit, the Vision Pro is also designed in a way that allows users to still see those around them, if they so choose. It can thrust you into surreal moments (at one point, I watched in wonder as a butterfly first shown in a virtual screen depicting a prehistoric era seemingly fluttered across the room and landed in my outstretched hand as I sat on a couch).Īnd the demo featured just enough glimpses of the way sporting events appear through the goggles to realize that the powers that be in professional and collegiate football, basketball, baseball and hockey are bound to find ways to incorporate the technology into subscription services that make viewers feel like they are sitting in the front row. It can make watching a 3-D movie, such as the latest Avatar film, feel like you are sitting in an IMAX theater while relaxing on your own couch. It can insert you into videos of past memories recorded with one of the device’s 12 cameras (the demo included heartwarming scenes of a child’s birthday party and a campfire scene). Without causing the disorienting effects common in other virtual-reality headsets, the Vision Pro can immerse you in stunning visuals, 3-D displays of faraway places. The headset clearly seems like it could be quite popular for business purposes, improving productivity, collaboration and video conferencing, especially in an era when more work is being done remotely. Not surprisingly, Apple’s well-curated demonstration cast the Vision Pro in the best-possible light. The same app can be closed with a finger pinch or can be moved to the side by holding two fingers together and moving them in the direction where you want to place it. Opening an app just requires looking straight at it, then pinching a thumb and finger together. Users just press a button above the right goggle to pull up a virtual screen of apps, including familiar standbys for photos, messaging, phone calls, video streaming and web browsing. And unlike other headsets, the Vision Pro isn’t an awkward-looking piece of nerdware, although the goggles aren’t exactly chic, despite looking a bit like something you might see people wearing on a ski slope, jet fighter or race car.Ĭontrolling the Vision Pro is astoundingly easy. Once that’s all done, you will quickly find that putting on the Vision Pro is also simple, thanks to a knob on the side that makes it easy to ensure a the headset fits comfortably. If you wear prescription glasses (I wear contacts) some additional calibration will be needed, but Apple promises that won’t be complicated. The setup requires using an iPhone to automatically take some assessments of your eyes and ears. Still, that excitement was muted by a disquieting sense of having just passed through a gateway that eventually will lead society down another avenue of digital isolation.īut first the good stuff: Vision Pro is a highly sophisticated device that is fairly easy to set up and incredibly intuitive to use. (AP) - Reporters are a skeptical bunch, so it was unusual to hear so many of them raving about their firsthand experience with Apple’s next Big Thing: the high-priced headset called Vision Pro, a device infused with totally virtual reality as well as augmented reality that projects digital images on top of real-world settings.īut after wearing the Vision Pro during a half-hour demonstration meticulously orchestrated by Apple, I joined the ranks of those blown away by all the impressive technology Apple has packed into the goggles-like headset.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |