Apple’s Vision Pro shows consumers the art of the possible and helps advance spatial computing.
In 2017, when Apple introduced its AR Kit software at WWDC, I had the opportunity to chat with Apple CEO Tim Cook after the morning keynote at a private event later that afternoon. I asked him about his thoughts on augmented reality, and he told me that he thought AR technology could be one of Apple’s most important products one day. He also confirmed that the company was committed to delivering a powerful AR experience in the future.
That’s why Apple created the AR Kit and got a head start on designing software for a new AR device that, when ready, would have hundreds, if not thousands, of apps available upon release. Tim Cook also told me that the AR device should be more like glasses: unobtrusive and acceptable to everyone.
So when reports started coming out around 2021 that Apple was building VR-like glasses, you can understand my confusion, given my previous conversation with Tim Cook.
Through my interactions with optical glass suppliers, battery manufacturers, wireless radio providers, and others, I am aware of the need to streamline these products and refine the technology needed for immersive AR/MR experiences in glasses. It is becoming clear that the development of advanced AR/MR glasses is still a few years away, at least.
We now know that Apple, which wants to play a major role in creating a mixed reality experience, has instead decided to make a “moonshot” product first.
Even if the Vision Pro doesn’t sell in mass quantities, mainly due to its $3,500 price tag, it may not be the product that will help Apple bring AR/RE to the masses. But it does play an important role in the world of XR spatial computing.
One of the key roles of this technology is that it has helped put XR and spatial computing on the map for professional users and consumers. Millions of people have been able to experience a future of XR and spatial computing through free demonstrations of Apple’s Vision Pro in Apple stores.
Indeed, as I recently mentioned in my Augmented World Expo (AWE) column, all of my speakers, who are leaders in the XR headset industry, welcome Apple into this market. They believe Apple is a critical ambassador in helping consumers understand the role of spatial XR headsets in the metaverse.
Second, creating a revolutionary product with so many immersive 3D features, including VR and AR in a single headset, shows people the art of what is possible today. Yes, it is in an expensive headset format. Nevertheless, it serves as a vehicle to stimulate software developers and educate potential users on how virtual technology will deliver a revolutionary experience over time.
The third important point is that Apple used the creation of the Vision Pro to help them begin building an advanced ecosystem of software and services that they can eventually integrate into true AR glasses once the technology is ready for prime time.
Apple has clearly used the creation of the Vision Pro to help them model new hardware, software, and services that will allow them to create more powerful headsets. Those headsets will be lighter, cheaper, and eventually in the glasses form factor that Tim Cook described about seven years ago.
As one headset salesman told me at AWE a few weeks ago, they expect Apple to be a formidable competitor. They also believe that Apple’s Vision Pro, which demonstrates the art of the possible, will help them and others grow the spatial computing market.
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