“I was pleasantly surprised by the number of use cases in the enterprise, because that population typically moves at a slower pace. And I like what I’m seeing,” he said.
“More than half of the Fortune 100 have now purchased Vision Pro and are using it for this wide variety of cases.
“I see things like design collaboration. I see things like field service, helping people fix things that they don’t fix in their day-to-day lives. I see training, I see surgeons using it pre-op. I just see this extraordinary number of cases, and in general, companies are moving much more slowly, and I couldn’t be happier than what I’m seeing.”
Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headsets.Credit: Bloomberg
When products like the iPad were launched, it took a while for businesses and education to catch up with the strong consumer adoption trend. But Cook believes that could well be the opposite with Vision Pro.
Thinking about Australia, Cook is quick to highlight some Australian app developers working on Vision Pro, including Melbourne-based 3D augmented reality modelling app Jigspace.
“They’re doing an incredible job. They were some of the first app developers, so they started working on it very early,” he said.
“More than half of the Fortune 100 have now purchased Vision Pro and are using it for this wide variety of cases.”
Tim Cook, the boss of Apple
“You can see and understand things like a Formula 1 car. You can see things like an airplane engine and take it apart. It’s an incredible way to learn and understand, and it’s something you can’t really do on a 2D flat screen.”
Jigspace co-founder Zac Duff has been watching Apple evolve with this style of product for more than a decade.
“They [Apple] announced an AR [augmented-reality] kit in 2017, and it was like the software development kit that used the single RGB camera [which captures visible light and colour information] to make a compelling follow-up, and you could put 3D into the world,” Duff said.
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“It was the first time they said, ‘This is what’s going to happen next.'”
“But before that, you can go back to their acquisitions which go back almost to 2011-2012. They started doing things around Vision Pro, like biometric tracking and reading for the eyes. They started doing computer vision in 2015, they acquired Mateo, which became the basis of the AR kit. So you can see that progression of acquisitions and the announcements that led to that.”
Looking back on the 2017 launch of the software interface that Apple calls an “AR kit,” Duff said, “From that point on, we knew we wanted to be at the forefront of this because something had to be launched. Apple doesn’t do something like this unless you’re 10 years behind and 10 years ahead.”
Duff was honored — but also optimistic — that the Apple boss would mention his company by name.
“It’s great to be recognised, but we know what we do is world class. And I think we have no problem saying that world class companies are being created in Australia, in the advanced technology space.”
Other potential boom areas for Apple with the Vision Pro are entertainment and gaming.
“It offers mind-blowing entertainment, and it’s really hard to go back to the flat screen after experiencing it, to be honest,” Cook said.
Another Australian company to get a call from one of the most powerful men in tech is Halfbrick Studios – the creator of Fruit Ninja.
“Super Fruit Ninja “It was also one of the original games on Vision Pro, so as you know the developer community in Australia is very vibrant, very creative, and we couldn’t be happier to bring the product over there and open it up to even more developers,” Cook said.
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Halfbrick has released the addictive smartphone game, Fruit Ninja, in 2010, and its founder and chef, Shainiel Deo, says hearing that from Cook is hard to believe.
“I still have to pinch myself because… we came from very humble beginnings, and we had to fight our way to the top. And to finally get there, it’s still hard to believe.
“To know that we are held in such high regard and that our name is being talked about in the highest echelons of these companies, even today, I still can’t believe it, but I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that we have.”
While many doubt the potential of the Apple Vision Pro, Cook finds support within his developer community.
Deo describes the first year as “just baby steps.”
“Every time you see these revolutionary pieces come out, it’s like a blank canvas, and the extent of that canvas is unknown… It’s up to people like me and other developers to explore that and see what we can do. And I think that takes time,” Deo said.
So will the Vision Pro be a success when it launches in Australia? Deo thinks we may have to be patient.
“I think over the next couple of years we’re going to start to see some of these killer applications that really define why we need this hardware and why it’s going to become an important part of our lives.”
Fruit Ninja is a popular Australian-made smartphone game. Credit:
Early reviews from the US had high hopes for the helmet, but many questions were raised about where the Vision Pro would fit into our lives.
I explained to Cook that while I thought the Vision Pro was the most remarkable piece of technology I had ever used, I didn’t understand why we needed it. His advice to Australians buying the Vision Pro: be curious.
“I would be curious and try a lot of different things,” Cook says. “I would look at some of my favorite content, whether it’s Apple TV-plus, but you could also look at other great content that’s available.
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“I hope you watch some of the immersive videos we have and experience them, because there will be more to come.”
He advises users to try doing normal things, like browsing the internet or sending emails, to see if it works for you.
“I hope that if you use a Mac, you use it as a virtual display, because the idea of having this virtual display is huge.”
The Apple Vision Pro will go on sale in Australia on Friday with prices starting at $5,999.