Apple seems to have turned some devices into mass-market devices with a magic wand. It did so with the iPod (2001), the iPhone (2007), the iPad (2010) and the Apple Watch (2015). Now it remains to be seen whether it will succeed with its first mixed reality glasses: Apple Vision Pro. They cost $3,499 and will be available early next year in the United States (the company did not offer details of availability elsewhere). The device, presented this Monday at the Apple Developer Conference, …
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Apple seems to be using a magic wand to turn some devices into mass-market devices. It did so with the iPod (2001), the iPhone (2007), the iPad (2010) and the Apple Watch (2015). Now it remains to be seen whether it can do the same with its first mixed reality glasses: Apple Vision Pro. They cost $3,499 and will be available early next year in the United States (the company did not offer details of availability in other places). The device, presented this Monday at the Apple Developer Conference, aims to take on other technology giants such as Microsoft or Meta and change the way users work and entertain themselves. “It is the most ambitious device we have ever built,” said the company at the presentation. The Meta Quest 3 is available from 569.99 euros.
“This is a day I’ve been waiting for for years,” said Tim Cook. The Apple CEO explained that “augmented reality is a profound technology. Combining digital content with the real world can unlock experiences like never before. That’s why today I’m excited to announce an entirely new AR platform with a revolutionary new product,” he said, before showing a video of the Apple Vision Pro glasses.
When using these glasses, digital content blends into the space around the user. The device, according to Apple, is controlled with the eyes and hands. “It really feels like magic, as if your mind is guiding the experience,” said an employee of the company.
The announcement comes just four days after Meta unveiled its new mixed reality headset, the Meta Quest 3. It’s been an open secret that Apple was looking to make its debut in this sector and has been rumoured for years. Mixed reality is a technology that combines elements of virtual reality and augmented reality to create an immersive experience in which interactive virtual objects are superimposed and integrated into the real environment.
They can be used, according to the company, to view photos and videos in a “new and magical” way. They can also be used to hold FaceTime video calls, in which several heads appear. floating In order for the user to be able to participate in video calls with the glasses on, the system scans their face and generates a kind of digital avatar that at first glance seems quite realistic. Apple claims that this way a natural representation is achieved that matches the movements of the user’s face.
They are also designed to achieve an immersive experience when watching movies by “turning any room into your own personal movie theater. This environment allows you to fully concentrate on the movie and is designed to give you a fantastic viewing experience that you can take anywhere, like on an airplane,” Apple explains.
“Apple Vision Pro will change the way we collaborate, work and enjoy entertainment,” Cook said. The glasses feature the M2 chip, as well as a coprocessor called R1.
Apple says it studied thousands of heads to design the glasses, which are equipped with multiple cameras and sensors. The device has a button to take photos, speakers on the sides and is connected to a battery that must be carried in the pocket. The Cupertino company says the user can enjoy spatial audio while staying connected to their surroundings.
The glasses will have their own App Store with applications designed for them. Apple assures that some such as Excel, Word, Teams, Zooms or Webex will be compatible with this device.
The impact on the market
With these glasses, Apple aims to mark the beginning of “a new era.” But the big question now is whether it will succeed in working its magic to make these glasses a mass product. The Apple company does not seem to have a killer app —a specific application or feature that is so innovative, useful or popular that it is capable of generating interest in a large number of users and encouraging mass adoption of its glasses.
Without this flagship app, it could be difficult to justify the high price of the glasses and drive daily use. Mark Gurman, Apple’s go-to insider for all things behind the scenes, believes the first model of these glasses “will likely be a failure in terms of unit sales.” Even so, he predicts that the company “could become the market leader within a few quarters.” “While it may take three or five years for a headset to become a hit, it’s hard to bet against the company’s marketing, engineering and sales prowess. If anyone can make this product category a success, it’s Apple,” he says.
Hours before the event, expectations about the impact of these glasses on the market caused Apple to reach a historical high in market value for the last 17 months and was on the verge of surpassing its own barrier of 3 billion dollars on the stock market. At the beginning of last year, it became the only company to reach this figure. However, after the announcement that the glasses will cost 3,499 dollars, the stock fell by 1.57% and lost part of what it had gained hours before.
Other products
“WWDC is always one of my favorite times of the year, and this is going to be the best time ever!” Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted two hours before the conference began. The event began with him standing in front of a rainbow at Apple Park, the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, explaining that the company is going to make “some of its biggest announcements yet at WWDC. We’ll be talking about the future of our amazing software platforms and introducing some exciting new products.”
What’s new on Mac
The first device to be unveiled at the event was a 15-inch MacBook Air. Apple’s aim with this laptop is to offer a large screen to users who don’t want to opt for a 16-inch MacBook Pro. The device features the M2 chip and is theoretically 12 times faster than the Intel-based MacBook Air. It has a battery that offers 18 hours of autonomy and its price starts at 1,299 euros.
Apple also introduced the 2023 Mac Pro, a computer that debuts a new processor called the M2 Ultra. It’s the first major update to the Mac Pro in four years. The company says the new device runs three times faster than Intel-powered Macs in several real-world functions. It starts at $6,999.
Changes in the software
Apple has used the event to announce the new features of the new iPhone operating system: iOS 17. “We have a powerful new feature to help you make a more informed decision about when to answer the incoming call,” explained an Apple employee. The company has presented Live Voicemail, a voicemail that transcribes the message that another person leaves you when they call you in real time: “Imagine that you receive a phone call while you are in a meeting and you want to know if it is urgent or if it can wait. You will see the voicemail directly on your screen to decide whether to leave and take the call or not.”
New features in iOS 17 include automatic transcription of audio messages and the ability to leave a video message for someone else on FaceTime if they don’t pick up the call. Another interesting feature is called Check In, which lets you send a notification to family and friends when you’ve arrived home safely. Apple is also looking for ways to make it easier to share contacts with NameDrop. Simply bring your phone close to someone else’s to share the number or email via AirDrop. And one more new feature: you no longer need to say “hey” in “hey Siri” to activate the assistant.
Some of these new features, such as automatic transcriptions of voice memos, are also coming to iPad OS 17. Apple has also announced some updates for the widgets and greater customization of the lock screen. “These interactions with the widgets “They will make the home screen much more powerful,” the company says. In addition, PDFs can now be included in the Notes app and annotations can be taken with the Apple Pencil. Apple has also announced that the iPad will detect empty fields in a PDF and suggest how to fill them out.
The new operating system for Apple computers is called macOS Sonoma. With it, it is theoretically possible to easily add the following to the Mac: widgets installed on the iPhone. The Apple company also wants to improve the experience of those who make video calls. To do this, it has presented an effect that allows the interlocutor to be placed in the foreground, right in front of a presentation or the computer screen (when sharing it).
Airpods
One of the key new features of Apple’s popular AirPods is adaptive audio, which is supposed to adapt to the conditions to cancel out distracting noise but allow useful noise to play through. For example, a car horn. This new feature can also be useful during calls by minimizing background noise and prioritizing voices, according to Apple.
WatchOS 10
With watchOS 10, the new operating system for Apple watches, the way you interact with the device changes slightly. “Now, from any watch face, you can simply turn the digital crown to display different widgets”, says a company employee. For example, by turning the crown it is possible to “quickly access the weather forecast, read the headlines or see if there are any upcoming meetings”.
For hiking enthusiasts, the tech giant has introduced a new feature that shows the last location where there was coverage. The idea is that they can return to that location and make an emergency call if they need to. The new operating system also brings new features for tennis players or golfers. The watch can now record data from wrist movements.
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