Since Apple was released When I purchased Vision Pro last Friday, I realized the importance of immersive content. This is by no means a radical proposal. At this point, we're all acutely aware that hardware platforms live and die by serving content.
Let's go back a little bit to the end of 2014. When Tim Cook first announced his Apple Watch alongside his iPhone 6, the product was met with some blank stares. Many wondered what is the point of such a device. It wasn't the Dick Tracy watch we'd been promised since the mid-1940s, but rather an extension of the iPhone's small screen.
It took a few years for Apple to really focus on the single biggest driver of this device: fitness. These days, wearing a smartwatch has led to a lot less questions about why one would want to own such a gadget. There's no guarantee Vision Pro will follow a similar trajectory, but if it does, it will be on the back (front) of app and game developers.
The Vision Pro is definitely an impressive piece of hardware. We have features like pass-through, spatial association, and high-resolution displays that are better than anyone else in the consumer space. But, understandably, many people still wonder, “Why?” Similarly, why would someone spend $3,500 on it? Price and augmented reality's long and spotty history cast further doubt on Apple's first headset.
But ultimately, the “why” can be traced back to the content. It's been a little over a week since the device's launch, and what should he point to as the Vision Pro's killer app? So far, it's computing. This is an area where Apple is leaning heavily, in part in its bid to appeal to deep-pocketed business customers. When these organizations buy headsets in large quantities, scaling can lower the cost of subsequent models.
The beauty of platform play is that it's a way to crowdsource functionality. Apple may have more money than any god you can name, but developer resources are still finite. Relying on 3D parties provides a wealth of external perspective and allows for outside-the-box thinking that is often thought to be counterproductive to the internal bottom line of large companies.
It remained an open question whether Apple was still in a position to attract major developers for the release of Vision Pro. At launch, he said there were 600 “optimized” apps, a strong result for a first-generation device in a category with a solid track record. This number is further enhanced by the significant increase in iPadOS apps that can run on devices. When it comes to what “optimization” is, the answer is not as simple as you might think.
This can be as simple as adjusting the UX for the transition from touch to hand gestures, or as complex as full immersion or advanced hand tracking. For this work, we are most interested in optimized apps with immersive properties. Using iPad apps on a headset isn't generally a bad experience (nor do you always want full immersion), but here we're talking about his cutting-edge $3,500 hardware. . Let's see what this bad guy can do. .
fitness and mindfulness
I'm a big believer in screen destruction. Take a walk, read a book, talk to a human, touch the proverbial grass. In fact, this is more important if the screen is fixed to your head. After using his Vision Pro at home for a little over a week, I found that usage tended to be split into several clusters. For example, I'm writing this to you on my desktop. It's not a virtual desktop, it's a real desktop. Interaction with the infinite desktop experience is still limited.
I think this device is best used intentionally. Rather than simply trying to convert more of my life to spatial computing, using Vision Pro is an ongoing process of determining whether it's the best tool for the job at hand. (I fully admit that my philosophy might have been different if I had paid the upfront cost rather than considering a rental unit). Your mileage will vary, but I'm relatively prone to motion sickness, so I limit my sessions to about 30 minutes.
During this time, several apps have made their way into my morning routine. I have been suffering from degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, and sciatica for several months. Things like that greatly reduce your motivation to go to the gym. However, as I have been doing my own rehabilitation little by little, I have been able to do moderate exercise. My mornings consist of 20 minutes of Apple Fitness+ Pilates followed by games. synth rider With Vision Pro.
The latter was ported from Metaquest. This is a rock band/guitar hero rhythm game in which your hands become instruments and collide with orbs that are coming toward you at breakneck speed. A fun and fast game reminiscent of Beat Saber. Here, every level revolves around his synth tracks, whose expansive aesthetic can be described as “80s Trapper Keeper.” It is characterized by complete or partial immersion, depending on how aware you need to be of your surroundings.
Considering the price, weight, and battery pack, Synth Riders is the most practice you can do with the Vision Pro. You won't sweat while playing the game. It is more important to pump blood. It's also a good option for a weekday break between 3 and 4 p.m., when your energy starts to wane. Even if you get a little sweaty, you can always hand wash the Light Seal insert.
In the future, we hope to add more apps that bring light exercise to the platform. Porting to Quest is a solid starting point. I'm curious to see how the system handles boxing and form correction, like products like Tonal and Mirror.
I wrote a little about Apple's Mindfulness App. It's pretty barebones in terms of functionality, but in the meditation world that's not terrible.I also tried Ender Realms After a quick morning workout. I wrote about Endel's mobile app and how its algorithmically generated music helped me get back into a meditative mood. Realms is currently a much simpler application for creating calming or uplifting environments. Basically, you sit there for 5-10 minutes and give yourself a light bath to rinse your entire body. I found that it is centering for now.
science and entertainment
There are three things I'd like to see more of with the Vision Pro. Dinosaurs, ocean exploration, and space.mentioned dinosaur experience I will explain it several times here. this is, can It is performed using immersive and interactive technology. Seeing dinosaur bodies up close, based on the latest scientific research, is one experience that shows the potential of such a system.
But above all it's a proof of concept. It's short, plays and loops, and its entire interactivity is limited to the butterfly that lands on your finger and his three dinosaurs that stare at you as you walk around. There's not a lot of meat on this proverbial bone, but it's beautiful, compelling, and hopefully points the way to greater things.
Image credits: sky guide
It's a pleasure to spend time with you while you wait for your guided tour around the solar system. sky guide. This app works similarly to his NightSky on his iPhone and provides an immersive look at stars, constellations, and planets. SkyGuide is less location-bound than NightSky (which, honestly, is one of its best features) and instead simulates locations (cityscapes without light pollution, mountain peaks, open ocean). is focused on.
Lego is completely crushing it with Nintendo's AR demo. builder's journey This is an extremely fun experience that takes full advantage of the system's object recognition and places a box of bricks directly on the table in front of you as you follow the story and build virtual structures.
Loona occupies a similar space, but in a much colder space. This is what my Danish friends call hygge. Here we combine basic objects such as a scooter and a fireplace. It's great for turning your mind off, but unfortunately you have to pay to unlock everything but the first puzzle.
work
microsoft word There's not much to talk about when it comes to immersion, but if you plan on doing any work inside Vision Pro, the 40-year-old app remains the gold standard for word processing. As with any app that requires a lot of input, we highly recommend getting out your Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Voice dictation still has its limits, and gesture typing has gotten much faster, but the thought of using it for anything other than usernames and passwords makes me want to jump off the roof.
The coolest UI part here is the addition of a small predictive text field directly above the keyboard. It's pretty much the same as what's on iOS. So far, I've limited my long text input to sending emails.
Over the past few weeks, I've written a bit about the Vision Pro enterprise app (as well as Ron). My current view on this category is that Apple is where I expect the highest and most immediate return on investment. Companies have deep pockets and will buy a product in bulk if they think it will save them money in the long run. Once you have enough customers, you start to get to the point where scale has a measurable impact on manufacturing prices.
Training is easy. This is especially useful for more complex tasks that require understanding objects in space in three dimensions. The last part is also jig space, Designed for building AR demonstrations. Right out of the gate, you can explore objects like a jet turbine, a Formula 1 car, and a human heart. This app provides a glimpse of how this technology will be used in the future.