Apple have just made good on their ‘early 2024’ reveal promise and placed a February 2, 2024 launch date on their eagerly-awaited VR and AR headset product, the Apple Vision Pro. From February 2 Apple Vision Pro will be at all U.S. Apple Store locations and available from the U.S. Apple Store online.
And – just as with every Apple product launch – pre-orders begin even sooner. Early adopters will be able to put their money down and recieve a device on launch day by pre-ordering from January 19, 5 a.m. PST.
“The era of spatial computing has arrived,” said Apple CEO, Tim Cook. “Apple Vision Pro is the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created. Its revolutionary and magical user interface will redefine how we connect, create, and explore.”
The device uses a unique lens system for glasses wearers and today – for the first time – prices for these bespoke lenses was announced. Readers will be available for an extra $99, while prescription lenses will cost $149. The base model of the Vision Pro costs a wallet-battering $3,499, offers 256GB of storage and is packaged with the following accessories:
- Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band
- A light seal and two light seal cushions
- Apple Vision Pro cover
- Polishing cloth
- Battery
- USB-C charging cable and USB-C power adapter
The next big thing in apps and app stores?
Apple Vision Pro is a standalone headset that runs a new Spatial OS with deep links into iOS making it easy for existing phone and app makers to port their existing titles to the new device and take advantage of its 100% virtual or augmentedreality powers.
Apple are already claiming that the headset will launch with over one million compatible apps in their new app store.
And – of course – there’s limitless potential to create all-new experiences tailor made for the headset and an all-new app store to populate, all set to make money for smart developers who can catch the wave and create the device’s first bespoke smash hits.
Best in class performance
While the specs of the device remain under familiar Apple wraps, demos so far (and superlative try-outs from carefully hand-picked tech watchers) have placed the device at the pinnacle of virtual offerings, besting the likes of Meta’s Oculus 3 and Pro and PlayStation’s VR2.
Notable USPs include Vision Pro’s face mapping feature which creates a virtual likeness of the wearer which is is then projected onto the curved screen on the exterior of the device. This – in conjunction with the market-leading quality of the video pass through – enables the user to feel connected and ‘still present’ with the real world while they wear the device, while onlookers see the wearer’s eyes and expressions as though they weren’t wearing goggles at all.
The aim is that rather than slipping on a bulky headset and effectively dissapearing from reality into a boxed-in world that’s a pale shadow of the real one, that Vision Pro users will feel more comfortable using and wearing the device more often. It’s lightweight design and gesture-based operating system aim to make the whole process of strapping something expensive to your face more comfortable and worthwhile than ever before.
It’s quite possible that something as simple as watching movies or browsing the internet will become sufficiently USP ‘better’ that everyone will want one, in much the same way that the iPad was “just a big iPhone” until you gave one a try.
Only the curious inclusion of a seperate belt-mounted battery pack (in order to keep the headset’s size and weight down) has drawn some ire with its ‘semi tethered’ nature feeling like a step backwards contrary to the leap forwards elsewhere.
Oh, that, AND the early-adopter price tag of $3,499, which effectively limits the device to all bar the most curious and affluent of Apple fans.
Still, they claimed that $499 for a iPhone was outrageous and look what happened.
