Today at Apple’s “Wonderlust” event, while people tuned in to hear about iPhone 15 and Apple Watch, Cupertino had just one piece of news to share about Vision Pro. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the event saying the device is still “on track to ship early next year.”
There certainly will not be a dearth of apps for the Vision Pro when it launches — Apple said Tuesday that every compatible iOS and iPadOS application will be automatically listed in an upcoming App Store for the AR headset.
That means there’ll be “hundreds of thousands” of apps for Vision Pro at its debut early next year, according to Apple.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We’re hearing all kinds of rumors about the USB-C cable(s) that will come with iPhone 15 models. Will they be colorful? Braided? Fast? Slow? We’ve got some leaks and some informed speculation — and probably just enough cable to hang ourselves with.
Erfon’s out this week, but we’ve got a special guest you won’t want to miss!
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Developers who visited Apple’s special labs to test their Vision Pro apps on the upcoming headset came away impressed, according to a cheery new Apple press release. The labs, which let devs test third-party apps on the AR headset Apple plans to release next year, are reportedly not well-attended. So, Apple seems intent on drumming up interest.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, developers who went to Apple’s labs offered some very positive comments about the hardware and software.
The newly announced Alliance for OpenUSD is a collection of industry heavyweights — including Apple — putting their influence behind Pixar’s Universal Scene Description technology.
The stated goal of the AOUSD is “to standardize the 3D ecosystem.”
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Not all iPhone rumors prove exciting. In fact, a big one this week — possible iPhone 15 price hikes — sounds downright depressing. But it’s not all bad news. The “normie” iPhone 15 might get some trickle-down camera tech that could make it easier not to go Pro this year.
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A fortunate few will soon get their hands on the Apple Vision Pro. Developers can now apply to get a prerelease loaner unit with which to test the applications they’re creating for the upcoming AR headset.
But don’t expect to see people walking the street with a Vision Pro anytime soon. Apple’s rules for the loaner units are extremely restrictive.
After its launch in 2012, Apple Maps performed so badly that Apple CEO Tim Cook actually apologized for the service and fired the company’s head of software (for the disastrous launch and other reasons). But now, many people actually choose Apple Maps over Google Maps and other services, according to a new report.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple’s roadmap for future AirPods looks ambitious. The company wants them to take your temperature to see if you’re feverish, test your ears to see if you’re hard of hearing, substitute for hearing aids, and charge using the one cable to rule them all … USB-C!
It’s all music to our ears.
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Apple will reportedly require you to make an in-store appointment to buy the Vision Pro headset when it launches next year. This is the same strategy the company employed for the Apple Watch launch in 2015.
Apple plans to set up special demo zones inside its stores when the $3,500 headset goes on sale in the United States in early 2024. The company reportedly will utilize custom tools to make sure accessories fit buyers’ faces.
Apple reportedly made hefty cuts to its production goals for the Vision Pro due to the headset’s complex design, which makes mass production a challenge.
Announced at WWDC23 in June, Apple’s mixed-reality headset will go on sale in early 2024. So the company has more than a few months to sort out these manufacturing challenges.
For anyone who looked at the $3,500 price on the Apple Vision Pro and thought “that is so cheap,” Caviar has a version that’s over ten times as expensive. This specially modified AR headset is plated in gold and has a leather head strap.
Caviar even modified the design to make wearing the device a bit more private.
We know not to expect Vision Pro to go on sale until early next year, yet accessories for the AR/VR headset unveiled at WWDC23 are starting to show up already.
Phone case maker Casetify previewed a lineup called Bounce Vision Friday.
The first screenshots and videos of apps being built for Vision Pro show just how easy it is to port iOS apps to Apple’s upcoming augmented reality headset.
Apple just released the visionOS software development kit last Wednesday, and already people are refitting their iPhone apps for Apple’s new mixed-reality platform and sharing the results online.
The apps include Broadcasts, which lets you tune in to internet radio and livestreams — and leave a little Now Playing window anywhere in your virtual space. With cooking app Crouton in visionOS, you can place timers all around your kitchen. And Tasks, a powerful to-do app, works exactly as it does on your Mac and iPhone.
In my opinion, this is what will ultimately make visionOS succeed where similar mixed-reality platforms failed: It builds heavily on the same technologies that underpin iOS. If you can build an iPhone app, you can build a Vision Pro app.
Here’s a gallery of what some popular indie apps look like running on Vision Pro.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Those EU technocrats plan to force Apple (and everybody else) to make batteries in their devices easier to replace. The specifics remain vague. But is forcing changes to the iPhone and iPad design a good thing or a bad thing?
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While Apple is encouraging developers to write software for the Vision Pro AR headset, there are some types of applications it doesn’t want. Camera-related apps and movement-based ones can’t be made.
Some of the restrictions don’t seem to be about privacy but instead result from limitations in the hardware. Others are a mystery.
Turning the Apple Vision Pro headset from an announcement into a shipping product took a big step forward Wednesday with the release of the visionOS SDK. This includes the software tools developers will use to write applications for the AR headset that Apple unveiled earlier this month.
Apple also said it will open developer labs around the world soon, giving coders a chance for some hands-on time with Vision Pro, which won’t launch until 2024.
Apple could switch to a more powerful Ultra Wideband chip on the iPhone 15. And for its 2024 iPhones, the company could adopt the newer and faster Wi-Fi 7 standard.
These hardware upgrades will seemingly allow Apple to build a more competitive ecosystem for its upcoming Vision Pro headset.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The first impressions of Apple’s just-unveiled Vision Pro headset leave us mind = blown. Still, no matter how vivid the VR is … or how flawless the visionOS user interface is … or how “natural” the headset looks to be … can anything justify its $3,499 price tag?
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro headset does not pack any significant technological breakthroughs. He claims his company explored all options used by Apple — but ultimately decided against them.
Zuckerberg expressed his thoughts on Vision Pro in a companywide meeting with Meta employees.
The $3,499 price of Vision Pro, the long-awaited AR/VR headset Apple rolled out at WWDC23, startles some people. You can find audience reaction videos out there with audible gasps when the price was announced (including among Apple employees, some posts claim). And mainstream headlines are joining in, too.
And of course social media hasn’t let up on the jokey memes. See below for a few choice examples.
Just a day after Apple unveiled its Vision Pro AR/VR headset at WWDC23, news came along Tuesday that the company acquired Los Angeles-based AR headset startup Mira.
Mira makes headsets for other companies — notably Super Nintendo World theme parks — and holds contracts with the U.S. military.
How does Apple’s new “spatial computing” platform visionOS work exactly?
At WWDC23 this week, Apple detailed a bunch of interesting tidbits about how the new Vision Pro headset works. Apple detailed how buttons look and behave in the spatial computer, how they are pressed without any physical controls, and how apps work in 3D.
Here’s how Apple’s spatial interface works.
First impressions of the Vision Pro headset make it sound like Apple absolutely nailed both the industrial design and the overall “experience” of wearing a mixed-reality headset.
Apple didn’t let most reporters go hands-on (or rather “heads-on”) with the new device following the Vision Pro’s unveiling at Monday’s WWDC23 keynote. However, the company’s handlers let some members of the media into a private area to gawk at the Vision Pro — and a handful of people actually got to strap one on.
The very first glimpses reveal hardware that looks far better than the competition, paired with a compelling visual experience, and triggers only a few negative reactions.
People might be squawking about the $3,499 price tag of Apple’s new Vision Pro headset, but let’s put things in perspective. When Apple introduced the Macintosh — the first computer with a graphical user interface — it cost an eye-watering $7,400 in today’s dollars.
The Apple II — the first truly “personal computer’ — proved even more expensive. In 1977, an Apple II with maxed-out memory (a whopping 48KB of RAM, yes kilobytes) cost the equivalent of $14,400.
All that makes the $3,499 price tag of Apple’s new Vision Pro VR headset seem like a relative bargain. It packs insane 4K OLED screens to mesmerize your eyes, an outside screen that shows your face while wearing it, and an array of sensors to capture your hand movements, facial expressions and more.
If Apple is right, and the headset represents the dawn of a new era of 3D spatial computing, then 3,500 bucks isn’t so much to be at the cutting edge. New technology is always pricey … and it could have been even worse. Given the amount of new tech involved, and the high price of nearly a decade of development, the Vision Pro could have been even more expensive. It’s no $10,000 Apple Watch Edition!