Vision Pro - page 8

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Will Apple Vision Pro win the world over to “spatial computing” when it launches on February 2? With the $3,499 mixed-reality headset coming so close to reality, it’s time for a serious talk.

We’re all super-curious about Vision Pro. But the hefty price tag and lack of a clear purpose leave us wondering if it’s a solution in need of a problem. (If nothing else, we like the new Vision Pro ad.)

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple apparently plans to keep the first Vision Pro reviewers on a short leash.
• The buzziest gadget at this year’s CES certainly looks cool. But what can it do?
• We’ll believe that an AI-boosted Siri is smarter when we see it.
• Are expensive cables worth the extra cash? Torture tests by Consumer Reports raise some eyebrows.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Apple’s fun new Get Ready video for the upcoming Vision Pro headset is clearly intended to ratchet up the hype for the spatial computing device scheduled for release in early February.

The new advert shows a wide range of celebrities putting on visors in iconic film roles. That makes it strongly reminiscent of a 2007 ad released before the launch of the original iPhone.

Apple’s Vision Pro headset finally has a release date. Apple will accept preorders for Vision Pro in the United States starting Friday, January 19, at 5 a.m. Pacific, the company said Monday.

The headset’s retail availability will begin February 2 at all U.S. Apple Stores, with in-store demos also beginning that day. You also can place your Vision Pro order through Apple’s online store.

Apple reportedly already started shipping the Vision Pro headset in small quantities to its U.S. warehouses. From there, the AR headset will reach the company’s retail stores.

All these preparations suggest a February launch, ensuring Apple will stick to its promised “early next year” timeframe for releasing its next major product.

Apple promises that its Vision Pro will be out “early next year,” but a noted tipster has the release of the cutting-edge AR headset narrowed down to February.

The product is supposedly already in full production in China.

iOS 17 brought dozens of great features and changes, but the latest 17.2 update adds even more.

The headline feature is the new Journal app — other new tweaks come to iMessage stickers, NameDrop and Apple Music. If you have a new iPhone 15 Pro, you can record Spatial Videos and use the Translate app directly from the Action button. You can also customize more notification sounds and StandBy.

Here are the ten best features in 17.2.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: It sounds like Apple’s partnership with Goldman Sachs is on the rocks. What does that mean for the future of Apple Card?

Also on The CultCast:

• The latest iOS 17.2 beta reveals some interesting new features.
• Apple’s deal with Arm is pretty sweet … and pretty annoying for Arm!
• Those panicky headlines about NameDrop you’ve been seeing that paint the iOS 17 feature as danger to children? Ignore them.
• Apple seems pretty committed to Vision Pro: Multiple lower-priced versions of the headset are reportedly in the works.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Apple is reportedly still working on the Vision Pro’s distribution plan and final testing. Due to this, the mixed-reality headset will launch around March 2024.

This is a couple of months later than the company’s initial target of a January launch. At the “Wonderlust” event on September 12, Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed the Vision Pro is “on track to ship early next year.”

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to allow unregulated devices to use the 6 GHz band to wirelessly communicate over short ranges. Apple could use this to enable fast communication between its Vision AR headsets and other computers, like an iPhone.

Apple is one of several companies that asked the FCC to make the change back in 2019.

Apple is expanding the Vision Pro developer labs to additional regions. This will allow more developers to try out the mixed-reality headset ahead of its launch in early 2024.

The Cupertino giant is opening new Vision Pro developer labs in New York, US, and Sydney, Australia.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: An iOS 17 update supposedly will stop the iPhone 15 Pro’s Action button from triggering in your pocket, at least in certain circumstances. Is this really a problem that needs fixing?

Also on The CultCast:

• When it comes to upcoming Macs and Apple Watch, this week’s no news sounds like very bad news indeed.
• Apple’s Vision Pro headset seems to be straining the necks of some pencil-necked geeks.
• For this week’s Under Review segment, I’ve got a unique-looking charger and Erfon and Griffin bring very different sorts of cameras to the podcast’s version of show and tell.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After nearly a week with Apple’s new hardware, we’re serving up our first hands-on impressions. Is the iPhone 15 Pro Max too big — and/or too hot — to handle? Is Apple Watch Ultra 2 worth the upgrade? What about Apple Watch Series 9?

And seriously, Apple … you call that pink?

Also on The CultCast:

• Griffin runs us through some of the coolest new features in macOS Sonoma.
• OMG we’ve already got iPhone 16 rumors.
• And we wrap up with a couple of big fat bummers from our favorite source of Apple insider info and tech haikus.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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!

Also on The CultCast:

• The Vision Pro gasp heard ’round the world!
• Why you might want to wash the nasty stuff off your Apple Watch band.
• Leander’s new e-book Unsung Apple Hero showcases the innovative work of Bas Ording, the Apple designer who worked closely with Steve Jobs to create the look and feel of the iPhone and more.
• Griffin walks us through some useful Apple apps hiding on your Mac. (Hello again, Stickies!)

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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.

Also on The CultCast:

• Think of all the interesting ways you could use an Action button like on Apple Watch Ultra’s on an iPhone. Well, the iPhone 15 Pro might get in on that action.
• Apple’s Vision Pro loaners for developers come with some absolutely ridiculous restrictions.
• We’ve got an Apple Watch tip that we bet you don’t know — how to get the time with a tap on your wrist. Perfect for those long, boring meetings when you don’t want to peek at your watch.
• Hang around for the great Apple Music versus Spotify debate of 2023.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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.

Also on The CultCast:

• An Apple monitor that works even when your Mac is turned off sounds perfect for some people and situations.
• Shocker! Apple’s Vision Pro headset might be in incredibly short supply at launch.
• Threads, the new “Twitter killer” from Meta, doesn’t seem like that much of a threat. However, it might play nice with Mastodon. (Griffin is optimistic!)
• Suddenly, Apple TV+ seems like a streaming contender.
• Erfon is pretty, pretty, pretty pleased with Apple’s stock price.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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.