Apple’s Leap Into Virtual Reality
Finally, Not Just Another iPhone Update
B. N. Dent
I have no doubt that, for the majority of people reading this publication, the primary way you receive information on the outside world is through social media. Make no mistake, as I do not say this in order to criticise. If you are able to navigate through the maze of nonsense and trolls, social media platforms can serve as solid sources for details of current events. However, due to the relatively unrestricted nature of these platforms and non-existent requirement of user credibility, EVERYONE is able to broadcast their opinions to the world on whatever subject matter they feel like talking about. Now, in some cases, this leads to the creation of meaningful insights, but in most, the result is simply ‘yap’.
One recent phenomenon that has been majorly projected on social media is Apple’s latest product – the Apple Vision Pro. In short, the Apple Vision Pro is a mixed reality headset which displays augmented reality content overlaid onto your surrounding world. Though, the ‘real’ part of the world that you see is just a virtually generated environment created using cameras. Furthermore, infrared cameras are used inside the device to track the wearer’s eyes, while downward facing cameras on the exterior track hand movements, allowing the wearer to control the virtual environment around them.
Demonstration of the Vision Pros ‘Mixed Reality’ Creation
From personal reviews of the product to point-of-view demonstrations of their functionality, the Apple Vision Pros have been all over various digital platforms in recent weeks. Consequently, there have been a plethora of conflicting views and opinions voiced by individuals regarding the tech giant’s latest product, but very few deny the revolutionary nature of the product. So, let’s sift through the multitude of arguments for and against the Vision Pros to get a sense of their true quality and the implications that they will have for both the virtual reality and tech space more broadly.
After years on end of enduring iPhone update after iPhone update followed by the occasional air pod update, Apple users have remained subservient, but they have grown bored of the company’s lack of innovation. As such, the Vision Pros are an extremely exciting prospect. They mark the beginning of Apple potentially taking more strides into emerging areas of tech that are foreign and risky, but, at the same time, bring on so much opportunity. So, let’s start with the positives. Starting off, we have the product’s immaculate immersiveness (i.e., their ability to make users believe that the digital landscape surrounding them is real). Ultimately, this translates to the product’s extremely high graphic quality, which many critics agree is far and above anything previously done in the VR space. This is enabled by the device’s two OLED displays, which together pack a total of 23 million pixels, the equivalent of more than a 4K TV on each eye. Alongside this, Apple has masterfully developed the way in which the user is able to create their own environment whilst using the headset – allowing them to lock floating projections of applications in areas within their space. This is illustrated in the image above, and is yet another example of a feat that has not been achieved to such a great extent by other companies in the VR space.
On the flip side, two main arguments that pervade the negative side of the product are the lack of available applications and the more dystopian concerns of the device. The limited amount of applications available to Vision Pro users is obviously a clear downside as it inhibits the number of activities and utility that the product can provide. Apple states that the reason for this is due to their inability to foresee the reception of their product and, thus they wanted to avoid unnecessarily developing apps that would come at a great expense to them if the Vision Pros were not received well. And as for the dystopian argument against the Vision Pros, have you seen the film WALL – E?
Overall, Apple’s Vision Pros should be viewed as an exciting, refreshing and high-octane product that will hopefully launch the brand into a new period more akin to the early 2000s Steve Jobs era of the company.