Apple lifted the veil on its highly anticipated Vision Pro mixed reality headset on Monday, and CEO Tim Cook discussed what the company calls spatial computing with ABC News. In the interview with Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, Cook discusses a range of issues from Vision Pro to ChatGPT and the future of technology.
Vision Pro
“It’s tomorrow’s engineering, today. So you’re going to live in the future and you’re going to do it today,” Cook said about the technically impressive hardware.
It’s often said that any form of virtual reality will need a “killer app” to make a VR product viable. In describing all the capabilities of Vision Pro, Cook says that “it’s not about one thing, it’s a platform.”
Vision Pro isn’t just about VR, however, as Apple has made it its ultimate augmented reality platform as well. Still, a challenge with any use of virtual reality is becoming isolated from the actual reality around you.
On that point, Cook says that not contributing to isolation was a “major design point” when creating Vision Pro. “This is not about isolation; this is about connection. This is about having people there that feel like they’re there with you.”
“It’s the most advanced piece of electronic equipment out there,” Cook says when discussing the $3,499 price. Roberts asks if Cook thinks this is something people will be able to afford.
“I don’t know. I think people will make different choices depending upon their financial situation and so forth. The engineering and depth of engineering in it is mind blowing. You’ve got more than a 4K experience in each eye. Of course, it doesn’t come for free. It costs something to do that, but I think it’s a great value,” Cook says.
AI and ChatGPT
On the topic of artificial intelligence, Cook says this front has “great promise” that requires “deliberate” and “thoughtful” development and deployment because of “bias,” “misinformation,” and “maybe worse in some cases.”
As for ChatGPT, “of course” he uses it and is “excited about it,” adding that the technology is something Apple is “closely” studying.
Finally, Roberts asked Cook about a recent report of customers having issues withdrawing money from Apple’s new high yield savings accounts.
“Goldman Sachs is very focused on this,” Cook says. “If you try to transfer your funds to a different account than you funded the initial savings account with, it heightens a review because people are worried about somebody stealing your money. So, there’s a lot of energy going into making this a smoother process.”
For our own hands-on experience with Vision Pro, read Chance Miller’s explanation of what spending half an hour with spatial computing was like.
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