Vision Pro

Today I learned two things. First, apparently Meta Quest headsets don’t work on planes? I guess Apple knew to prioritize that feature for Vision Pro. And second, support is reportedly on the way. Add this to the list of ways competition from Vision Pro is making Meta Quest 3 a better product.

Microsoft on Tuesday launched a native OneNote app for visionOS, showing the company’s commitment to its customers who use Apple Vision Pro. This comes after the company released Microsoft Office apps for Apple’s mixed reality headset.

Customers in the US can book a Vision Pro demo at one of the Apple Retail Stores to experience the headset for around 30 minutes. During the demo, customers watch some pre-loaded content, including Spatial Videos made by Apple. However, the company will soon let users watch their own content during a Vision Pro demo session.

One of Vision Pro’s most exciting capabilities, to me personally, is the ability to display multiple Mac monitors in virtual form. Viture One XR glasses have now gained that same capability.

When I first tested the glasses, I noted that while they could act as a Mac monitor, they were limited to a single monitor – this this has now changed …

The AR/VR device market has always been considered a niche. Even with the launch of the Apple Vision Pro earlier this year, there was no expectation of major changes due to the high price tag of $3,500. However, a new survey by Piper Sandler has revealed that teenagers are using more VR headsets, at least in the US.

You don’t need to own an Apple Vision Pro to appreciate it. Just having competition from the high end is pushing Meta to improve its mainstream mixed reality headset.

Meta Quest 3 hit the market last year for $499. That’s $3000 shy of Vision Pro, but with the same goal of colorized passthrough for mixed reality. The only problem was that Meta’s version of passthrough was hardly comparable to Apple’s. My own evaluation is that Meta Quest 3 passthrough is usable but not convincing.

That appears to be changing now. In a Quest software update called v64, Meta says that it has improved passthrough quality for the Meta Quest 3 headset. Here’s a summary from the release notes:

Apple has released a new software update for Apple Vision Pro. visionOS 1.1.2 is now available. According to the release notes, visionOS 1.1.2 focuses on bug fixes.

Apple is also testing visionOS 1.2 for Apple Vision Pro users on the beta release cycle. A new build of visionOS 1.2 has also been released today.

A new non-destructive teardown published today offers an incredible look inside Apple Vision Pro. Created using an industrial CT scanner, the images give us a look at the precise engineering that went into cramming all the cameras, sensors, and other technology inside Vision Pro.

Apple Vision Pro has a number of robust privacy protections in place, including limitations on how third-party developers can access camera data. A new report from The Information today explores how Apple’s fear of Vision Pro having a Google Glass-level privacy outcry have impacted third-party developers.

Apple Vision Pro is the best way to watch video, but Netflix hasn’t received the memo. Fortunately, young and aspiring developers are ready to show up and ship. Enter Christian Privitelli, the 19-year-old Australian developer of Supercut.

Apple Vision Pro users will soon have another piece of Immersive Video to enjoy. In the Apple TV app, Apple says that a new episode of its Prehistoric Planet Immersive series will be available on April 19.

What does Apple Vision Pro actually do? Thanks to these visionOS app developers, the answer is a lot. While it’s not a comprehensive list of every visionOS app, these are some of the many experiences possible on Apple Vision Pro!

Four years ago, I was wowed by the experience that Pocket Rocket provided on the iPhone and iPad. The ARKit-powered rocket visualizer app excelled at bringing augmented reality rockets to life in your environment. Fast-forward to now and Pocket Rocket has officially taken off on Apple Vision Pro.

We’ve already seen at least two examples of a Vision Pro headset assisting with surgery, and another first has now been notched up in Florida.

Vision Pro was used to provide “touch-free access to the surgical setup, inventory, and procedural guides from within the sterile field of the operating room” during a shoulder replacement – specifically, a reverse one …

Nothing makes me feel more like Zion Williamson than shooting hoops at the arcade. And while I’d love to take arcade basketball home with me, I’m not sure that’s the best investment. Fortunately, Apple Vision Pro has quickly become the best way to turn any space into an arcade basketball arena.

Apple has announced that beta spatial Persona support is coming to Apple Vision Pro starting later today. The feature expands on the existing Persona feature of Vision Pro, but with an even more human-like experience.

Spatial Personas allow Vision Pro users to “break out of the familiar FaceTime tile and feel more present, like they are gathered in the same physical space.”

Apple Vision Pro is currently only available in the US, but there have been a lot of rumors recently about the international expansion of the new headset. Now a report from WatchGeneration claims that Apple has been inviting employees from its retail stores in France for Vision Pro training this summer.

A recent report suggested we might be seeing some form of Apple Pencil for Vision Pro, and that idea appears to be supported by an Apple patent application published this week.

The lack of a physical surface to press against means that things like drawing and handwriting can be tougher in a virtual environment, and Apple describes a couple of interesting solutions to this …

If you’re shooting spatial video on your iPhone 15 Pro – and there can be good reasons for doing so, even if you don’t own a Vision Pro – then you may want to invest in a $3 iPhone app.

While Apple’s native camera app only shoots spatial video in 1080p at 30fps, Spatialify lets you record in 4K at the same frame rate …

Update, March 27: In an email, Apple confirmed that these three games will launch on Apple Arcade on March 28.

Apple Arcade brings high quality games to Apple Vision Pro on day one. Apple highlights that over 250 titles are available with 12 specifically designed for a spatial experience on visionOS. Apple Vision Pro will soon gain three more games through Arcade including Spire Blast in spatial.

Currently, Apple Vision Pro has a few different options for text input, including a virtual keyboard, Siri, or using a separate Bluetooth keyboard. A new rumor today says that Apple could bring Apple Pencil support to Vision Pro as a new way of interacting with visionOS.