Silicon Valley’s worst kept secret was revealed by Apple CEO Tim Cook last night. ‘One more thing’, the company comes with the Vision Pro, VR glasses for $ 3500.
‘Less demand for VR’
“How are you going to justify that price tag?” RTL Nieuws tech editor Harm Teunis wonders. “Virtual reality made a huge advance during the pandemic, but the demand for VR glasses decreased in 2022.”
According to VR expert Freek Teunen, Apple’s very expensive glasses can have the same kind of impact as the arrival of Tesla. “Tesla helped the electric car industry with a vision: this is where we are going. Soon the glasses will be available for everyone. Now we can probably get used to them.”
Those who use the glasses no longer need a screen. Computer images are superimposed on reality or you get to see a completely virtual world – just like a computer screen, but right before your eyes. With all your trusted Apple apps, photos and movies.
Control with your eyes
You can control the Vision Pro with your eyes. It is also striking that others can see your eyes when you have the glasses on. If you are busy and watch a movie, for example, a blur will appear on the outside of the screen. The glasses will be available in the United States from next year, starting at $3,500. The glasses will only appear later, probably for about 3400 euros, in the Netherlands.
Watch how Apple presented the glasses here:
Rob Belleman, VR researcher at the UvA, is not an Apple fan himself, but calls the device presented yesterday ‘impressive’. “A lot of thought has gone into the design and I suspect this is one of the best VR headsets you can buy. But yes, that price tag,” he says.
Couple of hundred euros
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, presented another $ 500 pair of glasses last week. Competitors Sony and Pico also sell models of a few hundred euros. So Apple is not the first with this product.
VR researcher Belleman does see major differences between the quality of the presented Apple glasses and the existing variants. “With the Vision Pro you have a 4k screen, comparable to an excellent television, for each eye. You can therefore even read books with it, while this is not possible with the current VR glasses because the letters then become too vague.”
Own processor
The Vision Pro contains its own processor, so it does not need to be connected to a Mac. “As a result, it uses more power. A full battery gives you a maximum of 2 hours of use, or you can just plug it into the socket.”
Is this the big tech breakthrough since the iPhone? “Now we regularly look at our phone. Soon, with such glasses, we will no longer need a screen. It could very well be that we will soon be on the train and people will no longer look at their mobile phones but through glasses.” Belleman says. But, he adds: “The future is difficult to predict.”
Now for another shiny toy
Tech editor Teunis says that the success of the new glasses depends on what apps developers will develop for it. “The glasses need to stand out in the areas of communication, entertainment or productivity, so that people have a reason to buy this device.” At the moment it is mainly a shiny toy, Teunis observes.
You can guess the added value in terms of entertainment: movies are played in high resolution with the Vision Pro. Communication becomes more lively because you can receive someone’s avatar at home while they are on the other side of the world. And anyone who works in a train or plane a lot can ensure that no one is looking at the screen with such glasses. But then there must be apps.
World upside down?
When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, said the chief from the now failed phone manufacturer Palm: “We have worked for years on a decent phone. These guys from Apple don’t just suddenly catch up with us. I guarantee you that.” That statement went down in the history books: the iPhone became an unprecedented success, nothing was left of Palm.
Whether Apple is turning the world upside down again? “It could be such an iPhone moment, but we just don’t know yet,” says Teunis.
2023-06-06 12:48:41
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