San Francisco (AFP) – Technology lovers and those fond of Apple products lined up on Friday in front of the giant brand’s stores in the United States to test the “Vision Pro”, a helmet that combines augmented and virtual reality and is sold at a starting price of $3,499.
Published on: 03/02/2024 – 14:01 Last updated: 03/02/2024 – 13:59
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This is the first major new product launched by Apple since the Apple Watch smart watch nine years ago.
“I am looking forward to trying” the helmet, Jose Carlos told AFP with a broad smile, “I will use it at work and also when traveling.”
This young engineer on the Uber platform adds, “The price is high, but I am willing to pay the price to be among the first and to test the application ideas that I have.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed Thursday that “Vision Pro is a revolutionary device (…) years ahead” of its competitors.
However, augmented reality glasses and virtual or mixed reality helmets are not new.
The “Meta” group (which owns especially Facebook and Instagram), a competitor to Apple in Silicon Valley, has contributed significantly to the emergence of this market through “Quest” helmets and “Ray-Ban” smart glasses connected to the Internet.
Metaverse President Mark Zuckerberg believes that the metaverse, a world in which the physical and digital environments blend, will be the future of the Internet.
But many companies, experts and individuals were eagerly awaiting the first Apple device in this world. The company has a good reputation for launching highly advanced products that set an example for other companies in the sector.
“Tomorrow’s technology… today”
Tim Cook came to the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York on Friday to greet the first customers, amid applause from the employees.
The Apple Vision Pro helmet during its launch in Los Angeles on February 2, 2024 © David Swanson / AFP
“This is tomorrow’s technology, today,” he told ABC News, adding, “We believe we have set a fair price (for the helmet) at this time.”
The first comments were mixed.
“It’s an impressive product that took several years of work and billions of dollars in investment,” an article in the New York Times said, but “even after trying it, I still have no idea who would use it and for what purpose.”
Those who tested the new product say that they were fascinated by the image quality and ease of use, as it is enough to stare at an application and make a simple movement of the fingers to open or close it.
But they are bothered by the large battery size and mock the avatar method known as “personas,” which are strange, realistically rendered avatars that represent users during video conferences.
“The helmet has the typical characteristics of a first-generation product: it is heavy, the battery drains quickly, and it adopts a ‘character’ mode,” Wall Street Journal journalist Joanna Stern wrote.
“But without these disadvantages, we can imagine that it would be more enjoyable to wear this helmet than to hold the phone,” she added, “and for work and watching movies, it’s really not bad.”
The iPhone maker is offering this helmet as its first foray into spatial computing.
This allows users to use virtual screens of different sizes around them to work, chat with friends, or watch videos.
-“Just the beginning” –
After Apple was criticized for the lack of applications available on Vision Pro, as the number was recently estimated at 150 applications, the company announced that the helmet now includes more than 600 applications.
“These amazing applications will change the way we enjoy entertainment, music and games,” promised Apple’s Vice President of Global Developer Relations, Susan Prescott.
Very popular platforms, such as Netflix or YouTube, have chosen not to design applications specifically for “Vision Pro” at the present time, unlike Disney, which has provided 150 3D films since launch.
Vision Pro can be tested by appointment at Apple Stores in the US, to help consumers learn about the new product.
Analysts at Wedbush Securities expect Apple to sell about 600,000 units of this product this year.
“This is just the beginning for Vision Pro,” said Dan Ives, an expert at the research company.
He expected that “the next version of Vision Pro will be much less expensive, at a price of approximately $2,000,” adding, “We also believe that future models will resemble sunglasses and will provide a much wider range of functions for users.”
© 2024 AFP
