Apple Vision Pro, Technology's Future

Spatial Computing

Apple refers to the Apple Vision Pro as a spatial computer, because unlike traditional AR/VR headsets the device's feature set has enough feature parity with a computer, that for your most common, everyday tasks, you can use it instead of your desktop and be as productive. It's basically like having a computer that only you can see, but in your own physical space.

The Apple Vision Pro also ditches the traditional controllers that usually come with these headsets, and replaces them with eye tracking and hand gestures as an input device. Additionally, the device focuses heavily on the AR aspect using passthrough with deep clarity, whilst giving you full control over how immersed you are. These changes contribute heavily to the spatial computing term. Take a look at the Apple Vision Pro product page for more information.

A Computer Without Boundaries

By default, the Apple Vision Pro is all about augmenting your environment. Imagine you're sitting on the couch, and physically placing the Apple TV application wherever you want in your living room. You can then control how immersed you are by turning the digital crown, slowly blending your physical space into an artificial environment, such as the surface of the Moon. Watching series on the Moon, magic! Additionally, you can make the screen as large as you'd like, simply pinch the corner of any application and resize it to your heart's content.

Some other headsets on the market already allow you to place applications in your environment. The difference here lies in the attention to detail, and absolutely amazing engineering, and how Apple Vision Pro handles locking the position of applications to your physical space. There's no wobble or distortion when you move around, and you can literally walk up to the application in close proximity and it stays in the exact same place you've placed it, as if it were a physical sheet of glass.

We're all aware of how Apple focuses heavily on their ecosystem approach and cross-device software integrations. This feature greatly enhances the Apple Vision Pro, in particular the fact that you can connect the device to a Mac. Essentially, whenever you're wearing the Apple Vision Pro and are near a Mac, a bubble appears above your Mac's monitor and allows you to connect to it with one tap. Once connected, your Mac's screen pops out into your physical space and you can resize it and place it anywhere you want. This provides users with the full power of the desktop on the Apple Vision Pro, for those times when you need to perform more complex tasks.

Another interesting feature is the ability to create a persona. Since you'd be wearing the device over your eyes, and there's no webcam, Apple had to invent a way for you to still take part in video conferencing. Setting up your persona can be done by going through a quick setup process. Part of this process involves removing your Apple Vision Pro and taking multiple scans of your face, using the device's cameras and sensors with the device turned towards you. After the setup process is complete, Apple Vision Pro creates a digital version of you using AI techniques, which you can use with any feature that requires a webcam throughout VisionOS. Even though slightly artificial looking at this stage, these personas, are able to mimic your expressions very well, which really adds life and presence to your conversations.

Privacy and security are at the core of everything Apple does, and since this device is worn over your eyes, a new biometric authentication mechanism had to be developed into VisionOS. Hello, OpticID! OpticID is a very secure form of biometric authentication, which works by using Apple Vision Pro's eye cameras. Iris data is kept on the Secure Enclave and the likelihood that a random person unlocks your Apple Vision Pro is 1 in 1,000,000 - that is; if no accessibility features are enabled. After OpticID is set up, all you need to do to unlock VisionOS is use your eyes. Here's some more information about OpticID.

Applications and Improvements

Since the Apple Vision Pro is excellent at locking the position of applications to your physical space, one could literally turn on an enhanced, digital experience of their home just by putting on an Apple Vision Pro. Imagine, a notes app beside your refrigerator, a calendar next to your telephone, a timer next to your kitchen stove, the possibilities are truly endless, and developers can take full advantage of this. I'm really excited to see what the developer community comes up with in this space.

Apple could easily find numerous health related applications for the Apple Vision Pro, one idea that comes to mind is being able to detect glaucoma through the device's eye cameras. Most probably, the cameras and sensors that are shipped with the current iteration of the device wouldn't be able to detect diseases like this, but it's a seriously promising field for the future, a field which could potentially save lives. With the introduction of future, enhanced AI capabilities in addition to health features, we can only imagine what this device will be capable of after a few iterations.

Here are a couple of areas in which I think the Apple Vision Pro could be improved:

• First Generation Device - A select number of users have returned their devices due to eyesight issues when taking off the headset, such as seeing 2D objects in 3D. Additionally some users are experiencing the headset's front glass cracking in the middle, but I suspect this is probably because the Apple Vision Pro is being strapped on too tight, hopefully future iterations will reinforce the enclosure and fix this issue.
• Size Improvements - Over time, technology can only get smaller and more powerful. Obviously, there is a limit to this, however it's likely that future generations of Apple Vision Pro will make the device lighter, more compact, and more power efficient.
• Advertising - I'm not too fond of invasive privacy practices, and in my opinion Apple Vision Pro should be a catalyst for change in this space. Imagine walking around your house to find pop-ups and adverts all over your applications. I wouldn't appreciate my house becoming a billboard for sure, it would severely damage the experience and our sense of personal space.
• Shared Spaces - We all invite our friends and loved ones over to our homes, imagine being able to invite them into your shared space to enjoy entertainment together and collaborate. This would also be a very good way to work on a project together at the office. There are however massive privacy implications here, but if Apple solves these, shared spaces could truly become game changers for the Apple Vision Pro.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that Apple has achieved Arthur C. Clarke's famous quote: "Magic is just science that we don't understand yet". This is a very bold statement, but if you think about it, the Apple Vision Pro enables developers to make anything possible, at least visually, and for the most part if we can see it, it's real.

The emergence of the Apple Vision Pro marks a significant milestone in the evolution of spatial computing, propelling us into a future where our digital and physical worlds seamlessly converge. With its innovative features like eye tracking, hand gestures, and precise application placement, the Apple Vision Pro redefines how we interact with technology on a daily basis.

Beyond mere entertainment, the potential applications of the Apple Vision Pro in fields like health and productivity are vast, allowing for groundbreaking advancements in areas such as early disease detection and enhanced workflow efficiency.