Skip to main content
All Stories Tagged:

Virtual Reality

J
Youtube
Here’s some of our favorite coverage of Apple’s Vision Pro.

(Other than our own, of course.)

Text:

The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern: Apple Vision Pro: I Tried the New Mixed-Reality Headset

Wired’s Lauren Goode: Hands on With Apple’s Vision Pro: The Opposite of Disappearing

TechCrunch’s Matthew Panzarino: First impressions: Yes, Apple Vision Pro works and yes, it’s good

Video:

MKBHD: Apple Vision Pro Impressions!

Good Morning America: Tim Cook says Apple Vision Pro will change how people engage with tech


J
Youtube
Here’s the first video of someone actually using Apple’s Vision Pro headset.

Apple let Good Morning America film Robin Roberts using the new device. There’s nothing too surprising about her experience, especially if you’ve read other impressions. And it doesn’t appear that Apple’s EyeSight feature is active, meaning you can’t see Roberts’ eyes while she’s using the headset.

But if you wanted to see the Vision Pro in a setting that wasn’t Apple’s keynote video, you might want to watch this video.


S
Youtube
The Vision Pro reminds me of this (in a good way).

Remember Heavy Rain? The Vision Pro’s dial-in-your-preferred-amount-of-reality feature legitimately sounds awesome to me, because it’s a 2010 gamer’s dream come true.

(Minor note: I had forgotten that the game strongly implies these glasses cause brain damage.)


S
The Verge
It’s interesting what Apple didn’t choose to show.

We didn’t see the Vision Pro used for:

Fitness, VR gaming, AR gaming, really any gaming you can’t do on a normal television, in a car, on a bus or train, at a sports game or concert, at a social gathering, to access the metaverse, to interpret the world around you, while a human is moving more than a meter per second, while drinking a beverage, or literally anything outdoors.


What’s so ‘pro’ about Apple’s Vision Pro headset?

Apple needs developers to make the case for its new augmented reality headset.

I wore the Apple Vision Pro. It’s the best headset demo ever.

Apple’s new don’t-call-it-a-VR-headset is the best riff on some very familiar ideas, but still searching for a purpose.

D
External Link
Tim Cook is really trying to make “spatial computing” happen.

I’ve been wondering for weeks what term Apple would land on: AR? VR? Mixed reality? Something else? Based on this teaser for a Good Morning America interview airing tomorrow, it sounds like Cook’s term of choice is “spatial computing.” We heard it a few times in the keynote today, and I suspect we’re going to hear it a lot more going forward. A lot more.


S
I would love to see a single confirmed screenshot through the Vision Pro’s lenses.

We’ll hopefully soon have reports from journalists who’ve actually tried it — but no headset has yet delivered a “you can see whatever you’d see with your eyes” panoramic experience.

Never keeps ‘em from producing these marketing renders to make it seem like they do. Microsoft’s first HoloLens was a particularly bad offender: with VR instead of AR tech, Apple’s FOV should be much better.


Everything we know about Apple’s Vision Pro headset

Apple announced Vision Pro, its long-rumored virtual and augmented reality headset, at WWDC 2023. Here’s a timeline of all the details that have emerged about the device over the years and what we know so far.

Apple WWDC 10 biggest announcements: Vision Pro, MacBook Air, iOS 17, and more

We finally got our first look at Apple’s virtual reality headset.

A short history of every time Apple CEO Tim Cook praised augmented reality

The rumored debut of a ‘Reality Pro’ headset is right around the corner, but Tim Cook has been singing the praises of AR for years.

 and Wes Davis
W
External Link
These are issues Apple may fix in later versions of the “Reality Pro.”

We may not know until after WWDC, but Apple's mixed reality headset probably won't address every AR issue right out of the gate. As pointed out by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter today:

I expect that future versions will fix problems in the first model — such as nausea complaints, performance hiccups, overheating concerns and a lack of cellular connectivity — and bring down the price.

That’s not surprising, and doesn’t paint the “Reality Pro” as doomed, just a first attempt likely aimed at developers and very early adopters. As Casey Newton writes for The Verge, whether Apple’s new platform succeeds depends more on its evolution than on tomorrow’s device.


If Apple wants its headset to win, it needs to reinvent the app

Apple has built the app ecosystem into a huge economy. But a headset is more than just a new screen — it’s a new way of thinking about software.

U
Twitter
Apple’s VR/AR goggles might come with some important warning labels.

Apple’s recent focus on accessibility in its devices includes features like the upcoming Personal Voice and Assistive Access mode. Now, according to Mark Gurman, Apple’s considering including warnings that people with specific health conditions should not buy or use the headset that it’s expected to reveal next week.

That includes people with Meniere’s Disease, past traumatic brain injuries, post-concussion syndrome, migraines and vertigo. 

A similar notice (PDF) for Meta’s Quest notes the risk of seizures and possible interference with medical devices. In another tweet, Gurman said Apple could add additional warnings for ADHD, anxiety, pacemakers, pregnancy, and more.


Apple event: how to watch the WWDC keynote and what to expect

WWDC 2023 kicks off 1PM ET, and it’s going to be a big one.

S
Youtube
Will one of the CD-ROM’s original killer apps tempt you to VR?

You know Myst, but do you remember the CD-ROM’s other killer app? The 7th Guest is now 30 years old, and it’s getting remade in 3D for the first time to sell you on Meta’s Quest 2 (and just-announced Quest 3) headsets. It’ll still have something akin to full-motion video for its actors, too: volumetric video capture.


J
Youtube
Meta’s VR gaming showcase is about to begin.

The pre-show kicks off at 12:45PM ET, with the main show starting at 1PM ET. You can watch it here on YouTube. Here’s hoping Meta sneaks in another look at the just-announced Quest 3 VR headset.


J
Twitter
Sean Murray sure seems to be teasing No Man’s Sky for Apple’s unannounced VR headset.

The game just came out on Mac, already supports VR, and he tweeted about a surprise in the “VERY near future” and what appears to be a picture of the game’s Steam page with the Windows logo, Apple logo, and the words “VR Supported.”

With Apple’s WWDC keynote in the very near future, it looks like we might see No Man’s Sky as a featured game during the show.


R
Youtube
Ten years later, here’s the second-generation Leap gesture controller.

The original $80 Leap gesture controller debuted so long ago that we compared it to the Kinect. However, unlike Microsoft’s Xbox accessory, Leap is still kicking.

Now known as Ultraleap after a 2019 merger, it’s showing off the Leap Motion Control 2 (via RoadtoVR) and retiring the old device. The new $139 unit will begin shipping this summer, and new Gemini software for it is coming to macOS — and with its positioning as a VR accessory, you can probably guess why that’s suddenly a priority.

Ultraleap:

Key improvements over the original Leap Motion Controller include higher resolution cameras, an increased field of view, and 25% lower power consumption, all in a 30% smaller package for optimum placement and convenience.

It is the most flexible camera ever developed by Ultraleap and is compatible across platforms and complimentary hardware including VR/MR/AR headsets, PCs, and holographic displays.


W
What’s Mark Zuckerberg holding?

The Zuck posted a teaser image to his Instagram story with a countdown to 11AM ET on Thursday obscuring... something (courtesy of Voices of VR podcast host Kent Bye and presented here with some light editing).

What’s he holding? It’s surely not a Meta Quest 3. Is it a philly cheesesteak? A tennis ball? Did he get his fingers stuck in one of those finger traps? If it’s the last one, don’t worry, Mark, that thing confounded Data once, too.


A bad photoshop of Mark Zuckerberg holding a sloppy sandwich
Mark Zuckerberg is definitely holding a sandwich.
Image: Wes Davis / The Verge
E
External Link
The VR space just got more crowded.

The Chinese phonemaker Oppo took the wraps off of its dev-focused Oppo MR Glass Developer Edition headset today, which comes with a Snapdragon XR2 Plus chip and allows for both mixed reality and augmented reality experiences.

This announcement comes at a busy time in the VR space: less than one day before Meta’s expected Quest 3 reveal and less than a week before we could see Apple’s long-rumored mixed reality headset.


W
Grab your iPhone or iPad and check out Apple’s “AR Experience” teaser ahead of WWDC.

Apple has a little AR teaser for WWDC (spotted by MacRumors). To see it, visit the Apple Events website using Safari on your iPhone or iPad and tap “AR Experience,” point your camera at a wall, and you’ll get a colorful animated logo with June 6th, 2023 — the WWDC keynote date — printed inside.

Apple’s mixed reality headset is expected to be the biggest announcement at this year’s WWDC.


The Apple logo floating in the air, casting a drop shadow on the wall, with a colorful animation showing only parts of it at a time, revealing the date June 5, 2023.
The Apple logo hints at the company’s rumored headset.
Image: The Verge