Apple announced the addition of a new virtual reality headset called Vision Pro to its product lineup on Monday.
The company made the announcement during its Worldwide Developers Conference in California.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called Vision Pro the world’s introduction to “spatial computing.”
“Vision Pro is a new kind of computer that augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world,” he said during the conference. “It’s the first Apple product you look through and not at. Vision Pro feels familiar, yet it’s entirely new. You can see, hear and interact with digital content just like it’s in your physical space. And you control Vision Pro using the most natural and intuitive tools — your eyes, hands and voice.”
Apple/Youtube Screenshot
Alan Dye, vice president of human interface design at Apple, said Vision Pro is “familiar, yet revolutionary” and a “fully three-dimensional interface.” Users’ eyes, hands and voice control the product.
When a user first puts on Vision Pro, they see their physical space and everything in front of them, Dye said. The “home view” is in front of the user, where all of their apps are. They can tap their fingers together to click on an app and flick their fingers to scroll. Vision Pro allows users to experience the digital world in their physical space.
“The entire interface looks and feels truly present in your room,” Dye said.
Unlike a Mac or iPhone, experiences in Vision Pro aren’t constrained to the dimensions of a display. They can fill up a room.
“It feels natural, like moving real objects,” Dye said.
Allessandra McGinnis, product manager of Vision Pro, said everything on Vision Pro is in sync with a user’s iPhone, Mac and iPad.
En Kelly, senior engineering program manager at Apple, explained that the Vision Pro allows users to capture photos and videos by clicking a button while wearing the headset. Vision Pro also allows users to watch a movie as large as they want, while the physical space around them disappears, Kelly said.
Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, said Disney and Apple have been working together to accomplish what was once “impossible,” like allowing users to feel like they are at a sports game or on a National Geographic adventure. Iger said Disney+ will be available with Vision Pro from the start.
