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Oct 26, 2024

Everything we know about Apple’s Vision Pro - The Verge

Filed under: By Jon Porter, a reporter with five years of experience covering consumer tech releases, EU tech policy, online platforms, and mechanical keyboards. People have been speculating about

Filed under:

By Jon Porter, a reporter with five years of experience covering consumer tech releases, EU tech policy, online platforms, and mechanical keyboards.

People have been speculating about Apple’s entry into the world of virtual and augmented reality headsets for the better part of a decade. At WWDC 2023, it finally revealed the Vision Pro, which will launch as the first visionOS device on February 2nd.

The Vision Pro starts at $3,499 with 256GB of internal storage, while optional prescription lenses from Zeiss are available for $149.

In our review, we said the Vision Pro’s display is a technical marvel, with hand and eye tracking that’s a leap forward beyond what previously existed, however, those controls can be inconsistent, and in our experience, Apple’s Personas virtual avatars could be “uncanny and somewhat terrifying.”

The new headset uses two Apple Silicon chips (M2 Ultra and R1) and can be used for up to two hours with a tethered battery pack or for as long as you want if it’s plugged in. It also uses “natural control” with hand and eye tracking as well as voice commands. Users can switch between AR and VR using a digital crown-style dial, and depending on what they’re viewing, it displays their eyes on the front so that others know the person wearing it can see them.

Read on for all our coverage so far on Apple’s Vision Pro headset.

TODAY, Two hours ago

Jay Peters

Safari will support spatial photos and videos starting later this year, PetaPixel reports. That means you’ll be able to see photos and videos with depth if you’re browsing a website that builds support for the feature — though, of course, you’ll need to be using a Vision Pro, which may not be selling very well.

[PetaPixel]

Oct 23

Richard Lawler

A new report from The Information cites “multiple people” involved in making parts for Apple’s Vision Pro headset to say that production plans have been scaled back in recent months. This follows a Tim Cook interview published this weekend by WSJ. Magazine, where he said, “Obviously I’d like to sell more,” but acknowledged that “At $3,500, it’s not a mass-market product.”

That aligns with The Information’s previous report from this summer, saying Apple has shifted its strategy to focus on making a cheaper headset, which could ship as soon as next year.

Oct 7

Wes Davis

Apple just released the trailer for Submerged, the first scripted immersive video for the Vision Pro. The short, written and directed by Edward Berger, is set inside a WWII submarine as its crew deals with “a harrowing torpedo attack.”

The trailer for Submerged consists of behind-the-scenes shots and fisheye-looking clips from the short, along with a voiceover from Berger, who claims that the immersive format will “change the future of filmmaking.”

Sep 18

Wes Davis

Apple rolled out updates to all of its major operating systems this week, and the Vision Pro was no exception. With visionOS 2, the company has a chance to show the relative few who bought its spendy headset — and those who might yet — that it’s still committed to the new platform.

After a few months of using it in beta, visionOS 2 isn’t a dramatic change — it’s more like a smoothed-out version of the software the headset launched with. The addition of things like new gestures, better device support, and a couple of splashy features has removed a lot of the friction of using the Vision Pro and should give people who own it a reason to dust it off and take it for another spin.

Aug 5

Wes Davis

In the Apple Vision Pro, that is. Disney Plus has rolled out a National Geographic edition virtual environment for its visionOS app that lets you watch movies in a snowy corridor in Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park.

The environment uses “3D models captured on-site using photogrammetry,” according to Disney’s announcement. When you watch a movie, it turns dark and shows you the Northern Lights!

Jul 18

Emma Roth

Apple is launching new “immersive” video content for the Vision Pro over the next few months, including one from The Weeknd, a close-up view of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, and “the first scripted short film captured in Apple Immersive Video.” The new series and film will come exclusively to the Vision Pro, allowing wearers to watch 3D video with a 180-degree field of view.

The immersive performance from The Weeknd will arrive on the Vision Pro later this year, while you can expect a short film featuring events from the NBA All-Star Game this fall, such as the Rising Stars Challenge, the slam dunk contest, and the All-Star Game.

Jul 2

David Pierce

The Apple Vision Pro is many things. But for us, and for many other users, it’s one thing in particular: a really, really, really big screen. Since Apple started shipping its spatial computing headset five months ago today, we’ve tested the device as a TV, a computer monitor, a game console, a mega-chill way to relax on the beach, and much more.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk about the past, present, and future of the Vision Pro. We chat with The Verge’s Wes Davis and Victoria Song about their experiences with the device, along with what they’ve liked and what they’d like to change. It seems pretty clear that the first version of the device wasn’t a groundbreaking, market-moving hit, so what next? Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper model with significantly lower-res displays, but does that dim the appeal of that really big screen? We have some thoughts and some ideas for Apple.

Jun 30

Wes Davis

For all its impressive technical chops, Apple’s all-singing, all-dancing Vision Pro hasn’t set the world on fire. But it’s early yet, and the company continues to throw some weight behind the headset, and reportedly has plans to add AI features to visionOS and is readying an updated approach to in-store demos.

Apple is working through the challenge of incorporating Apple Intelligence into the augmented reality interface of the headset, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported today. That could be a relief for Vision Pro owners who were disappointed that the company didn’t mention it during the AI portion of its WWDC 2024 keynote presentation.

Jun 29

Wes Davis

In its quest to build a cheaper headset, Apple has asked manufacturers for technical details needed to develop 2-inch or 2.1-inch displays with a pixel density of 1,700ppi (or about half the Vision Pro’s 3,386ppi), according to an Elec report cited by UploadVR yesterday.

Assuming the same aspect ratio, the outlet pegs the resolution “somewhere around 2600 x 2300,” or just over two-thirds that of the current headset.

[UploadVR]

Jun 23

Richard Lawler

Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter looks at “difficult trade-offs” Apple has to make as it prioritizes a cheaper headset (including maybe relying on a tethered iPhone or Mac) and continues work on a second-gen Vision Pro.

He also described details of Apple’s “renewed” efforts on the wear-all-day lightweight AR spectacles dream that Meta and Google are also chasing:

Though a launch date around 2027 has been bandied about, no one I’ve spoken to within Apple believes the glasses will be ready in a few years.

[Bloomberg]

Jun 18

Jay Peters

Apple may no longer be working on a new high-end Vision headset amid slowing sales of the Vision Pro, according to a new report from The Information. Instead, Apple has apparently been finding ways to reduce the cost of components for the first model and is working on a cheaper Vision headset that it aims to ship by the end of 2025.

The first Vision Pro came out earlier this year, and while it’s a very good VR headset, it has a lot of flaws inherent to many other VR headsets. It’s also quite expensive, starting at $3,499, and — what I noticed most when I tried the Vision Pro at an Apple Store — pretty heavy.

Jun 16

Wes Davis

Previously an experimental feature, WebXR support is on by default for Vision Pro beta testers, RoadtoVR wrote last week. The open standard allows for VR and AR experiences on the web, such as those listed on this GitHub page.

However, the outlet writes that AR experiences do not seem to work quite yet, limiting it to fully-VR ones for now.

[UploadVR]

Jun 11

Wes Davis

Apple mentioned a few new features coming to the Vision Pro during its WWDC 2024 keynote presentation on Monday, such as the ability to turn your 2D photos into 3D ones and support for using the headset on trains. But the company glossed right over some of the most sorely needed features that it’s adding to visionOS — and those quieter changes make for a much more exciting update.

After the update arrives this fall, you’ll be able to see a Magic Keyboard while you’re working in a virtual environment, use any Bluetooth mouse you want, and rearrange your homescreen icons — including putting iPad and iPhone apps where you want. These are all features that probably should have been there from the beginning, and they’ll improve the day-to-day experience of using the Vision Pro in meaningful ways.

Jun 10

Antonio G. Di Benedetto

Much more of the world will soon have the chance to buy Apple’s mixed reality headset. Apple announced today that its $3,499 Vision Pro will be sold internationally with a rollout kicking off on June 28th.

The first countries outside the US to get the Vision Pro are China, Japan, and Singapore on June 28th, followed by Germany, France, Australia, the UK, and Canada on July 12th. The announcement comes after Bloomberg reported in May that Apple has been training its international employees on selling the high-end headset.

May 22

Wes Davis

Marvel says What If...? – An Immersive Story will have viewers (players?) casting spells, fighting battles with Marvel characters, and using the infinity stones. Judging from the trailer, that means making Doctor Strange’s magic sparks with your hands.

This edition of What If...? will be “free for a limited time” when the app is available on May 30th.

May 15

Sheena Vasani

An Apple “wearable computer” made by the Vision Pro’s manufacturer received the necessary quality and safety accreditation for it go on sale, according to the website of the Chinese product standards body that granted its approval.

The report aligns with recent rumors suggesting the Pro will roll out internationally after WWDC on June 10th, though an exact date is still unknown.

[9to5Mac]

May 13

Jess Weatherbed

Apple is reportedly preparing to launch its $3,499 Vision Pro outside of the US for the first time, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, with the mixed reality headset’s international rollout expected to start shortly after the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference early next month.

On Monday, Gurman reported that Apple has flown “hundreds of employees from its international stores” over to its offices in Cupertino, California, to show them how to demonstrate the device. Training sessions reportedly started last week, with courses taking up to four days to complete according to Gurman’s sources.

May 8

Wes Davis

The Vision Pro is about to get what sounds like an honest-to-goodness mixed reality video experience from Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive, something the platform sorely needs. The companies announced What If...? – An Immersive Story, which they say is Disney Plus’ “first-ever” interactive original content. It’ll come exclusively to Apple’s VR headset and use a mixture of augmented and virtual reality.

The hour-long What If...? episode is based on Marvel’s Disney Plus show of the same name. It’s a promising development for starved Vision Pro owners, and not just because it’s far longer than the small library of immersive films Apple has offered to date.

Apr 28

Wes Davis

I have finally justified my Vision Pro purchase with the iOS version of the Delta emulator.

Apr 27

Wes Davis

I paid a lot of money for the privilege of getting an Apple Vision Pro brand-new in February. All-in, with optical inserts and taxes, I financed a little over $3,900 for the 256GB version of the headset. A day or so ago, I made a mistake that I’m sure many early adopters are familiar with: I looked up how much it’s been selling for on eBay.

On Wednesday, a 1TB Vision Pro, complete with all the included gear, Apple’s fluffy $200 travel case, $500 AppleCare Plus, and claimed to have been “worn maybe about an hour” sold for $3,200 after 21 bids. The listed shipping estimate was $20.30. Brand new, that combination is $5,007.03 on Apple’s site for me. Another eBay listing, this one with my headset’s configuration (but sans optical inserts) went for just $2,600 — again with most, if not all, of the included accessories. Several other 256GB and 512GB models sold for around that amount this week.

Apr 7

Wes Davis

The second episode of Prehistoric Planet Immersive will be available on April 19th, according to the Apple TV Plus page for the series.

The first episode was a pretty demonstration of the Vision Pro, rather than the David Attenborough-narrated, pretend nature documentary that Prehistoric Planet is. But the younger version of me that saw Jurassic Park and Prehysteria in theaters welcomes it, anyway.

Apr 5

Victoria Song

That’s what I kept asking myself when testing out spatial Personas with Wes. The short of it is your ghostly Personas are now free to interact in any SharePlay enabled app, so you can watch movies, play games, and collaborate on projects. It’s neat — and you can interact more with other people. But seeing Wes’ head just float in my office also reminded me he really wasn’t there.

Apr 2

Wes Davis

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is now available in 3D on the Vision Pro Apple TV Plus app, joining free-for-subscribers films that Apple added to its streaming service in March.

New, but not in 3D, are several other movies that probably should be — including the first three John Wick films, Armageddon, Taken, and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. The new crop of movies is available for between four and eight weeks, reports MacRumors.

Apr 2

Victoria Song

Starting today, Vision Pro personas will be able to do more than hover like a ghost in FaceTime calls. Now, you can use them in SharePlay-enabled apps to collaborate, play games, or watch media with other people.

Apple is calling this a “Spatial Persona.” The idea is to make it feel like you’re in the same physical space as another user. It was part of what Apple showed in developer previews last year but hasn’t been available in the actual Persona beta until now. It’s a bit hard to imagine, but you can see what it looks like in the video below.

Mar 27

Quentyn Kennemer

Woot is selling the mixed reality headset with a one-year Apple warranty for $3,299 ($200 off), the first discount we’ve seen.

But there’s a catch: they all ship with a 21W light seal and small-sized headbands. Buying a seal separately from Apple costs $200 and the headbands are $99 apiece, so you might pay more than the retail price if you aren’t happy with the fit.

Update March 27th, 4:41PM ET: Adjusted pricing and added more specific sizing details, courtesy of Woot.

[Woot]

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