Earlier this year, Apple released its Apple Vision Pro: a pair of spatial computing goggles that blend the digital world with the physical space around you. One of our Tomorrow’s World Today writers, Lauren, was able to demo the new piece of spatial computing technology with Apple.

The demo first involves a short tutorial that allows users to familiarize themselves with how to turn on the Apple Vision Pro and operate the controls. Users can navigate the device using their hands to select, scroll, etc.

Next, users are walked through the process of opening a window and how to use their eyes to highlight buttons. The technology allows users to open and view a window or app or photo so that it appears like a little box in their field of vision amongst their real-world surroundings.

“It really felt like something you’d see in a Black Mirror episode,” stated Lauren, Content Manager for Tomorrow’s World Today.

Once they have this process down, users review a series of photos and videos to showcase the benefits of capturing and viewing memories using the Apple Vision Pro.

The presentation included photos and videos of a child’s birthday party from the POV of one of their parents, showcasing the benefits of this type of technology for families on an emotive level. The goggles can also be used to view films, play games, or surf the web – all with more pixels than a 4K TV for each eye.

“The goggles changed the way I experienced these photos and videos. Rather than looking at a photo or looking at a video, with the Apple Vision Pro it felt like I was in the photo or video. The images are 3D and rendered in super life-like detail; it felt like I was put back into a memory.” Lauren stated.

 

Next, users are shown the immersive mode which gives them a life-like look at certain landscapes, from sitting by a lake near a mountain to traversing the surface of the moon.

“At this point in the demonstration, I genuinely felt like I had lost sense of my surroundings. I completely forgot I was still in the Apple store. Everything was so clear – the distance of the mountain, its reflection in the water in front of it, each pebble surrounding my feet, etc,” stated Lauren.

When asked in what types of industries this technology is most useful, the Apple employee stated to Lauren that it’s being utilized a lot in the healthcare industry as it allows doctors in training to perform hyper-realistic demonstrations of surgeries.

“I also had the thought that this type of technology would be great for people who are confined to their homes often, such as those who are sick, injured, disabled, work-from-home employees, or even just people who don’t have the means to travel as much as they’d like to. Though the cost of the device itself is steep, once you own one it’s like you can be anywhere in the world or even outside of it in the blink of an eye,” stated Lauren.

Finally, the demonstration involved an immersive video presentation that showed a series of POV videos. As the videos are playing, users can look around and enjoy a full 360-degree view of each moment presented before them.

“If I had one criticism of the device, it would be the weight or weight distribution. As someone who has TMJ issues, the area on my cheeks where the device sits is sensitive from grinding my teeth in my sleep. So the device was a little too heavy for me to wear it comfortably for too long without some soreness. But that could also be down to user error, the [Apple employee] did mention that the straps need to be adjusted correctly.” stated Lauren.

In addition to its many features, Apple recently announced that the Apple Vision Pro was adding a series of new and exclusive immersive content including new concerts, series, films, and more. The device currently sports more than 2,500 native spatial apps and 1.5 million compatible apps for visionOS.

Apple shared Tim Cook’s recent remarks from a Q2 2024 earnings call with Tomorrow’s World Today via email: “Of course, this past quarter we were thrilled to launch Apple Vision Pro, and it has been so wonderful to hear from people who now get to experience the magic of spatial computing. They describe the impossible becoming possible right before their eyes, and they share their amazement and their emotions about what they can do now, whether it’s reliving their most treasured memories or having a movie theater experience right in their living room. It’s also great to see the enthusiasm from the enterprise market. For example, more than half of the Fortune 100 companies have already bought Apple Vision Pro units and are exploring innovative ways to use it to do things that weren’t possible before, and this is just the beginning.”