Jun 6, 2023

Animation Key to Vision Pro Success - More Thoughts on Apple's Spatial Computing Device

Apple has unveiled its new Vision Pro VR/AR headset, which will be available in the U.S. in early 2024.

Apple's two-hour unveiling presentation at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) was topped off by CEO Tim Cook, who made the bold claim that “Today marks the dawn of a new era in computing.” Today marks the dawn of a new era in computing,” he boldly asserted. He went so far as to compare Vision Pro to the first Mac computer and the first iPhone, two of the most omnipresent and influential technological devices of the past half century

.

The Vision Pro comes with a hefty price tag of $3,499, much higher than most of its competitors. Meta's Quest Pro, for example, will cost $999 (down from $1,500 when it was first announced) when it goes on sale on October 25. Virtual and augmented reality have been around for a long time, but have failed to become mainstream. The upcoming Quest Pro and Vision Pro may play a major role in determining whether VR and AR will become part of people's everyday lives or will exist as expensive toys for tech-savvy consumers.

Below we will look at five key takeaways from Apple's WWDC presentation.

1) Animation and VR/AR

We have said it before and will continue to say it again, the future of VR and AR will largely depend on the artists and engineers who create the virtual spaces that users experience. the aesthetic of VR and AR spaces is a key factor in how potential consumers as important as how the technology works and how much it costs. For a new virtual or augmented technology to be successful in the mainstream, users must be willing to spend time looking at the characters, worlds, and user interface in the headset.

Conversely, if Apple's new device can make it into the VR/AR mainstream, it will have a significant impact on the animation world. There will be a huge amount of new opportunities for artists and technicians in entertainment, gaming, and interactivity.

Interestingly, CG animation also seems to be a key element in Apple's marketing of the Vision Pro. 3D artist Ian Spriggs tweeted that he used a photorealistic human body model created for a promotional clip using a photorealistic human model he created for promotional purposes. The clip appeared in Cook's WWDC presentation and at the top of the company's Vision Pro press release. While we can't say for sure, it appears that CG animation is also used in several other scenes in the promotional video released yesterday.

I had the opportunity to work with @Apple to create this digital human for the Vision Pro release. After the arm crosses the face, the transition is made to CG. Their team pulled it all together nicely. Pretty cool. #visionpro #digitalhuman pic.twitter. com/JKWdiAFK3h

- Ian Spriggs (@SpriggsIan) June 5, 2023

2) Disney is an early adopter of Apple's platform

The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger (who is actively involved in the vr/ar/metaverse scene) made a 4 minute cameo during Apple's WWDC presentation and announced that Disney+ will be one of the apps available on the Apple Vision Pro from day one He announced that Disney+ would be one of the apps available on Apple Vision Pro from day one.

“We are always looking for new ways to entertain, inform, and inspire our fans by combining extraordinary creativity with groundbreaking technology to create truly amazing experiences,” Iger said, adding, “Apple Vision Pro is is a revolutionary platform that we believe can make our vision a reality,” he added.

The executive shared a promotional video showing some very impressive augmented reality clips, although specifics on how much of that material will be available in the Disney+ Vision Pro app and how much is conceptual were thin.

3) Practical vs. Entertainment

The Vision Pro unveiling had much in common with Meta's recent marketing of its Quest Pro headset. Both companies emphasized the practical applications of their hardware as much or more than their entertainment products. It is clear that the companies understand that VR and AR headsets cannot function as mere high-priced toys. Both companies have included the word “Pro” in the names of their devices.

As Meta did with Quest Pro, Apple allowed software developers early access to the hardware and let them design apps that were ready to use from day one. In both cases, Microsoft was the primary partner, developing apps for office programs including Word and Excel; promotional materials for Quest Pro and Vision Pro focused heavily on using the hardware for remote work.

4) Technical Specifications

One of the major advantages that Vision Pro offers over current headsets is the use of eye and hand movements and voice commands rather than an external controller for navigation. Another feature that makes this headset stand out is that when the user is in an augmented reality setting, the goggles become translucent, allowing multiple users in the same physical space to interact and make eye contact. And when the user activates full VR mode, the lenses become opaque.

Vision Pro's image quality should also be top-notch. The screen for each eye of the Vision Pro consists of 23 million pixels. This means that 64 Vision Pro pixels fit in the same space as one iPhone pixel, creating an incredibly sharp and realistic image. For more information on pixel density, see the description of the micro OLED technology used in Vision Pro.

Vision Pro is equipped with Apple's first 3D camera, which can capture spatial video and photos. Using the system's “ar” setting, the user's surroundings can be altered to resemble a personal movie theater with a 100-foot-wide screen. According to the release, at launch, this giant virtual screen will be available for Apple TV+, 100 Apple Arcade games, other Apple services, and - according to Iger - Disney+ streaming.

5) Will it sell -

Apple has a lot riding on the success of the Vision Pro. According to reports, Apple has had the Vision Pro in development for seven years. This will be the company's first new product category launch since the Apple Watch in 2015. Bloomberg reports that Apple expects to sell 900,000 headsets in 2024. But is that too optimistic -

As exciting as vr and ar promotional videos often seem, the fact is that the technology has not been accepted by the mainstream. It is unfamiliar to most people and in many cases (especially in this case) the cost of entry is prohibitively high. For Apple to find nearly one million people willing to pay $3,499 for a headset would be a major accomplishment and could mean, as Cook put it, “the beginning of a new era in computing.”