In its first major hardware launch in nearly a decade, Apple has unveiled the much-anticipated augmented reality headset, Apple Vision Pro.
According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the new headset “seamlessly blends the real world and the virtual world”.
The headset costs $3,499 (£2,849), has a two-hour battery life, and will go on sale in the US early in 2024.
The price is significantly higher than those of current virtual reality headsets. The $449 Quest, for instance, was announced by Meta last week.
Apple Vision Pro has a different appearance from other virtual reality headsets on the market and is more like a pair of ski goggles than a headset.
Apple referred to the functionality of the new gadget as “augmented reality.”
Through the use of augmented reality, also referred to as mixed reality, Apple says they are able to combine the real world with the virtual world by looking through a screen.
In a virtual world, users can watch movies, access apps, and create documents. However, there hasn’t been much proof of a sizable market for this kind of wearable technology.
The senior editor of MacRumors, Hartley Charlton, was unsure how much the headset would appeal to the general public.
“It won’t appeal to mainstream consumers at first on account of its extremely high price point and immediate shortcomings as a first-generation device,” he said, “such as its separate wired battery pack.”
He claimed that Apple, however, has a history of “overcoming skepticism” about new gadgets and has previously urged people to “part with their cash to add a new gadget to their repertoire”.
The headset enables users to “see, hear, and interact with digital content just like it’s in your physical space,” according to Mr. Cook.
It is controlled by utilizing a combination of your hands, eyes, and voice, such as tapping your fingers together to select and flicking them to scroll.
The unveiling follows the announcements by Meta and Lenovo a week earlier of updated versions of their pre-existing virtual reality headsets, which do not superimpose objects onto a view of the real world.
Mixed reality has seen significant investment from Meta as well, but the market is currently in struggling.
According to the International Data Corporation, the headset market saw a 54 percent decline in worldwide sales last year.
Source-BBC
