Apple Vision PRO

Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset developed by Apple Inc. It was announced on June 5, 2023, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, and pre-orders began on January 19, 2024. It became available for purchase on February 2, 2024, in the United States. A worldwide launch has yet to be scheduled. Apple Vision Pro is Apple's first new major product category since the release of the Apple Watch in 2015.

Apple markets Apple Vision Pro as a "spatial computer" where digital media is integrated with the real world. Physical inputs—such as motion gestures, eye tracking, and speech recognition—can be used to interact with the system. Apple has avoided marketing the device as a virtual reality headset when discussing the product in presentations and marketing.

The device runs visionOS, a mixed-reality operating system derived from iOS frameworks using a 3D user interface; it supports multitasking via windows that appear to float within the user's surroundings, as seen by cameras built into the headset. A dial on the top of the headset can be used to mask the camera feed with a virtual environment to increase immersion. The OS supports avatars (officially called "Personas"), which are generated by scanning the user's face; a screen on the front of the headset displays a rendering of the avatar's eyes ("EyeSight"), which are used to indicate the user's level of immersion to bystanders, and assist in communication.

History

Development

In May 2015, Apple acquired the German augmented reality (AR) company Metaio, originally spun off from Volkswagen. That year, Apple hired Mike Rockwell from Dolby Laboratories. Rockwell formed a team called the Technology Development Group including Metaio co-founder Peter Meier and Apple Watch manager Fletcher Rothkopf. The team developed an AR demo in 2016 but was opposed by chief design officer Jony Ive and his team. Augmented reality and virtual reality (VR) expert and former NASA specialist Jeff Norris was hired in April 2017. Rockwell's team helped deliver ARKit in 2017 with iOS 11. Rockwell's team sought to create a headset and worked with Ive's team; the decision to reveal the wearer's eyes through a front-facing eye display was well received by the industrial design team.Apple Distinguished Engineer Tomlinson Holman of THX fame started and ran the well-reviewed audio effort for years before his retirement in 2021.

The headset's development experienced a period of uncertainty with the departure of Ive in 2019. His successor, Evans Hankey, left the company in 2023.Senior engineering manager Geoff Stahl, who reports to Rockwell, led the development of its visionOS operating system, after previously working on games and graphics technology at Apple. Apple's extended reality headset is meant as a bridge to future lightweight AR glasses, which are not yet technically feasible. In November 2017, Apple acquired Canadian MR company Vrvana for $30 million. The Vrvana Totem was able to overlay fully opaque, true-color animations on top of the real world rather than the ghost-like projections of other AR headsets, which cannot display the color black. It was able to do this while avoiding the often-noticeable lag between the cameras capturing the outside world while simultaneously maintaining a 120-degree field of view at 90 Hz. The Totem also used IR illuminators and infrared cameras to perform spatial and hand tracking.

According to leaker Wayne Ma, Apple was originally going to allow macOS software to be dragged from the display to the user's environment but was scrapped early on due to the limitations of being based on iOS and noted that the hand-tracking system was not precise enough for games. Workers also discussed collaborations with brands such as Nike for working out with the headset, and others investigated face cushions that were better suited for sweaty, high-intensity workouts, but was scrapped due to the battery pack and the fragile screen. A feature called "co-presence"; a projection of a FaceTime user's full body, was also scrapped due to unknown reasons.

Unveiling and release

In May 2022, Apple executives previewed the device, including CEO Tim Cook.The company began recruiting directors and creatives to develop content for the headset in June. One such director, Jon Favreau, was enlisted to bring the dinosaurs on his Apple TV+ show Prehistoric Planet to life By April, Apple was also attempting to attract developers to make software and services for the headset. Apple filed over 5,000 patents for technologies which contributed to the development of Apple Vision Pro.

Apple Vision Pro was announced at Apple's 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC23) on June 5, 2023, to launch in early 2024 in the United States at a starting price of US$3,499.

On June 6, the day after the announcement, Apple acquired the AR headset startup Mira, whose technology is used at Super Nintendo World's Mario Kart ride. The company has a contract with the United States Air Force and Navy. Eleven of the company's employees were onboarded.

On January 8, 2024, Apple announced that the release date of Apple Vision Pro in the United States would be on February 2, 2024. Estimates of initial shipments ranged from 60,000–80,000 units. Pre-orders began on January 19, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. PST and the launch shipments sold out in 18 minutes.Apple sold up to 200,000 units in the two week pre-order period, a majority of which were to be shipped five to seven weeks after launch day.