Everything we know about Apple’s Vision Pro headset

Filed under: People have been speculating about Apple’s entry into the world of virtual and augmented reality headsets , and at WWDC 2023, it . The first visionOS device , with preorders starting on January 19th at 8AM ET / 5AM PT. The Vision Pro starts at $3,499 with 256GB of internal storage, while optional prescription lenses from Zeiss .

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. Apple had never officially confirmed that it was working on the headset, but over the years, there were all kinds of rumors about what it might make.

Now, we know the truth about Vision Pro, a mixed reality device capable of both virtual and augmented reality experiences. Just like the rumors said, users can switch between AR and VR , 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, 23 minutes ago Apple’s new Vision Pro headset may be expensive, but if you act quick and place a preorder for the $3,500 device on Friday, January 19th, the company will throw in an Apple Polishing Cloth, a $19 value, for free.

TODAY, 31 minutes ago When the headset , anyone who needs some vision correcting lenses will need to account for an extra charge to add optical inserts from Zeiss. Apple says that readers will cost $99, while prescription lenses are $149. Footnotes indicate that both are available only online, not in stores, a “valid prescription is required,” and not all prescriptions are supported.

Which prescriptions are offered is something we may find out closer to the actual release, when the headsets are available both in store and online. The launch press release didn’t go into much detail about the process for configuring the additional lenses, but preorders for the $3,499 headset will open beginning on Friday, January 19th, at 8AM ET.

TODAY, 49 minutes ago It’s finally time: it will start shipping its Vision Pro headset on February 2nd in the United States. Pre orders begin January 19th at 8AM ET. In addition to announcing the availability of its $3,499 headset, Apple also that users can get with it. Readers will be available for an extra $99, while prescription lenses will cost $149.

The base model of the Vision Pro offers 256GB of storage and is packaged with the following accessories: Jan 7 That’s in today’s newsletter in Apple doesn’t participate in CES, of course, but Gurman writes that he still expects an announcement about to come “in the next week or so” ahead of a .

[ Bloomberg ] Jan 2 A new patent details how the company is thinking of using the Vision Pro’s external display to show what the wearer is looking at inside the device. The patent, which includes Jony Ive as an inventor, details ways an outside screen on a generic head mounted display could be used to indicate what the wearer is seeing to people around them.

While the patent isn’t about the Vision Pro and its “EyeSight” display feature, it’s clear that some of the ideas here informed the features in the final headset. Dec 20, 2023 Apple’s June announcement that it would launch the Vision Pro headset “early next year” could be very early. As , things are lining up for the device to launch by February.

He says we shouldn’t expect another launch event — which is understandable for a $3,499 device that will probably have a limited supply — but bringing this to market is a major undertaking that means preparing Apple Store employees to guide new users, adjust fitting, and deal with prescription lens options.

Launching the first new Apple hardware platform in years includes new software with visionOS, and Gurman is already pointing to its next version, which should arrive later in 2024 along with the usual Mac and iPhone software updates. Another element is the recent release of iOS 17.2, which enables the iPhone 15 Pro to capture 3D encoded spatial videos in 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second, and you’ll need a headset to play them back in full detail.

Dec 14, 2023 Apple’s can play back stereoscopic , and Scott Stein got to load up some of his own spatial videos on a Vision Pro and watch them: [ CNET ] Dec 13, 2023 ByteDance reportedly scrapped it after sales of last year’s “fell far short of ByteDance’s expectations,” according to a report by .

The last headset still hasn’t launched in the US, as political heat has stayed on ByteDance and its other well known project, . However, the report also claims Pico engineers are working on a long term “Swan” concept to develop a high end headset inspired by Apple’s . Dec 11, 2023 Apple’s iOS 17.2 update is now available for recent iPhones.

The update includes , which is designed to get you writing about events in your life with prompts that draw from data on your phone as well as the option to . Announced , the Journal app is a health and wellness focused feature that aims to get you reflecting on the small and big moments in your life.

Although we found its interface a little basic when we , its superpower is its ability to recognize “Moments” based on your phone’s data, including locations you’ve visited, photos you’ve taken, or workouts you’ve done. It can then make writing suggestions based on these Moments. Nov 15, 2023 Check out the process in an onboarding video in the latest visionOS beta.

[ 9to5Mac ] Nov 9, 2023 Apple is rolling out its latest beta version of iOS 17, and it includes the ability to record spatial videos on the iPhone 15 Pro for viewing in the upcoming Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Those who have access to and install iOS 17.2 beta 2 on their devices can using the iPhone 15 Pro’s top two cameras when held sideways.

To enable the new feature, users can toggle the “Spatial Video for Apple Vision Pro” option in the Settings app. , Apple’s description says spatial video is captured in 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second, and a minute of footage takes about 130MB of storage. Nov 9, 2023 Not your TV, though.

A beta version of the app shows support for 3D playback on the . Early titles including and . [ FlatpanelsHD ] Nov 8, 2023 The three companies an Android AR / VR headset but with few details. and Korean business outlet report rumors of a late 2024 launch, after Apple introduces . Last month Samsung a $218 million deal to acquire eMagin, a US company developing Micro OLED tech that execs have said could surpass the panel in the Vision Pro, could be two to three years from being commercialized.

Oct 15, 2023 in his newsletter for today that the more affordable follow up to the will “likely” ditch the external display to help it reach an internally discussed price point between $1,500 and $2.500. Gurman also reiterates what he — that the more affordable version will probably run on an iPhone grade chip, have fewer cameras, and get lower resolution screens inside.

Ditching the external display means Apple would lock one of — EyeSight — behind the paywall of the more expensive versions. EyeSight is the thing that lets you see an on the fly render of the wearer’s eyes so they can “look” at you when you’re talking to them, and so you can tell, at a glance, if they’re occupied or if they’re actually seeing what’s in front of them.

Oct 8, 2023 Mark Gurman for today that a future Apple virtual reality headset could be smaller and lighter, and each unit could ship customized from the factory for people with impaired vision. With the first generation Vision Pro, the company’s solution for glasses wearers is to stock optional Zeiss made lenses in its retail stores, which creates its own problems with managing the supply, and turning its electronics store into a health provider.

The article points out how fraught tying a product to a custom display could be, given how prescriptions can change with time and how it would limit the ability to share the headset or resell it. Oct 5, 2023 One of the questions about how users will be able to share content with people who don’t have their own $3,500 headset may be answered, as points out code discovered in Apple’s visionOS 1.0 beta 4 release about mirroring content to other devices and sharing via AirPlay or FaceTime.

Another string in the code is a new alert for situations where “This video has excess motion, and could cause discomfort if expanded.” [ MacRumors ] Sep 26, 2023 , Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo says Apple will ship 400,000 to 600,000 of its mixed reality headsets in 2024, an estimate that’s lower than the expected 1 million shipments.

That prediction tracks with a , which similarly states that Apple is preparing to make less than 400,000 Vision Pro headsets next year. Sep 22, 2023 In an interview with Brian Tong on the , Apple VP of sensing and connectivity Ron Huang explains that while the second gen AirPods Pro earbuds also have the H2 chip just like its new USB C model, the new ones are capable of communicating at 5GHz instead of just 2GHz.

He says that’s why the new USB C AirPods Pro earbuds have enough bandwidth . Sep 12, 2023 During its iPhone 15 event, Apple announced that the second generation AirPods Pro will . But it turns out the company quietly made other upgrades that go beyond swapping the case’s charging port. For one, the USB C AirPods Pro have tacked dust resistance onto their existing water and sweat resistance: they’re rated IP54 versus the IPX4 of last year’s Lightning model.

But perhaps more interesting is that these USB C AirPods Pro will support lossless audio when used with Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro headset. Sep 12, 2023 Back in July, Apple announced that developers could begin applying for Vision Pro developer kits. Today, CEO Tim Cook provided another update onstage at the company’s Cupertino “Wonderlust” : the Vision Pro headset is still on track to ship early next year.

of the Vision Pro have been highly impressed with the headset’s display resolution, video passthrough capabilities, and gesture detection. It’s clearly a very capable headset, but the true test of its potential will be in the use cases it presents. The stronger the Vision Pro’s app ecosystem is at launch, the more likely it is that consumers will decide they need it.

Sep 5, 2023 Apple’s upcoming App Store for its Vision Pro headset will include all compatible iPhone and iPad apps “by default.” In , Apple said it will release the new App Store with the developer beta of visionOS this fall. Both iPad and iPhone apps will appear alongside visionOS apps in the new App Store.

As Apple has said previously, it will automatically import iOS and iPadOS apps to its new mixed reality operating system “with no additional work required.” Developers can still optimize their apps if needed. Aug 30, 2023 with system sounds included in the update released today. Other software changes now match WWDC marketing images, suggesting previous builds were well out of date.

The report also notes accessibility tweaks that adjust controls for people who can’t make a gesture with one of their hands, can’t use both eyes to navigate, and more. And finally, saying “Mouse input is currently not supported on visionOS.” How would take that news? Aug 29, 2023 Two companies, BOE Technology and SeeYa Technology, raised their hands in interest to, at scale, build specialty Micro OLED screens, .

Most companies haven’t invested in building the complex screens, so finding cheaper suppliers — or just more competition — is important for Apple to get the price down on successors to that uses displays made by Sony. [ The Information ] Aug 28, 2023 From the : Aug 23, 2023 Yes, the Vision Pro , but I encourage you to take featuring opinions from developers who have attended the company’s Vision Pro labs with a grain of salt.

Still, it’s interesting to see what developers have to say. The headset has the best chance of success , and Apple needs to get third party developers on board to make them. [ developer.apple.com ] /.