Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 15

Apple's Vision Pro is now a real thing after the company announced it during the WWDC 2023 event on June 5. The headset itself looks stunning and the demonstrations that Apple shared made the software experience appear just as impressive. But that price has already given plenty of people cause for pause. And now there might be even more sticker shock on the way as well.

The size and shape of Apple's Vision Pro headset will mean that those who normally wear glasses will have to take them off to wear it. Apple and Zeiss have already confirmed a collaboration that will see the lensmaker build special prescription lenses for the Vision Pro headset without telling anyone how much they will cost. Now, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that they could cost as much as $600, although it has to be said that this appears to be a guess on his part.

That being said, Gurman does suggest that there might be a chance of Apple helping to subsidize that price slightly, although it seems unlikely. Apple has repeatedly said that Vision Pro will start at $3,499 which means that there is scope for the price to increase somewhat. It's possible that these Zeiss lenses are where that will happen, but we'll need Apple to confirm that.

Apple has just unveiled what it's calling the Vision Pro, an AR/VR headset that will be the company's newest 1st generation product.

So, what is the Vision Pro? This is a first-of-its-kind release from Apple, and it's described as the newest spatial computing platform, providing users with a unique augmented and virtual reality experience. Apple has outfitted the Vision Pro with multiple cameras and sensors, enabling a controller-free experience through the use of eye-tracking and hand gestures. Users are also able to be aware of the world around them through Apple's seamless pass-through technology, which allows users to see a real-time rendering of the physical world around them.

How does it work? The cameras outfitted basically all around the headset scan the physical world around the user and then project a real-time 3D rendering of the world into the headset. Apple has equipped the Vision Pro with two 4K+ displays, one for each eye. Around these eye displays are cameras specifically designed to track the user's eyes, and once calibration is completed after the setup phase, the user is able to navigate the headset by simply looking where they want to click and then clicking by touching their index finger and thumb together.

Apple's new AR headset is called the Vision Pro, and pre-orders start in 2024 for $3,499.

Today Apple announced its new spatial computing platform with the Apple Vision Pro, a headset that aims to revolutionize the worlds of productivity and entertainment. Unlike other headsets, the Vision Pro has no external inputs like controllers and remotes. Instead, the Vision Pro relies solely on your eyes, voice, and hand gestures to navigate, create, and use applications.

The Vision Pro has seamless pass-through so that wearers can always see the real-world around them, and can display apps, movies, and games on digital screens. Apps can be launched in layered formats and three-dimensional objects can sit in front of or behind the digital screens.

Apple is roundly expected to announce its Reality Pro AR/VR headset during its WWDC23 event on June 5 and now a new report suggests that while Apple will push on, there are already suggestions that it shouldn't.

Development of the Reality Pro headset has been ongoing for years but there is still a suggestion within Apple and its suppliers that it should consider delaying its launch yet further. Instead, it looks increasingly likely that the headset will be announced next month before going on sale later this fall.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the headset is far from complete and will be shown off in its current demonstration mode. The challenges associated with integrating the headset with new software are thought to be large, with production also thought to be proving problematic. And while it's thought that the June 5 unveiling will happen, the report does also note that Apple could still make changes to the timeline.

Apple today announced that it is bringing its pro-level audio and video apps to the iPad, but that isn't even the most exciting news. What if they also come to the Reality Pro AR/VR headset as well?

Apple's Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro apps are both coming to an iPad near you at the end of May and they'll both be available for just $4.99 per month. But Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has put the cat amongst the pigeons by suggesting that this isn't the end of the fun - what if those apps are also going to be available for people to use in a new AR/VR environment?

While Gurman doesn't appear to know when this will happen, there's a chance that we could see Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro running on a Reality Pro headset at WWDC23 next month. That event is expected to be the one where we finally see Apple take the wraps off the $3,000 headset after all.

The recent release of the PSVR 2 or PlayStation VR2 brought the latest generation of VR hardware to the PlayStation 5 in an affordable package bolstered by impressive specifications. OLED technology for the panel alongside a per-eye resolution of 2000 x 2040 pixels with a refresh rate of either 90Hz or 120Hz.

Throw in touch controllers, full inside-out tracking, and a single USB-C connection and you can see why this massive upgrade over the original PSVR for the PlayStation 4 became something VR enthusiasts everywhere were looking at. Of course, the PSVR 2 was designed exclusively for the PS5, with official or unofficial PC connectivity unavailable at launch.

Until now, with a new post over on the NeoGAF forums highlighting that PSVR 2 hardware authentication has been cracked for PC. The post from iVRy shows precisely that. What makes this exciting is that iVRy Driver for SteamVR is an application designed to use "iPhone, Android, GearVR, Oculus Mobile or a Sony PSVR headset as a Virtual Reality Headset for your PC."

Apple's unannounced but heavily rumored mixed reality headset has reportedly seen a change of supplier as the company gets ready for its big unveiling.

Thought to be called Reality Pro, the headset is now expected to be announced during the WWCDC event in June. While the product isn't expected to be made available to buy any time soon, it now sounds like Apple has already made a change to its supply chain, ditching one company in favor of another.

That's according to a paywalled DigiTimes report seen by MacRumors, with the report suggesting that Taiwanese outfit Pegatron will no longer be the company responsible for assembling the Reality Pro headset. Instead, it's claimed that Apple has asked Pegatron to hand over production to Luxshare - a company that it already uses for other accessories like AirPods. The company is also responsible for assembling some iPhone and Apple Watch models, while it's also thought to be the one that will build the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Apple is widely expected to announce its first mixed reality headset this June, but that product doesn't only carry the weight of expectation in Cupertino. It could also be the last hope for the AR/VR market as a whole.

That's the claim by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who posted on Medium that other companies are not doing well in a space that seems set to receive Apple within weeks.

According to Kuo, Sony has already cut its 2023 production plan for the PlayStation VR2 following lackluster sales. Kuo says that Sony's headset plans have seen it slash production by as much as 20%.

Apple is still expected to announce the Reality Pro mixed reality headset during the WWDC23 event on June 5, according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple is still on track to announce the new headset despite previous reports suggesting that the launch could be pushed back.

It was thought that Apple employees were concerned that the headset could suffer a false start thanks to a high price - around $3,000 - and technical specification challenges including just two hours of battery life and heavy construction. But Gurman says that Apple is still good to go.

Apple had been expected to announce its first AR/VR headset during the WWDC event that will take place in June. But a new report now suggests that might not happen after all.

The headset, dubbed Reality Pro by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, has been heavily rumored for months with some suggesting that Apple could unveil it at the Worldwide Developers Conference so as to give developers a chance to take a look at what they'll be building apps for. It was never clear whether the device would go on sale at the same time, or if it would launch months later as Apple previously did with the Apple Watch.

However, a new report by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now suggests that might not happen. In a post to Twitter, Kuo said that Apple "isn't very optimistic" about its product, adding that it might instead choose to delay the announcement.