Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 7

The Apple Vision Pro has now been on sale for a few days and people have been putting the Persona feature through its paces. Dubbed a "beta" the Personal feature creates a 3D representation of the headset's wearer that can then be used in FaceTime calls and more. Now, Apple has released a new visionOS 1.1 beta software update and those who have already installed it have already started to report improvements.,

Those who have installed the visionOS 1.1 update noted that the Apple Vision Pro required that their Persona be recreated and the finished product does appear to be an improvement. And while some would argue that the result is still just the wrong side of uncanny, improvements are clearly being made. And we can likely all agree that these Personas are better than any of the more cartoon-like alternatives used by other headsets and software.

People have been taking to X, the social network previously known as Twitter, to share screenshots of their Persona with some also sharing before and after images to make it easier for people to compare.

Apple's expensive new Vision Pro headset has been drop tested because that's what you do with your new $3499 headset... right? That's exactly what YouTuber AppleTrack, aka Sam Kohl, did; check out how the VIsion Pro fares when it's dropped in his video below:

The new Apple Vision Pro headset packs a light seal that blocks light from coming into the headset and ruining your experience, but as Kohl notes, if you hold your Vision Pro by the light seal, the risk of dropping your expensive new headset is easy because of the magnetic attachment not being strong enough to hold the weight like that.

Kohl dropped his expensive new Apple Vision Pro headset from around 6 feet high, and the headset didn't crack. There were some scratches and small damage, but no fractures. The aluminum and downward-facing cameras weren't damaged from a drop of this height; however, the left speaker on the Vision Pro was damaged.

If you are one of the lucky ones who have picked up an Apple Vision Pro since launch day on February 2, you might want to write down your passcode in case you forget it. We wouldn't normally suggest that such bad security and privacy practice is something you should do, but then again we've never come across a situation like the one that Apple has created here, either.

The situation could see your new Apple Vision Pro become useless, after all. That's according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman which says that Apple Vision Pro headsets become unusable if their owner forgets their passcode - and the only way to get things back up and running again is to visit an Apple Store. What's more, the Apple Store's fix is to wipe the headset, and all of its data, and have owners set them up afresh.

The situation comes about thanks to Apple's security features doing what they're supposed to do, but in the case of the Vision Pro, they actively disable the headset after a passcode has been attempted incorrectly too many times. And where other Apple devices can be reset if required, the Apple Vision Pro doesn't have such a luxury.

The Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset is now finally on sale, but only if you happen to be in the United States. The headset went on sale on February 2 with preorders having gone live in January, but there has so far been no official confirmation of when those outside of the United States should expect the spatial computer to arrive on their shores. Now, a new report might have shed some light on Apple's plans.

That's after a report by Asia's Wall Street News was picked up by IT Home. The original report cited unnamed supply chain sources when it said that the registration process for the Apple Vision Pro at China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is almost complete. That means that Apple is getting all of its ducks in a row ahead of the big release, although the certification is unlikely to be the only thing that Apple is waiting for here. The report goes on to suggest that Apple is likely to launch the headset in China no later than May, although April was also suggested as a possible launch window.

This news comes following a previous report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman which hinted that Apple could launch the Apple Vision Pro in additional countries sooner rather than later. He also said that Apple is thought to be leaning toward bringing the headset to China, Canada, and the United Kingdom as part of its second-phase rollout.

Apple's Vision Pro has been making waves of one kind or another since its launch, and here's one very much in the misuse category for the mixed reality headset - namely wearing one while driving.

Yes, we've had a sighting of someone who has bought the expensive headset, and then used the hardware while driving a Tesla - you can see the filmed evidence in the above tweet.

Of course, the Tesla does have Autopilot on, but as you doubtless realize, that's considered a driver assistance feature, not an autonomous driving function. In short, you still have to be paying full attention in your Tesla while using it.

The first thing you want to do with your new Apple Vision Pro after you've plonked down $3499 on it is rip it to pieces and see how it ticks. Right? That's exactly what the team at iFixit did, tearing down the technology-heavy Apple Vision Pro headset. Let's go.

The journey begins using a simple SIM eject tool, where you start taking apart the Apple Vision Pro headset with the regular heat gun, some prying, screws all over the place, brackets, connectors, and more. iFixit says that the Apple Vision Pro headset is too complicated to cover in detail in a single video, promising more videos that will show "just how deep this rabbit hole goes".

iFixit says that the strangest thing with the Vision Pro is "the thing that makes it most uniquely Apple: it's got a big shiny bubble glass front, which makes it stand out from the aluminum- and plastic-shrouded competition, even when it's off. And when it's on, it's even stranger-instead of being fully transparent, behind the glass, an odd lenticular screen displays a 3D-ish video of the user's eyes, emulating their gaze. Apple calls it the EyeSight display, and when the user is looking at you, it kind of, sort of, almost looks like you can see through smokey glass".

Apple's revolutionary new Vision Pro headset is now out in the wild, starting from $3499 and impressing the likes of Terminator and Avatar director James Cameron.

In a new interview between Vanity and Apple CEO Tim Cook, we get a look into Cook's thoughts, Apple's thoughts, and the thoughts of many others on the new Vision Pro headset. Avatar director James Cameron said: "I would say my experience was religious. I was skeptical at first. I don't bow down before the great god of Apple, but I was really, really blown away".

Iron Man and Mandalorian director Jon Favreau chimed in, telling Cook that he was "blown away" by the technology offered by the Apple Vision Pro and that it will do the storytelling of the future. Favreau actually created content specifically for the 3D capabilities of the Vision Pro, which you can check out if you've got Apple's new headset on your skull. Favreau said: "I'm excited by what kind of story I can tell now that I couldn't tell before now".

Apple's Vision Pro is on sale now and people across the United States have now spent their first few days with the mixed reality headset. As part of that, we're learning more tidbits about a spatial computer the likes of which few have had the chance to use and some of the things we're learning are odd, to say the least. Those things include the fact that the Vision Pro doesn't support Bluetooth mice or trackpads.

That was confirmed via an Apple Support document that was first spotted by MacRumors, with the suggestion being that there is little guarantee that any third-party Bluetooth accessory will work - and even some of Apple's own won't, either.

In fact, Apple says exactly that in the support document that says people who have trouble connecting their Bluetooth accessories to the Vision Pro should contact the device's manufacturer for help.

The Apple Vision Pro is the biggest news of the year so far and it might remain that way for some time, too. Now that the headset is available to buy Apple has started to share new documents that outline some of its key features, how they work, and what users can expect. One of those features is the Mac Virtual Display, a feature that allows a Mac's desktop to be viewed and interacted with in 3D space.

Previously, some had believed that Apple's Mac Virtual Display feature only worked on MacBooks which isn't the case, while it was also posited that a Mac running an M2-series chip was required as well. However, Apple's new support documentation confirmed that isn't the case, either, and that any Mac that can run macOS Sonoma can work with the Vision Pro just fine.

The support document, reported by MacRumors, explains that all Macs that run macOS Sonoma or later are good to go although those with Apple silicon inside do enjoy something that Intel-based Macs don't - 4K support. Those with an Intel Mac can use the Mac Virtual Desktop feature but only with up to a 3K resolution.

Apple's Vision Pro headset is finally on sale after months of waiting since its June 2023 unveiling. The headset's launch brings with it a slew of new Apple support documents surrounding its various features and capabilities, with one of those being the Optic ID security feature.

Optic ID is a security feature that works similarly to Face ID and Touch ID which means that any apps that support those features also support Optic ID without the need for developers to do any additional work. That's a key fact when we remember that there are more than a million iPad apps already available for the Vision Pro headset. Now, Apple has detailed the headset's security feature to confirm how it works and what it can do.

In use, the Optic ID feature is what the Vision Pro uses in order to authenticate the wearer and ensure that they are the person whose Apple ID is associated with the headset. That allows the Vision Pro to block access to apps and data if it doesn't believe that the person wearing it is its owner. Apple also notes that Optic ID is sued when authorizing Apple Pay purchases as well as signing into apps and accessing personal data.