This is Apple’s first AR headset

Not Reality Pro or One, but Vision Pro: With the augmented reality headset, Apple wants to seamlessly connect the real and digital worlds. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, it is “the first Apple product you look through and not at.”

The Vision Pro is slated for release in early 2024 and will cost $3,500. Initially, it will only be available for the US market. Apple is planning to launch the headset on other markets with a slight delay.

The Vision Pro looks like ski goggles, with which basically all applications that you know from iPhones or iPads can be used. It creates a virtual world in your living room, office, on vacation or on the plane.

The headset consists of a glass front and an aluminum frame in which there are five sensors, twelve cameras, the display with more than 4K resolution – specifically 23 million pixels – and an adapted M2 processor and a special R1 chip. The headset’s mask and strap are fabric-lined and modular.

According to Apple, they can be adjusted to fit a wide range of face shapes and head sizes. The headband is also ribbed and molds to the back of the head, with a variety of headband sizes and styles available.

So that the headset can be used by people who wear glasses, Zeiss has developed special optical inserts that are magnetically attached to the glasses. According to Apple, the device has an external battery with a runtime of up to 2 hours and can be connected via a “supple, woven cable” so that it also fits in a pocket.

Even though Vision Pro supports VR content, the headset is primarily designed as an AR device. A rotary knob on the headset lets you switch between augmented and full virtual reality. You won’t find a controller like Meta’s new Quest 3 or Quest Pro: the device doesn’t need a controller. You scroll through the app icons arranged in space before your eyes by looking at them.

You can tap to select, swipe to scroll, and use voice commands. Unlike VR headsets, those wearing the headset aren’t isolated from the people around them, Apple says. The headset displays your eyes through the glasses using a system called “EyeSight”.

If you are in VR mode, these will be covered by a glowing screen to let you know you are currently unavailable. Also, as previously leaked, the device deploys passthrough video that allows you to see your real world environment in full color.

You can also project 3D objects into real space. You could move it with your hands and even pull content from a message thread into the real world.

According to Apple, the sound is also spatial when you talk to other people in Facetime or Zoom calls. You can use spatial audio, for example to arrange Facetime participants as video tiles in the room. You can also record and play back 180-degree videos with a 3D camera in the headset.

The headset can not only be used with many apps such as Facetime, Zoom or to watch videos, but also in combination with various Bluetooth accessories such as the Magic Keyboard and the Magic Trackpad. It also allows you to pair with a Mac to work with virtual screens. Bottom-facing cameras let you still see your hands, even when they’re close to your body to type on the Magic Keyboard.

The headset is powered by a new operating system called VisionOS. According to Apple, it combines the experiences from previous operating systems and is made up of several layers.

Apple has connected the CoreOS with various layers that resaooose AR features. For app development, as with previous operating systems, developers are given various tools to quickly implement the AR headset applications.

Among other things, it is possible to quickly convert existing apps into new AR apps, according to Apple. Microsoft is also on board, and they want to move their own apps to Vision Pro.

So that only you have access to your data, Apple uses an alternative to Face ID called Optic ID. The secure authentication system, according to Apple, scans the iris “under various invisible LED lighting conditions” and then analyzes it with the registered Optic ID data.

Like your Face ID data, the iris biometric data is protected by the Secure Enclave. A user’s Optic ID data is fully encrypted, inaccessible to apps, and never leaves the device, meaning it’s not stored on Apple servers, the company said.

…… this article will be continuously expanded.