Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in one handy summary. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it pairs really well with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you also want to read it during lunch or dinner hours.
A vision of the future
I didn’t buy an Apple Vision Pro, but after trying a demo at the Apple Store, I almost did. Apple is having a lot of success with its first headset, and it’s easy to envision a future where we’re all wearing Vision Pros instead of carrying around iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Here are 10 things I learned about Apple’s next big thing:
Eye tracking is amazing
Like the mouse, click wheel, and multi-touch, Vision Pro’s jaw-dropping moment is navigation. It starts with eye tracking, which is incredibly accurate and feels as natural as using a mouse to select apps and items.
It’s not as ridiculous in person
When I walked into the Apple Store, there were already people using Vision Pro, and in person it didn’t look as strange as it did in the photos. This is a lot like AirPods, which were also the butt of many jokes when people were photographed trying them out. But once you see it in person, it’s not so weird.
EyeSight is necessary
Speaking of wacky, you’ve probably seen several articles showing how Apple’s EyeSight feature isn’t great. And I agree: it takes work. However, it’s absolutely necessary when you understand Apple’s vision for Vision Pro. Eventually, Vision Pro will be what we wear all the time and people will need to know when you’re looking at them. But before that happens, EyeSight needs to improve significantly.
It’s more comfortable than I thought
There is no coating: Vision Pro is very heavy. And most of the weight is up front. But once I strapped it to my head – with just the Solo Knit Band – and made a few slight adjustments, it was surprisingly comfortable. There will certainly be some fatigue after a few hours of use, but given its weight, it is ultimately quite comfortable.
Space videos are incredible
I wasn’t quite prepared for the astonishing quality of the space videos viewed on Vision Pro. My demo played the same thing I saw during the WWDC keynote, but when viewed with Vision Pro it looked absolutely stunning. Watching the clip from a birthday party made me feel like I was there in a way that regular 2D videos can’t convey. So even if you don’t have a Vision Pro yet, start taking spatial videos on your iPhone 15 Pro now so they’ll be ready when you get one.
The quality is breathtaking
Even if you’ve used other VR headsets, your eyes will be amazed by Vision Pro’s 23 million pixel Micro-OLED display. Whether you’re viewing panoramic photos, watching a 3D movie, or reading a web page in Safari, you won’t see a single pixel. It’s like when the iPhone became Retina: everything else is simply inferior.
You can leave the windows anywhere
Apple Vision Pro isn’t really meant to be worn outside, but it is meant to be worn anywhere in your home. And you can anchor windows in the rooms and locations where you use them most. For example, a movie can be playing in the living room while Mail and Notes are at the desk and Notes is by the refrigerator. Spatial computing indeed.
Panoramic photos are truly panoramic
We’ve been taking panoramic photos on our iPhones for over a decade, but they come to life on Vision Pro. Whether you’re traveling to far-flung places or just showing off your backyard, the vistas will be absolutely stunning on the Vision Pro.
The field of view is quite small
Apple doesn’t talk about the Vision Pro’s field of view, but it appears to be about the same as other VR headsets on the market, around 100 degrees. It’s not great, but it makes you very aware that you’re wearing a headset when you move to look out the side of an immersive environment or experience and quickly crash into a black bar. This will definitely improve, but for now it’s quite limiting.
This is the future, 1st gen issues and all
For a $3,499 device, Vision Pro certainly has its share of first-gen issues. Just like the iPod, iPhone and Mac. Apple can fix some issues with software updates and Vision Pro 2 can fix the rest. And like all these devices, using it feels like stepping into the future. The world may not be ready yet, but in a few years Vision Pro will be the device everyone needs.
Foundry
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The new App Store rules have an unintended victim: VisionPro.
Apple would have sold nearly 200,000 “Very specialized” Vision Pro helmets.
Podcast of the week
What are our current favorites? Apple TV+ shows? What are we looking forward to this year? And what shows did we not like? It’s in this episode of the igamesnews podcast!
You can watch every episode of the igamesnews Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.
Reviews corner
The rumor mill
‘One of the biggest iOS updates ever could come to your iPhone this year.
Hidden reference in tvOS 17.4 teases Apple’s new product smart home platform.
It’s worth repeating: New iPadsMacBook Air M3 coming in March.
Here’s everything you need to know about the next one ipad air.
Software updates, bugs and issues
iOS 17.4 beta brings major changes to the App Store in the EU, including alternative stores.
And with that, we’re done for this week’s apple breakfast. If you would like to receive regular summaries, subscribe to our newsletters. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads or Twitter to discuss the latest Apple news. See you next Monday and stay Appley.
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