After the Apple Vision Pro announcement in yesterday’s #WWDC23 keynote, here’s 10 things we think you should know if you’re coming into contact with this industry for the first time:
It’s a new computing platform: Apple talked about “spatial computing” and “levels of immersion”, while other terms you might hear in the industry such as “Metaverse” and “Extended Reality (XR)” broadly mean the same thing. A product that can understand your physical environment, and bring digital content into that space for you to interact and immerse all your senses is how we’ve always talked about “spatial computing” at Factory 42.
A large set of technologies in a small sleek package: It’s no surprise that Apple has created a premium product, full of cutting edge technologies in a beautifully designed and engineered form factor as it’s entry into the spatial computing market. Everything we’ve seen over the years confirms comfort is important for new customers.
It’s a high price tag: But Apple are targeting a premium audience, and pitching this as the device to replace your high-end TV, cameras and games consoles. Apple are masters at driving consumer demand for new products, with high price tags for early adopters - the 1984 Apple Mac launch price would be $7,400 in 2023 money.
It will launch with a large content library: With existing apps for iPhone, iPad and AppleTV able to run on the Vision Pro there’s a huge library of content for consumers to experience from day one - this will build customer confidence and give Apple a competitive edge.
Uses eyes, hands and voice together: With no additional hardware controllers required, the Vision Pro stands out from the rest of the crowd. Enabling consumers to use natural interactions is really important in maintaining immersion.
Human connection a key focus: The Vision Pro lets you see other people in your space, and allows them to see your eyes and face. This avoids the feeling of isolation that is often cited as a weakness of VR products. We’ve doubled down in recent years on creating human and shared connections within immersive experiences and audiences love this approach.
Privacy & security front of mind: There might be 12 different cameras and sensors on the headset monitoring your eyes, face and body movements, but this data isn’t shared with apps keeping your information private and secure.
A single device for both work and home: Apple showed examples of how Vision Pro can enhance the experience in the office, working remotely and at home. This plays to Apple’s strengths, with many of the features leveraging the power of Apple’s existing hardware and cross platform ecosystem.
Tim Cook’s “iPhone”moment: This was Tim Cook’s chance to utter the immortal words “..and one more thing!”, and this new product is his chance to cement his Apple legacy. This high level support, and the partnership announced with Disney, show the commitment Apple is making to this new platform and the positive impact on the wider industry that we expect to see as a result.
This is just the beginning: The use cases shown in the keynote might look pedestrian to industry veterans, but this was intentional from Apple - they know that consumers can only absorb one new concept at a time, and don’t want to overwhelm them with lots of advanced 3D features right now.
Just 15 days out from celebrating Factory 42’s seventh year working in spatial computing we know that creating these new kinds of experiences can be challenging, but also so rewarding when you succeed and see the positive impacts they have for customers. We’re looking forward to working to make unique experiences with incredible partners in this next exciting phase for the worlds of entertainment and technology and are always happy to chat if you want to get in touch to learn more or explore new opportunities.
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