At 1 a.m. on June 6, Beijing time, WWDC 2023 (Worldwide Developers Conference), known as “Apple’s Spring Festival Gala,” officially opened. The much-anticipated MR (Mixed Reality) head-mounted display device, Apple Vision Pro, arrived as scheduled. Apple CEO Cook said the product will replace the iPhone in 10 years.
This product has high hopes, and the outside world commented that it is expected to open the “iPhone moment” in the virtual reality hardware industry. Apple CEO Tim Cook commented: “Just as the Mac brought us into the era of personal computing and the iPhone brought us into the era of mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro will bring us into the era of spatial computing.”
According to the live demonstration, after wearing Apple Vision Pro, the desktop of the personal device will be seamlessly integrated into the real environment. The home or office will become an endless display screen, with multiple task pages surrounding the user, and voice, eyes, and gestures complete all operations. Instead of a controller, users gaze to navigate app icons, tap to select, swipe to scroll, or issue voice commands.
According to Apple, Apple Vision Pro is equipped with an “M2+R1” dual-chip, a sensor processor specially developed to process the camera and sensor information of Apple Vision Pro devices. When charging, the Apple Vision Pro can stay powered on for 24 hours; when using a mobile power supply, the battery life is only two hours-not enough to watch a 140-minute “Ready Player One.”
Regarding content ecology, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced at the conference that its video streaming platform Disney+ will be the first to support Vision Pro. “We believe Apple Vision Pro is a revolutionary platform that will bring our vision to life,” Iger said.
Apple confirmed that the Vision Pro will be available next year or later for $3,499. Recently, it has been reported that Apple’s MR equipment will enter mass production in October, and the price is high, but Apple may not make much money.
As Cook lamented – “We have been planning for this day for many years” Vision Pro, Apple’s first AR head-mounted display device, has been included in the plan for seven years. According to reports, since 2016, Cook has expressed his optimism for AR on different occasions and even claimed to be “the biggest fan of AR.” Before the press conference, Cook said that the MR headset would replace the iPhone in the next ten years.
