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The Apple Vision Pro, retailing for around $3,500, will hit stores on February 2nd.
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Apple Vision Pro testers were given a first look at the latest version of the headset.
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Included was a demonstration of the EyeSight feature.
Ahead of Apple’s Vision Pro launch on February 2, reporters were once again given access to the virtual reality headset.
Business Insider previously summarized people’s thoughts, noting praise for Apple’s precise eye-tracking technology and high-resolution display, as well as criticism that the point of the technology, rather than being kind of fun, could be confusing for users.
Demo attendees were allowed to test features like the EyeSight display screen and spatial video and user-submitted photos.
Soon, members of the general public will be able to turn themselves into a 25 minute show of their own.
But for now, check out the latest impressions of Apple’s $3,500 headset.
EyeSight is ‘goofy’ but kind of cool
The Vision Pro’s EyeSight allows those viewing the device from the outside to view a real-time feed of the user’s eye movements.
The feature can also show those outside of what the user might be looking at, as KTLA’s Rich DeMuro explains. For example, if you’re looking at an app, an outsider will see “a small reflection outline on an app window.”
“When talking to someone today while they were wearing Vision Pro their eye rendering was really deep,” Josh Rubin at Cool Hunting said Threads.
The Verge’s Victoria Song described it as “a bit goofy” but said the feature worked as intended. When the person blinks, the headset image blinks. When one’s eyes are immersed in a virtual world, the rendering disappears.
However, Song explains that it still feels a little unnatural.
“This is all well and good, but it’s a strange thing to wear the headset and not know what’s happening on that front display – not having a sense of what you’re going to look like. appear, like an apparition, in the virtual world,” wrote Song.
It looks clear as day, but the person himself can feel ‘excluded’
Testers have previously noted that the display screens have an impressive resolution – that’s thanks to what Apple calls its “ultra-high-resolution micro-OLED displays” – and the excitement about it has not changed.
“It feels a little silly to gush about the realism of the images, but I didn’t see any pixels,” said Cherlynn Low at Engadget.
Rubin described it as “crisp, fast, and very interactive” and noted that the display was “much better” compared to competing VR devices.
Despite this, some users have also noted that while the visual experience is much more realistic than other devices, it is somewhat lonely due to the lack of interaction.
Engadget’s Dana Wollman said, while watching demo clips, “I felt immersed, yes, but also excluded; nobody in the videos sees you or interacts with you, of course.”
It is heavy on the head
After previous concerns about the weight of the Vision Pro on a user’s head, Apple adjusted the strap, according to Low, to one that fits around the head that was “wide, ribbed and soft.” Low said, however, the experience was still painful.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman predicted that the “biggest issue” for the device was weight.
Another option Apple has provided is a Dual Loop band, which provides an additional strap that goes over the head. This was a better option for multiple users.
“Today I tried the Dual Loop Band,” said Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal on X. “It’s not as elegant looking but definitely more comfortable.”
The hand movements feel ‘natural’
Instead of controllers, Apple implemented features that allow users to control activity on the display using their hands.
The movements were “natural” and “free,” Stern said.
“It’s free to not have controllers, and it’s just second nature to get around the interface,” Stern said.
One of the ways users can implement manual controls is through the virtual keyboard, which can also be controlled with voice commands or eye tracking.
The main concern raised with this feature was comfort, with testers wondering if this could be used for a long period of time.
“The main issue I had with the keyboard was that it felt a bit too far away, and I had to reach out if I wanted to press the buttons myself. But it wasn’t too difficult to use a short phrase from my eye and tapping, and if I wanted to input something longer, I could use voice typing (or pair a Bluetooth keyboard if needed),” Low wrote.
Gurman gave a harsher review of the virtual keyboard, giving X a “total write-off”.
It’s still just a VR headset ‘searching for territory’
One comprehensive review of the Vision Pro is: What’s the point? Or as Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge put it, it seems that Apple is “still searching for purpose.”
In this latest round of comments, it appears that testers cannot see the limited use cases for the Vision Pro.
“I’m just still trying to see where it fits in real life,” wrote Song.
Overall, it’s still a cool gadget, testers write.
“It’s fun to use,” said Wollman.
Read the original article on Business Insider
