At Apple’s WWDC 2023 (WWDC stands for “Worldwide Developer Conference”), the company unveiled its highly rumored mixed reality headset, “Apple Vision Pro.” Controlled by eyes, hands, and voice, it’ll projects apps in front of you, into the real world. The headset allows for video calling, playing games on a massive virtual screen, and more.
Billed as introducing Apple’s vision of “spatial computing,” it employs a three-dimensional interface that uses your real-world surroundings as the backdrop for apps and activities. Apps will cast shadows against the real world to help gauge depth and placement. The headset will rely on sight, verbal commands, and finger inputs, with no controller required.
Another major distinguishing feature of the headset will be its transparent design, wherein people can see your eyes while you wear the device. Typically, eyes are blocked off while wearing such headsets, but this one was built to keep inclusivity and a connection to the real world at the forefront of its design.
The device has been rumored for some time, with Bloomberg reporting Apple’s been spending over $1 billion per year to get the product out the door. It’s aiming to be a technological jump akin to the introduction of the iPhone but for the mixed reality space. Other innovators in the mixed reality space include Microsoft and the HoloLens device, which has set the bar for specialist-grade AR headsets, offering advanced tools to interface between the real world and virtual projections.
