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0 pointsfennecfoxy2y ago0 comments

Lmao, but the first iPhone was a major improvement over other phones at the time and offered a form of consistence/stability versus the often very experimental models other companies had.

The difference here is of course that VR/AR has been thriving already. Apple is late to the game as they are most of the time, but the reactions I have seen so far in YT/Twit comments are the amazed reactions of the tech illiterate general public, they don't care what it does, but it does have an Apple logo!

Apple is not bringing anything new to the table. No virtual objects, no 3d anything, just 2d planes showing video/photos which non-Apple VR/AR has had for the longest time.

This is just from the briefest search: https://www.vrdesktop.net/. Already exists and looks more fully featured than Apple's stuff.

Apple is a 1T company, the "richest and most technologically advanced company in the world", so why don't they act like it?

They do seem to have an impressive resolution on the thing, but only Apple can ask for 3.5k, no other headset bothers to have as high a resolution atm because they know consumers will balk at such a high price...

Apple's press release shows it as if some rando people are using the thing at home as if it's not going to be art studios, etc that buy the headset and a couple of hardcore Apple fans. No regular person is buying a 3.5k VR/AR set to look at a crappy 2d photo gallery app.

Other VR/AR software for existing headsets like the Vive/Oculus etc already do actual virtual objects/interaction as baseline and Apple couldn't even be bothered to include something like that for their press release. Because they don't need to, I suppose. People will eat it up anyway.

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notaustinpowers2y ago

This device looks to be a monumental improvement over any current consumer AR/VR headset. From the user reviews that've come out so far, they've talked about the very forgiving hand-tracking, the high-fidelity screens, the nearly imperceptible delay from the cameras, how comfortable it is to wear, etc.

For your point about the no virtual objects, what would you want Apple to do? Create an entirely new OS requiring developers to build everything in a purely 3D environment? It'd be DOA if they did that. They have to highlight how EASY it is to port their current apps to VisionOS. Hell, they released Rosetta years before the M1 came out and there's STILL some apps that don't support M1 Macs. They have to make it easy, and allow the developers to decide to flex their muscle on this thing.

iOS apps in the first year or two of the app store looked god awful because no one really knew what to DO with the thing, but now we do. I think VR like this is going to be the same way.

From what they showcased and the initial reviews out right now, this does look to be the most technologically advanced mixed reality headset. But obviously the most technology advanced headset is going to be eyewateringly expensive.

Apple back in the day was always, the customer doesn't know what they want, you have to show it to them. This is going to light a fire under every other headset makers ass that they can't push out headsets with shit camera delays, poor screens, and shody controls anymore and expect to make money.

And you're right, people will eat it up because it's Apple and only they can get away with it. I'm not buying it, I have to afford groceries somehow. But the rich finance bros buying it to show off their wealth bankrolling Apple's R&D for the next few years to make a more consumer-friendly one? Yeah, knock yourself out. I'll buy refurbished one in 2026.

Turskarama2y ago

For sure this thing is much better than something like the Meta Quest 3, but is it _seven times_ as good?

Let's look at the actual improvements here over the quest, roughly in order from what I consider best to worst:

1) higher resolution screens. This requires more powerful onboard processing and more expensive screens and is an obvious win.

2) better pass through. Again requires better onboard processing and cameras on the front of the device. This is nice to have but I don't think it's a game changer.

3) hand tracking by default. No controllers is in some ways nice but also limits the number of inputs you can have (unless you have virtual controllers, but I can see a lot of accidental button presses with that). It also doesn't preclude adding controllers later but they haven't shown any sign of even considering this.

4) displaying your eyes on the front when talking to people. This is by far the most dubious feature, it looks ridiculous and requires them to add a high definition curved screen to the front of the device. How much does this add to the cost? I think it could be easily cut, just take the damn thing off when talking to people.

The actual value this brings over something like the meta quest is probably, to me at least, a 2x improvement. I might be proven wrong (or they might come out with a real killer app) but as it is I can't see the point.

notaustinpowers2y ago

1) Agree with you on the higher resolution screens. Yeah it's gonna be a resource hog but from what I've heard it looks downright gorgeous. 2) I'm okay with the better passthrough, from what the initial impressions have said, it really does help alleviate the headaches or nausea from the delay in lower-end systems. I get serious motion sickness and nausea in the PSVR2 headset, if this can solve that problem I'm all for it. 3) I know they highlighted PS5 and XBox controller support for games, so I'm holding out hope for third party motion controller support for when you need finer control. 4) I hate the eyes on the front feature, I agree it looks gimmicky, added too much to the cost, and I don't see it lasting long in future releases.

It's definitely not for me, but I feel like I'm getting their vision for the future of this product line and I'm gonna go conspiracy theorist for a minute here.

1) The clips of people wearing them in from of their kids or doing laundry, etc just screams that we want to get people used to having a screen in front of them, and cameras on their face. Make this the "norm" or at least some form of socially acceptable to do what Google Glass tried and failed to do in 2013. 2) The heavy focus on hand-tracking, eye-tracking, voice controls, and built-in speakers makes me think they want this to be used without needing to carry anything additional with you, obviously. No AirPods, no iPhone, no Mac needed.

I find this product to be an introduction to tackle these societal issues so that when they release a pair of regular-looking glasses that have this type of tech, people aren't going to be afraid of cameras looking at them all the time, or feel disconnected from the person wearing them. And be able to control it all with just their hands.

To me, this product was released way before it should have (frankly I believe it needs 5 more years), but as a lot of companies are pushing AR/VR and it's kinda floundering around right now, Apple had to release something that could keep interest in the product group alive long enough that they can release their proper vision.

itsoktodisagree2y ago

1 & 2 are essential for one of the main functions of this thing for now, which is to replace or extend a laptop. I am buying it simply for this purpose. I hate working at my desktop and my Air doesn’t have enough screen estate for efficient dev work on the couch or bed lol.

Proper, well integrated passthrough that seamlessly works with my laptop is crucial for this to work and judging by the marketing material it seems to be extremely well implemented. I simply can’t work with even the quest pro, because the clarity (resolution) simply isn’t there and all the implementations are cumbersome (yea I’ve tried all apps including metas own).

All the other features like 3D video recording are gimmicks to me, but it doesn’t matter.

crimsontech2y ago

> No virtual objects, no 3d anything

They did show 3D objects in the key note, someone sent one through messenger that the user pulled out from the message and interacted with it. Then they showed a 3D heart which could be taken apart in to sections. Next they showed a life size 3D formula 1 car with the aerodynamics.

ztrww2y ago

> No virtual objects, no 3d anything

Presumably this will be a thing since they support on the iPhone and tries making a pretty big deal from by showing virtual legos and other stuff in a keynote a year or two ago.

The ARKit seems to have been designed for this thing since it wasn’t ever a very good experience on the iPhone.

https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

notaustinpowers2y ago

iOS apps in the first year or two of the app store looked god awful because no one really knew what to DO with the thing, but now we do. I think VR like this is going to be the same way.

Turskarama2y ago

For sure this thing is much better than something like the Meta Quest 3, but is it _seven times_ as good?

Let's look at the actual improvements here over the quest, roughly in order from what I consider best to worst:

1) higher resolution screens. This requires more powerful onboard processing and more expensive screens and is an obvious win.

2) better pass through. Again requires better onboard processing and cameras on the front of the device. This is nice to have but I don't think it's a game changer.

notaustinpowers2y ago

It's definitely not for me, but I feel like I'm getting their vision for the future of this product line and I'm gonna go conspiracy theorist for a minute here.

itsoktodisagree2y ago

All the other features like 3D video recording are gimmicks to me, but it doesn’t matter.

crimsontech2y ago

> No virtual objects, no 3d anything

ztrww2y ago

> No virtual objects, no 3d anything

Presumably this will be a thing since they support on the iPhone and tries making a pretty big deal from by showing virtual legos and other stuff in a keynote a year or two ago.

The ARKit seems to have been designed for this thing since it wasn’t ever a very good experience on the iPhone.

https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse