Virtual Reality

Apple’s mixed-reality headset is coming next year

Will sell for US$ 3,000

Published

February 8, 2021

Luigi Leonardo

Image source: The Information

Today, the world’s biggest tech makers already have their toes wet in the virtual reality market. Facebook has the Oculus. Google has the Daydream. The PlayStation has the PSVR. Everybody who’s anybody already sells their own VR headset. Everybody except Apple, that is. For the longest time, Apple has developed its VR headset without an endgame. However, according to a new leak, Apple’s mixed-reality headset is coming next year. And for a hefty, hefty price.

According to The Information, Apple’s mixed-reality headset, still unnamed, will come with more than a dozen cameras to help with tracking. Further, it comes with two 8K resolution screens to output images. As the names says on the tin, the headset is mixed-reality, rather than strictly virtual- or augmented-reality.

According to the report, the headset is already a “late-stage prototype.” It will also feature swappable headbands. One such headband will reportedly have spatial audio technology, bolstering the high video quality.

Apple is also exploring other ways to control the headset including thimble-like controllers you wear on your fingers. Usually, other headsets have bulkier controllers.

Unfortunately, the headset’s biggest detail is its alleged price. The headset will reportedly sell for around US$ 3,000 and will launch sometime next year at the earliest. Other headsets have sold for similar price tags, like the Microsoft HoloLens; however, Apple’s specs and price place the headset in a more luxurious category, rather than something niche or educational.

Accessories

Apple Vision Pro Review: Two Months Later

How is it after the hype?

Published

April 8, 2024

GadgetMatch and Michael Josh Villanueva

It’s been two months since the launch of the Apple Vision Pro.

That’s enough time for the hype to die down and enough time to revisit my review.

How do I feel about it now? Do I still use it?

Are there any compelling new apps? New experiences?

And do I still think Vision Pro is the future of computing?

Here’s my review of the Apple Vision Pro two months after the hype!

Review Part 2: A Computer In My Head

News

Vision Pro now lets you host a party for five ghostly Personas

For collaborative projects

Published

April 3, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

Image source: Devindra Hardawar/YouTube

In sci-fi films, a commonly used scene is one of a board meeting where almost every member is actually just a holographic projection. The scene’s main character takes off their glasses (or turns off a projector), and each holographic projector disappears into the ether. Though initially a trope in fiction, the phenomenon might soon make its way to actual technology, care of Apple’s Vision Pro.

Compared to other augmented-reality headsets, the Apple Vision Pro takes a more realistic look at virtual avatars. Users won’t use cartoonish avatars. Instead, they can make Personas modeled after their actual faces. It’s a unique feature, but one can definitely see the uncanny valley in it.

Today, Apple is making the feature more collaborative. Pushing the capabilities of augmented reality once again, the Vision Pro can now have Spatial Personas. Rather than simple portraits to talk to, the headset can project up to five Personas into your space.

The idea is to make it look more natural to collaborate on projects, watch movies, or play games together in a virtual space. It is, however, still in its infancy. The collaborative feature merely uses floating bubbles to project Personas. It looks a bit like having ethereal ghosts in front of you.

However, if ever you find yourself in need of company, actual or virtual, Spatial Personas can at least cure some of the worst parts of loneliness… as long as your friends have their own Vision Pro, that is.

Reviews

Apple Vision Pro Review: Part 2

A Computer On My Head!

Published

February 28, 2024

GadgetMatch and Michael Josh Villanueva

Michael Josh spent 7 days with the new Apple Vision Pro — or so we thought!

In Part 2 of his Apple Vision Pro Review, he paired it with a keyboard and trackpad for a full desk setup, played games, and watched immersive content.

He also checked if the battery can last a full 3D movie and did a GadgetMatch Charge Test.

Spoiler alert: He spent more than 7 days with this computer from the future!

Watch the second part of Michael Josh’s in-depth review with the Apple Vision Pro now.