Apple Vision Pro purchased in Hawaii.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
I purchased the Apple Vision Pro (Vision Pro), which was released in the United States on February 2nd, in Hawaii.
No release date has been set for Japan, and currently it is a device intended for use in the United States in English. It’s also expensive at $3,500 (approximately 520,000 yen). For many people, it is probably still a long way off from getting their hands on this product. There are many other points to keep in mind.
But when I used it, it was really amazing. I definitely feel that it is one form of evolution (of computing).
How can you use it for work or hobbies? We will deliver first impressions along with photos of the actual machine.
Power supply is external. Connect the battery with a cable.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
I purchased Apple Ala Moana in Waikiki, Hawaii.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
As rumored, the box is huge.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
outside of the main body. Sensors and cameras can be seen through.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
Lower side of the main body.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
Upper side of main body. On the right side is the Digital Crown.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
You can place “multiple apps” throughout the space.
Image: Screenshot by author
In fact, when using applications that let you “enjoy the entire space,” the image quality may come close to that of other companies’ HMDs.
Apple calls the Vision Pro a “spatial computing device,” rather than a “head-mounted display (HMD)” or “VR device” like other companies.
However, the essence of Vision Pro is to “use multiple applications and multiple devices together in the same space.”
Screen shot using Vision Pro. What you can see in the background is the hotel room where you are staying.
Image: Screenshot by author
Of course you can use a web browser, Word, Excel, etc. at the same time, but you can use them “normally” with each other.
The idea is that iPad applications can be placed not only within the square screen, but also throughout the space around you.
An image of the entire field of view synthesized from several screenshots.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
Moreover, the display is very beautiful. I am very satisfied with the readability of the text and the way the windows overlap.
Such elaborate user interfaces tend to be slow to operate, but this is not the case at all. Windows can be arranged in a natural manner throughout the space.
The surrounding scenery will not be distorted. Although the resolution and colors differ slightly from reality, they are still “natural”.
Vision Pro’s various apps and interface.
Photography: Munechika Nishida
Vision Pro’s feature is that it naturally allows the entire space to be used as a computer display. However, this is different from simply arranging screens.
The key point is that you can do almost anything you want while using multiple applications.
Is it possible to live a life where you keep wearing Vision Pro?
To explain this, I need to explain a feature called “Persona” that Vision Pro has.
Persona uses Vision Pro’s camera to scan your face three-dimensionally, generates facial expressions, etc.A mechanism that “draws a CG version of yourself in space according to your facial expressions and hand gestures”is.
It may seem difficult to explain in words, but it becomes easier to understand when you consider its use.
It’s difficult to attend a video conference while wearing an HMD. If you show it with a camera, it will look like a face with an HMD on.
So on these platforms, you create a 3D “avatar” of yourself, overlay your movements and voice, and use it as your own alter ego.
Join Zoom from Vision Pro. The author is on the left, but can you see that it’s CG?
Image: Screenshot by author
Games often use CG models that look like characters, but in Apple’s Persona, the model is created by capturing your own face.
When you use a video conferencing app or FaceTime with Vision Pro, the “face image” that would normally be sent via the video camera will be that of the persona synthesized within Vision Pro.
Zoom screen on iPad. The author is on the right. Since I am participating using Persona from Vision Pro, it looks like CG from the iPad (editorial department side).
Image: Screenshot by editorial department
Honestly, the image quality is not that good. It’s also a level of perfection that makes you feel confused when asked if it’s just who you are.
However, from the perspective of others, “somehow, he has some of his own characteristics,” so it’s not that far off the mark.
Above all,During a meeting, you can see the other person’s face and speak to them using hand gestures.More important than image quality is the reproduction of facial expressions and the naturalness of dialogue.
The Persona feature is there to (probably) allow you to work without removing Vision Pro as much as possible.
Instead of “taking out Vision Pro for video conferencing” or “turning on Vision Pro for video conferencing,” join a video conference as naturally as if you were answering a phone call, and show yourself to the other person. To do this, he uses an avatar (persona) that resembles himself.
There are many situations where you create a URL for a video conference invitation and give it to the people you want to participate.Vision Pro also allows you to easily issue a URL for participation using Zoom’s dedicated app.
You can send an invitation to someone by email, or by copying and pasting it into a messenger app. With Vision Pro, you can copy and paste between each other and have them open at the same time, just like when you use multiple apps on your Mac or iPad.
By combining this ability to “use it in the same way as a PC or tablet,” “a function that reduces the chance of removing Vision Pro” like Persona, and “a function that allows you to see your surroundings naturally,” you can see only you. You will be able to work while keeping the necessary apps in the surrounding space.
Enter Vision Pro with just one tap on your Mac screen
In fact, there is also a function that works with Mac.
When the MacBook is recognized, the word “Connect” will appear at the top, and if you tap on it, the Mac’s screen will be displayed larger inside Vision Pro.
There’s almost no noticeable delay, and it’s like a big 4K display just appeared in the air.
The Mac screen below is inside Vision Pro. It can actually be expanded to a larger display.
Image: Screenshot by author
What’s more, your Mac’s keyboard and touchpad will work with Vision Pro. Mac devices are recognized as is, and you can use them to enter characters or select something on Vision Pro.
A similar function has already been implemented as a linkage function that allows users to “operate an iPad on a Mac,” but this means that it is also being adopted between Mac and Vision Pro.
Will the world that Vision Pro aims for become commonplace?
The disadvantages are that the Vision Pro itself is heavy and that it inevitably feels pressured on the face. There are still major technical challenges in terms of physical limitations on the body.
It is true that there are still many technical trade-offs for naturalness and comfort, such as the high price and the structure that requires soft contact lenses or insert lenses (lenses sold separately on the Vision Pro side). .
It’s easy to deny Vision Pro from that point.
However, when I wrote this manuscript in Vision Pro, I realized that there was “something” in the “spatial computing” workspace that would lead to the future.
The author has been experimenting with various methods of “working using the entire space” using VR equipment.
They were certainly convenient, but they weren’t as natural as the Vision Pro, and they lacked a lot of convenience.
However, with Vision Pro, these issues were resolved at a high level all at once. For new elements to gain support, it is essential that they are “comfortable.”
The current Vision Pro is highly rated in terms of “amount of functions” and “good user interface,” and I think it’s truly “comfortable.”
Technical problems can be solved someday.
Just a year ago, what Vision Pro was trying to do was something that would be possible in the future. But now the reality is right in front of us.
This is where the competition to make products lighter, cheaper, and more comfortable will begin in earnest, including with other companies.
There is a possibility that what the Vision Pro showed will be a future that is not supported by many people, but if things continue to become lighter, cheaper, and more comfortable, then the world will not be that special. is not it.