Can Apple launch a head-mounted display device with a sky-high price of 25,000 yuan? Can it save the Metaverse?

Compiled | Wang Ruiping

At one o'clock in the morning Beijing time today, the much-anticipated Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2023 (WWDC23) arrived as scheduled in San Francisco, USA. The slogan of this WWDC is "Code new worlds".

During this conference, Apple not only released its first mixed reality MR head-mounted display device Vision Pro (priced at US$3,499), but also launched the 15-inch Macbook Air. In addition, the operating systems of Apple's major devices are undergoing upgrades.

So, what technological innovations do Vision Pro and other devices have? What else to watch at the Apple Conference? This article will take you into the conference to appreciate the elegance of the newly released products.

1. Apple Vision Pro: Opening up the era of spatial computing

According to a presentation released by Apple at the conference, Vision Pro is a revolutionary spatial computer that seamlessly blends digital content with the real world while allowing users to be present and connected with others.

Every time Apple launches a new category of hardware, it will launch an operating system at the same time. The VisionOS operating system is named VisionOS, which allows users to interact with digital content in an immersive way.

Specifically, Vision Pro creates a “borderless canvas” through the operating system. This technology goes beyond traditional displays and introduces a three-dimensional user interface that controls the user's eyes, hands and voice with natural and intuitive input information.

The wearer does not need a handle and can input more easily using gestures and other movement methods. The simplification of input methods effectively lowers the user's threshold and improves interaction efficiency. With an independent operating system, entertainment, work, and communication can all be completed.

Vision Pro also features an ultra-high-resolution display system with 23 million pixels across two displays. Using customized Apple dual chips, the device can ensure that every experience seems to be happening in front of the user in real time.

On the hardware side, Apple Vision Pro uses state-of-the-art materials for incredible performance, mobility, and wearability.

Apple CEO Tim Cook excitedly announced at the conference: "Today marks the beginning of a new era of computing. Apple Vision Pro allows us to enter the field of spatial computing. Based on Apple's decades of innovation, Vision Pro is ahead of anything ever produced, with a revolutionary new input system and thousands of innovations that deliver an incredible experience for users and exciting new opportunities for developers.”

“Creating the first space computer required careful craftsmanship of every aspect of the system,” said Mike Rockwell, vice president of Apple’s Technology Development Group. "Through tight integration of hardware and software, we designed a compact, wearable, self-contained space computer that is the most advanced personal electronic device ever created."

2. Bring extraordinary new experience to users

From a user perspective, Apple Vision Pro changes the way users interact with applications, enabling them to capture and relive memories and enjoy great TV shows and movies.

Specifically, Apple Vision Pro allows users to double their efficiency during operations, have unlimited screen space, access their favorite applications, and gain a new way of multitasking.

With Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad support, users can set up the perfect workspace, or bring the power of Mac wirelessly to Vision Pro to create a massive, private, portable 4K display with crystal-clear text .

With the Vision OS system, applications can fill the space around the user, allowing the user to feel virtual positional movement and scale the space to the perfect size. They even react to light and cast shadows.

1) Engaging entertainment experience: With two ultra-high-resolution displays, Apple Vision Pro can turn any space into a movie theater with a 100-foot-wide screen and an advanced spatial audio system. Users can watch movies and TV shows, or enjoy 3D movies. Apple’s Immersive Video delivers 180-degree high-resolution spatial audio recording, giving users access to an exciting collection of immersive videos that take them to new places.

2) A whole new way to play games: Apple Vision Pro can take players into a whole new world. Users can play more than 100 Apple games on the big screen with immersive audio and game control capabilities.

3) Immersive environment: With Apple Vision Pro, the user’s world can transcend the dimensions of the physical room, with dynamic, beautiful landscapes. This can help them focus or reduce clutter in a busy space. Users can control their level of presence or immersion in the environment.

Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 and will be available early next year on apple.com and Apple stores in the United States. It will be available in more countries later next year. Consumers will be able to learn about and experience Vision Pro products at Apple stores.

3. Released MacBook Air with a battery life of up to 18 hours

Another major product launched at the conference is the new MacBook Air, equipped with a 15.3-inch display and equipped with Apple M2 processor.

Apple officially claims that the MacBook Air 15 is only 11.5 mm thick, making it the world’s thinnest 15-inch notebook. The weight is 3.3 pounds (about 1.5kg). In terms of interfaces, it includes MagSafe and comes with two Thunderbolt 4 ports.

In terms of screen, it is equipped with a Liquid Retina display, using a 5mm narrow bezel design and a very high screen-to-body ratio. The peak brightness of the screen can reach 500 nits, supports 1 billion colors, and has excellent display effects.

The new MacBook Air features a 1080p webcam, a three-microphone array, and a six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers for immersive spatial audio.

Regarding the battery life issue that mobile office users are concerned about, the 15-inch MacBook Air has a battery life of up to 18 hours when fully charged.

Like the standard MacBook Air, the new 15-inch model comes in four colors, including silver, space gray, starlight, and midnight. The new MacBook Air starts at $1,299 (approximately RMB 9,300). Orders are accepted from now on and will be officially launched next week.

4. Complaints from netizens: New products cannot save the Yuanverse

Although Apple’s new products continue to be popular online, there are still voices of complaints from netizens.

1. First of all, the price is too high. The starting price of the product is as high as US$3,499, which is converted into more than 20,000 yuan in RMB. Even Oculus launched by Facebook, the current domestic price of its Quest 2 is only about 3,400 yuan.

2. No physical display. In addition, users were disappointed that they could not see the Vision Pro in person during the launch, and the expected on-site demonstration session where Cook wore an Apple headset did not appear. It can be inferred from this that the fate of Vision Pro needs further observation.

3. Apple cannot save the Metaverse. Apple officially announced that Vision Pro is defined as "the next epoch-making product in the next ten years", marking mankind's entry into the era of "spatial computing".

The devices released by Apple this time are positioned so high-end, which has whetted people’s appetite despite the lack of technological innovation in the Metaverse.

At the moment when AI is booming, the Metaverse seems to be gradually forgotten by people and has reached a deadlock. There are also frequent reports that major manufacturers are abandoning it and turning to AI. In short, at a time when the Metaverse is about to die, it is hard to say whether Apple can inject a boost into it and save the entire industry.

5. Written at the end: Apple’s new product releases accelerate the evolution of AR/VR devices

Industry analysts say that currently, both global and Chinese AR/VR market shipments are declining. Manufacturers’ new product launches, marketing actions, new content launch pace, etc. have slowed down, and the yield rate of new display and interactive technology components has slowed down. And the mass production time is still uncertain.

This Apple new product release has important guiding significance for the entire AR/VR industry in terms of product hardware characteristics, content ecological upgrade direction, and new technology development in the industry chain.

As one of the most important new products in 2023, Apple’s official entry will accelerate the evolution of AR/VR devices from entertainment tools to productivity tools.

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