Technology enthusiasts and Apple fans lined up at the brand’s American stores on Friday to test out or buy the Vision Pro, the technology giant’s $3,499 mixed reality headset (augmented and virtual). This is the first major new product from the Apple brand since the arrival of the Apple Watch connected watch nine years ago. hopes to represent the ultra-immersive future of computing.
Overall, when the iPhone was launched in 2007, there were significantly fewer people with sparse lines, especially in Palo Alto and Los Gatos, California.
Tim Cook in New York
To feel the excitement, you had to go to New York. Tim Cook arrived at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue to greet the first customers, greeted by staff. “This is tomorrow’s technology, today,” he told ABC News. “We think we’ve priced that out for now.”
“I can’t wait to try it,” Jose Carlos told AFP with a big smile. “I’ll use it for work and also when traveling.” “It’s expensive, but I’m willing to pay the price to be in the first place and test the app ideas I have in mind,” adds this young Uber platform engineer.
Mixed reviews at first
It’s an “impressive product that took years of work and billions of dollars of investment,” but “even after trying it, I still don’t know who will use it and why,” wrote the New York Times.
Testers say they were impressed by the image quality and ease of use: just look at the app and tap your fingers to open or close it. But they resent that the battery is heavy and scoff at the “personas,” the strange photorealistically rendered avatars that users present during video conferences.
Journalist Jonah Stern’s summary for “The headset has the typical characteristics of a first-generation product: it’s heavy, the battery drains quickly, and it oozes personality…” The Wall Street Journal. “But without these drawbacks, we can imagine that wearing this headset would be more pleasant than holding the phone in front of your face,” she said. “And for working and watching movies, it’s really not bad.” »
Criticized for the lack of apps available on the Vision Pro — their number was recently estimated at 150 — Apple has stepped up and announced Thursday that it now has more than 600.
“Spatial Computing”
The iPhone maker presents the headset as its first foray into the field of “spatial computing.” It allows you to have virtual screens of different sizes around you, to work, chat with friends or watch videos.
However, augmented reality glasses and virtual or mixed reality headsets are not new. Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Apple’s rival in Silicon Valley, has largely contributed to the emergence of this market with its Quest headsets and Ray-Ban connected glasses.
The group’s leader, Mark Zuckerberg, thinks the “metaverse,” a universe where our physical and digital environments blend, will be the future of the Internet. But many companies, experts and individuals were eagerly waiting for Apple’s first device. Or perhaps another, which will undoubtedly be more affordable.
