This text comes to you directly from the future. The future of a virtual and augmented world of work, imagined by Apple, which is launching its famous Vision Pro headset in Canada on Friday, July 12. The technology is not perfect, but it is spectacular and… partly Quebecois.
For the Vision Pro to be complete, it would need to be equipped with a chin strap. It would prevent users from dropping their jaws at the sight of one of the most convincing telepresence experiences to date: four avatars sitting in a circle, chatting and gesticulating around the same PowerPoint screen as if everyone is in your office, when in reality, everyone is at home, it’s… futuristic. And it’s made possible by a Quebec technology bought by Apple in 2017, which shines brightly on the micro-OLED screen of Apple’s headset.
There are a few experiences like this on board, but it will take more than that to convince a general public that has been lukewarm to past and repeated efforts by Meta, Microsoft and others to get virtual and augmented reality off the ground, which remains niche.
For Apple CEO Tim Cook, it represents the company’s third age, after the Mac 40 years ago and the iPhone 20 years later. An extended test of the Vision Pro reveals the similarities between the three eras: digital, mobile, immersive. And some differences, of course.
A mix of iPhone and Mac
The Vision Pro does more than any other headset of its kind, right from day one. With one eye, you can stream a live Euro match, then with the other, follow your favorite social network, and in between, chat on Slack and write long sentences in Word (hello!). To help, the Vision Pro pairs with the same wireless peripherals as a Mac: keyboard, mouse, headphones, etc.
This is all a lesson learned from the iPhone. When it became the commercial success that we know, around 2009, there was one expression on everyone’s lips: we had to find the ” killer app » that would launch the mobility market. Apple found it with the arrival of the App Store and… Angry Birds. No joke! Mobility then went from being a thing of geeks to a mainstream phenomenon.
To cement Apple’s new virtual paradigm, a million and a half applications, native or drawn from the iPhone and iPad, are ready to be installed on the Vision Pro. Most exist in French, including Zoom and the entire Microsoft Office suite, and several are made right here (RDS and ICI Tou.tv, for example).
Clearly, Apple is doing everything it can to distinguish itself from Microsoft’s HoloLens, which is more industrial, and Meta’s Quest, which is more fun.
Space navigation
Navigating the Vision Pro’s world is done with fairly simple finger movements—simplistic, even. You pinch with your index finger and thumb, like you clicked the single mouse button on early Macs. Then, you swipe, scroll, zoom, or close by moving your hands.
Third-party applications take this interface further. Demeoa turn-based RPG game that publisher Resolution Games ported from the Quest to the Vision Pro, lets us click with our middle fingers and thumb, in addition to everything else. We feel that soon, we will be able to play the Vision Pro like a piano. That’s Douglas Engelbart (google him) who will be smiling in his grave…
It’s not perfect: scratch your nose and you risk closing an app. Look away and your gestures will be misrecorded. Gaze completes the interface: your eyes as a mouse pointer. They’re also your identifier for unlocking secure connections.
In the background of these apps is the same scenery that is in front of you, reproduced in high fidelity. The windows that are normally on the screen of your favorite computing device float before your eyes. Spatial sound adds to the immersion. And if the scenery in front of you is boring, environments like the lunar surface, a volcanic island or other will transport you elsewhere.
The famous ecosystem
Wearing a Vision Pro looks a little crazy from the outside. Apple has thought of that. The back of the headset lights up blue when the wearer is immersed in the virtual world. If a conversation partner wants to disturb the user, the headset reduces the immersion and allows both people to see and hear each other. The wearer’s eyes are displayed on the back of the headset for the benefit of the conversation partner.
Apple calls this feature “EyeSight.” It’s… eerily realistic. It’s the “uncanny valley” (“ uncanny valley “), an emotional zone we fall into when something artificial or robotic looks a little too natural, human.
EyeSight simulates your gaze based on a “persona,” an avatar created the first time you put on the Vision Pro. This avatar takes on your features and then appears in video calls on FaceTime, Teams, Zoom, and anywhere else you would normally use a camera to show yourself.
This too comes out of the uncanny valley…
Luxurious material
The Vision Pro has a non-detachable external battery that lasts for 2 hours. That’s not much. It’s the biggest flaw of this device. Its other flaw: it costs $5,000. That makes it a luxury item. Microsoft’s HoloLens costs about the same, though, and offers less. It’s also less elegant.
One theory is that the Vision Pro’s high price is intended to help regulate its adoption while the market tests it. If it is well received, a much cheaper headset could be released in the next year.
If the rumor mill is to be believed, it would be this second, hypothetical headset that would determine the commercial success of Apple’s “spatial computing.” The device already has everything going for it — including a ton of compatible apps. It’s just a matter of finding the one that will propel the masses into this immersive, hyperconnected, and… Quebec-accented future!