Apple, the company behind the popular brand of electronic devices, is looking to cash in on the artificial reality (AR) trend as it announces its latest offering, the Apple Vision Pro. The product is said to “seamlessly” mix the digital world and the reality.
Speaking on the device that has the semblance of a pair of ski goggles, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that “It’s the first Apple product you look through, and not at.”
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The Apple Vision Pro will come with its battery pack and will be controlled using gestures (eyes and hands) as well as voice.
With a hefty price tag of USD3,499 (~Php196,400) upon launch early next year, Apple is set to test the waters first by targeting the US market and will eventually reach other markets abroad.
Although the product is being marketed largely as an AR device, the Vision Pro can toggle between such and a full virtual reality at a shift in a dial.
Running on its proprietary operating system—the visionOS—the device features a controller-free immersion that mixes the artificial and the reality by adding a layer of virtuality amid a real-life backdrop, contrasting the total make-believe nature of the virtual reality (VR).
On the visionOS, users can easily browse through rows of applications, which Apple claims to be “hundreds of thousands of familiar iPhone and iPad apps,” by simply using their eyes. As a means of interacting with the OS, users can choose to “tap” to select an item and “flick” to scroll.