Entering the AI era with a Mixed-Reality headset

At the in-house developer conference WWDC at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, Apple presented its latest product: The Vision Pro mixed reality headset. With this device, Apple, under the leadership of Tim Cook, enters the field of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) and promises a revolutionary way of technology interaction.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, 62, who usually holds back on innovative announcements, spoke at the University of Naples last September 2022 about the blending of the physical and digital spheres and went into raptures. "You will wonder how you lived your life without augmented reality," he predicted. And this Monday, the rest of the world should now understand what is behind this enthusiasm.

Design and control of the Vision Pro glasses

The Vision Pro headset is similar to other VR goggles in appearance, but features an innovative digital crown and fabric head strap. The user controls are versatile and allow the device to be operated via gestures, voice commands or eye movements. Apple refers to this new age as "spatial computing," which promises seamless interaction with the virtual world. EyeSight technology allows the glasses to display information about the user's surroundings and hide overlays as needed.

Spatial Computing: Integration into everyday life

The Vision Pro headset offers a Home View that displays all apps right in front of the user's eyes. The user interface is intuitively designed and familiar to Apple users. The glasses allow different views with multiple apps and offer so-called "environments" that can be used to replace the user's surroundings with nature or other backgrounds. The digital crown gives the user control over transparency and enables a personalized experience.

Workplace optimization and collaboration

The Vision Pro glasses offer benefits for the workplace. It syncs seamlessly with other Apple devices and allows apps to be arranged side-by-side or on top of each other. EyeSight technology allows 3D objects to be pulled from emails and displayed right in front of your eyes. Interaction with others is facilitated by the glasses, adding a new dimension to virtual meetings and collaboration.

High-resolution displays, impressive sound

The Vision Pro headset's displays offer impressive resolution. Each eye sees a total of 23 million pixels, which is equivalent to more than one 4K screen per eye. The displays allow for sharp viewing in every area of the image, with no blurring at the edges. The headset also features a new Spatial Audio system with two drivers per ear, providing accurate spatial sound and enhancing virtual world immersion.

visionOS operating system

The Vision Pro headset is powered by the visionOS operating system, which combines lessons learned from Apple's previous operating systems. visionOS allows developers to quickly and easily create content and apps for the AR glasses. Existing apps can be easily converted into new AR apps, creating a wide range of possibilities for using the Vision Pro glasses. Apple has already partnered with companies like Disney to deliver high-quality content and entertainment experiences.

Focus on security and privacy

Apple places a high priority on user security and privacy. The headset features Optic ID, an innovative eye-scan authentication method, to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to content. In addition, all activities and data are protected to ensure user privacy.

Price and availability

The Vision Pro mixed reality glasses will launch in the U.S. early next year. The price of the device has been quoted at $3,500, which is higher than the expectations of many observers. However, it should be noted that Apple usually emphasizes quality and innovative features, which could justify the price. Worldwide availability is expected at a later date.

Doubts about the future of the glasses

In the run-up, insiders were already disappointed with the new headset and warn of potential problems. According to reports, even Apple's influential industrial design team had concerns about a launch of the headset. At a presentation to key managers in March, the reaction was muted. Although the market for such data glasses is not yet established and similar devices have had little appeal, the project has nevertheless been pushed forward.

A central, as yet unanswered question concerns the actual need for and potential applications of these headsets outside of niche applications. Insiders have high hopes that the realistic projection of clones into their own environment will enable virtual visits. Similar to a video call, it is supposed to feel like you are physically in the same room. Whether this will actually be the most popular feature remains to be seen and will only become clear after the market launch. One insider points out that everyday situations cannot be realistically simulated in the lab, regardless of how hard you try to recreate them.

The situation is similar to the introduction of the Apple Watch, which also did not have a clear use case in the beginning. Over time, it has become apparent that the watch is mainly used as a fitness and health device, and is now successfully marketed as the "ultimate tool for healthy living."

The mixed reality headset is just a first step into the real future. Many in Silicon Valley, not just at Apple, believe that such glasses could potentially replace the smartphone as the primary personal device, as they can remain on the head throughout the day. However, the future of the headset and its actual adoption is still up in the air. Only time will tell if it can live up to the high expectations and establish itself as a groundbreaking technology.

Apple's AI weakness

So far, leapfrog innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be progressing more dynamically at companies like Microsoft and Google. However, investors and experts warn that no other tech company could be as affected by the AI revolution as Apple. At an investor conference in Los Angeles, investor Kai-fu Lee expressed concern about Apple's dependence on China and the geopolitical escalation between the U.S. and China that threatens the foundation of Apple's rise in recent years.

Although the hype around artificial intelligence (AI) continues, Apple seems to have lost touch with industry leaders such as Microsoft and Google in the development of its voice assistant Siri. Even internally, Siri is no longer seen as a trailblazer, but rather an embarrassment. According to insiders, Siri does not provide reliable support for device control. Critics accuse Apple of choosing the wrong personnel to develop Siri. Although Apple poached renowned AI expert John Giannandrea from Google in 2018, both Giannandrea and CEO Tim Cook have been reluctant to crack down on the Siri team.

One problem facing AI chatbots like ChatGPT is their dependence on cloud infrastructures. The high processing power and internet connection required make them inefficient in offline situations. One former Apple executive predicts that Apple will focus on being the first to bring AI technology to smartphones - especially Apple's own devices.

Apple already has experience developing custom chips for its devices. This approach could also be beneficial for AI algorithms. In the past, Apple has already achieved significant performance gains in other AI applications through specialized chips. Currently, Apple is looking for AI specialists in job postings who specialize in "model compression" to optimize its huge AI models to run more efficiently on its in-house devices.

By combining its own chips with the integration of AI technologies on smartphones, Apple could strengthen its position in the artificial intelligence space and re-emerge as a major player. However, Apple's upcoming developments and innovations remain to be seen, as competition in the AI industry remains intense.