- Apple unveiled its Vision Pro Headset and along with that, it redefines AR, VR, and Metaverse with a new term ‘spatial computing’.
Apple has stepped into the world of augmented/virtual reality, however, it seems to be spinning its own world. On June 5, the tech giant launched its mixed-reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro at the WWDC. Now besides the product, another thing that grabbed everyone’s attention is how the brand ditched the popular technology popular in this domain.
Apple on redefining a domain
Throughout the launch program, the words like AR, VR, or Metaverse were not heard at all. Instead, the company seemed to be rebranding the space by calling it “spatial computing.” The product is slated for a launch in 2024 at a price of $3,499.
Now, competitors of Apple are using the “Meta” and “Metaverse” generously including Microsoft and Meta itself. And by coining a new term, Apple is probably trying to create a stand apart from its rivals. However, it would interesting to see how people will take this rechristened tech space.
Mike Rockwell, Apple’s vice president of technology development shed some light on product development. He said that the creation of this ingenious device required a pathfinding approach on every front. Informing about the technological challenges, he said that we came up with an independent model that adapts the wearable technology perfectly. It integrates the software and hardware in a commensurate manner while emerging as a personal device, he said.
Back in Jan 22, Bloomberg’s Apple tech reporter, Mark Gurman, posted a tweet telling the intentions of the company. He said that the distinguished tech giant doesn’t want to approach this fledgling niche the same way Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is.
He further stated that Apple’s focus is on providing a mixed-reality experience that varies from Metaverse’s. While the latter becomes an escape for people from reality and the former makes this technology useful for gaming, work, communication, etc.
Apple Vision Pro combines AR and VR both enabling users to get what they really want as per their needs. It can provide a fully immersive experience like virtual reality, and can also alter the surroundings a bit with augmented reality.
Along with the headset, Apple has also released its own OS called spatial operating system. It will allow the users to engage with digital content through holograms or three-dimensional imagery. So you want to look at a layout of a building, you won’t just see its diagrams, you’d be able to walk through it and see every single corner of it.
The launch of Apple’s new headset had raised the hopes of investors across the board. Some even anticipated a rise in the price of meta-related tokens. However, the dreams quickly shattered due to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s lawsuit against Meta.
As per the reports of CoinGecko, the litigation had a visible impact on meta tokens on all platforms. On Sandbox, it went down by 12.7%, on ICP, it saw a decline of 9.5%, and on Decentraland, it was down by 11.2%.
The total loss suffered by Meta reached a whopping $7.7 billion.
Conclusion
Apple’s intention of creating a new niche for itself is very clear with the Vision Pro headset. Given its past history, Apple has been successful in establishing a distinct place for its products in the markets. So it would be interesting to see if the tech frontrunner will be able to achieve the feat again or not.
Reference: Apple’s Vision Pro headset reveal swaps metaverse for ‘spatial computing’ (cointelegraph.com)
