Chapter 1

Getting to Know Apple Vision Pro

IN THIS CHAPTER

Seeing how virtual reality and augmented reality merge in Apple Vision Pro

Understanding the Apple Vision Pro user interface

Opening the box

Looking at the Apple Vision Pro specs

Apple Vision Pro is the most exciting new Apple product in years - perhaps decades. And it's easily the most ambitious. Apple Vison Pro may be difficult to explain - especially if you haven't played around with any other headsets that came before it - but you've come to the right place.

In this chapter, I introduce you to the Apple Vision Pro - covering everything from what it is and what it does to how it differs from other headsets and what it can do for you. If you're curious about Apple Vision Pro, or if you have one and you don't know where to start, this chapter (and book!) is for you.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality: It All Comes Together in Apple Vision Pro

Apple refers to Apple Vision Pro as a "spatial computer," but it's really a high-tech headset that fuses virtual reality with augmented reality to create mixed reality:

• Virtual reality (VR): In VR, you put on a special headset and you're engaged with a fully immersive digital environment. You don't see the real world through the headset - you only see a virtual world, and it's super immersive because the visuals are all around you, in 360 degrees. What you see is also tied to head tracking, which means wherever you turn your head while wearing the headset - up, down, side to side, or even behind you - that same perspective is seen in the virtual world you're in. Because of this feature, VR can trick your brain into thinking that what you're seeing is the real deal.

  But it doesn't just stop there. Audio is also "spatialized" in a VR world, so you can hear sounds all around you, such as a moaning zombie creeping up from behind you, a towering dinosaur in front of you, or someone talking to you from the right or left of you. The audio helps add to the effect.

• Augmented reality (AR): In AR, you can still see the real world around you - either through a headset you wear or by holding up your smartphone and looking through the camera lens - but what you see is augmented (enhanced) with digital information.

  The hit mobile game Pokémon GO is an example of AR. You hold up your phone at, say, a park, and you see the real-world trees, bushes, and park benches on your phone's screen - but superimposed on top are cute Pokémon creatures, so it looks like they're right there with you.

  Wearing a headset with AR works the same way, but it's even cooler because you're hands-free.

So, where does Apple Vision Pro fit into all this? It seamlessly blends AR and VR into one device to create a mixed reality (MR) experience, allowing you to toggle between AR and VR, depending on the application and/or your environment while wearing what looks like futuristic ski goggles (see Figure 1-1). So, you can stay "present" with what's going on around you in the real world, or you can completely close yourself off from your surroundings.

For example, you may be video chatting with someone online over FaceTime, but you're still able to pour dog food into a bowl and serve it to your furry friend doing the dinnertime dance at your feet. This feature is often referred to as passthrough, because you can see the real world when you want to.

Courtesy of Apple, Inc.

FIGURE 1-1: The Apple Vision Pro headset.

Alternatively, if you're alone on the sofa and you want to kick back and watch a movie, Apple Vision Pro will automatically dim the family room so you see only the giant (virtual) video screen in front of you. Or you can choose to engage in a VR experience like Encounter Dinosaurs, where you come face-to-face with the prehistoric beasts, and you're completely immersed in the experience (see Figure 1-2). You can even "interact" with the dinosaurs - try to touch different creatures, and they'll likely respond differently. Plus, if you move around during the experience, the dinosaurs' eyes will follow your movements. Turn to Chapter 9 for more on Encounter Dinosaurs.

Courtesy of Apple, Inc.

FIGURE 1-2: Encounter Dinosaurs brings dinosaurs into your living room . if you dare!

Other headsets, such as the Meta Quest 3, can straddle AR and VR and have passthrough. Part of what makes Apple Vision Pro unique is how you access the content (see the next section).

The Apple Vision Pro User Interface: Using Your Eyes, Hands, and Voice

Instead of using videogame-like controllers, you control three-dimensional user interface of Apple Vision Pro using your eyes, hands, and voice. You highlight an app or image merely by looking at it; reach into the air to "touch" (select) the digital content or "pin" it to one side of the room you're in; use gestures (see Figure 1-3) to swipe up, down, and side to side to navigate through virtual items (say, while inside a game or photo library); and summon Siri, your voice-activated personal assistant, as yet another way to interact with it all. (Turn to Chapter 3 for much more detail about how to use the Apple Vision Pro controls and Chapter 5 to tweak Apple Vision Pro settings.)

Courtesy of Apple, Inc.

FIGURE 1-3: You can access content with gestures, as well as eye movement and your voice.

In all fairness, Microsoft paved the way for Apple Vision Pro with its HoloLens mixed-reality headset, which debuted in 2016. Although primarily used for business applications, HoloLens introduced many of these gesture-based controls popularized by Apple today.

You can also add a wireless Magic Keyboard and/or Magic Trackpad, if you want to treat Apple Vision Pro like an extension of your Mac experience.

If you haven't ordered Apple Vision Pro yet, be aware that you must scan your face using an iPhone or iPad with Face ID for fitting purposes. It's similar to setting up Face ID to log into your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. If you can't do this or don't want to do it, you can do a facial scan at your local Apple Store, with the help of a staff member.

LIVING IN THE APPLE UNIVERSE

A key differentiator between Apple Vision Pro and other headsets is that only Apple Vision Pro can run popular Apple apps you may already use on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This includes default apps like App Store, Books, Calendar, Camera, Contacts, FaceTime, Files, Keynote, Mail, Maps, Messages, Mindfulness, Music, News, Notes, Photos, Reminders, Safari, Stocks, Voice Memos, and more - all in mixed reality. Check out the figure - don't these apps look familiar?

Courtesy of Apple, Inc.

Plus, because most of these apps are synchronized over iCloud, when you log into, say, Photos or Notes, what you see in Apple Vision Pro is the same as what you see on your other Apple devices (and vice versa).

Apple Vision Pro is powered by Apple's visionOS, billed by Apple as the "world's first spatial operating system" (though Microsoft and the HoloLens team may have something to say about that!). visionOS now joins other Apple operating systems: iOS (for iPhone), iPadOS (for iPad), macOS (for Mac computers), watchOS (for Apple Watch), and tvOS (for Apple TV).

Finding Out What's in the Box

When you open the Apple Vision Pro box for the first time, here's what you'll find inside:

• Apple Vision Pro headset with cover
• Battery with attached power cable
• 30W USB-C power adapter
• USB-C charge cable
• Light Seal
• Two Light Seal Cushions
• Solo Knit Band
• Dual Loop Band
• Enclosure and audio straps
• Polishing cloth
• Information booklet

Before you can begin using Apple Vision Pro, you'll need to charge the battery, connect the power cable, and attach your ZEISS Optical Inserts (if you use them). Sold by Apple and developed in partnership with ZEISS, custom optical inserts are supported for users with prescription glasses; the optical inserts magnetically attach to the main lens inside the headset (see Figure 1-4).

Apple also sells other accessories for Apple Vision Pro, including the Apple Vision Pro Travel Case ($199), Light Seal ($199), and Light Seal Cushion ($29). For developers, there's also the Developer Strap for Vision Pro ($299), which includes a dongle to connect the headset to a PC or Mac via a USB-C cable, which helps with creating and transferring large apps, games, and files. At the time of this writing, the only official third-party accessory available is a battery holder made by Belkin.

Courtesy of Apple, Inc.

FIGURE 1-4: ZEISS Optical Inserts allow people who wear glasses to use Apple Vision Pro.

Covering the Apple Vision Pro Specs

After you remove the soft cushion cover from your Apple Vision Pro, you'll see it has a smooth, curved laminated glass display on the front and a...