Apple doesn’t call Vision Pro a mixed reality headset, or a virtual reality headset for that matter. To Apple, it’s all spatial computing, which is fine—if not a little too vague. Since it doesn’t support dedicated controllers like all VR headsets out there though, it’s leaving many developers essentially stuck and unable to port many of the most popular immersive games to Vision Pro.
Meta today announced its fourth quarter earnings for 2023, revealing how Reality Labs has fared during the holiday season. It’s been a banner quarter for Meta’s XR division, with Reality Labs posting record revenue numbers, but also record costs.
Over the last three weeks I’ve had the chance to spend significant time in Apple Vision Pro. While my full review is still marinating, I want to share some early thoughts I’ve had while using the headset and what it means overall for the XR industry.
One of the big features being touted by Apple is Vision Pro’s ability to play back spatial video captured on iPhone 15. The data miners were right, and Meta has confirmed it with the release of its v62 software: Quest now natively supports the MV-HVEC video codec, stealing just a bit of Apple’s thunder.
There’s going to be a ton of apps available on Vision Pro day one, with more than one million iOS apps working in compatibility mode on Apple’s first mixed reality headset. The company is positioning the $3,500 headset as a general computing device for work and casual media consumption, and while last week we only counted around 200 native apps coming to the headset, Apple says there’s actually set to be triple that at launch.
Unity has officially launched 1.0 support for visionOS, making its now Vision Pro-compatible game engine available to all Unity Pro, Enterprise, and Industry subscribers.
Shiftall, the Japan-based VR hardware creator, is no longer owned by Panasonic, as the company has been effectively sold off to the Tokyo-based company CREEK & RIVER.
PlayStation’s State of Play game showcase is returning today, January 31st, bringing with it “15+ games” coming to PS5 this year. We’re not certain how many will be PSVR 2 games, however the company promises we’re definitely getting a peek at some.
Apple was recently granted a patent for ‘EyeSight’, the external display on Vision Pro which shows the wearer’s eyes. The patent was filed way back in 2017 and envisioned the feature being used to show stylized eyes like those of anime and furry characters.
The first reviews for Vision Pro are live, highlighting a ton of great, good and not-so-great things about Apple’s first mixed reality headset.
Xreal, the China-based AR headset creator, announced it’s secured $60 million in its latest funding round which it hopes to use for product development and an expansion of production facilities.
Within 24 hours of Vision Pro pre-orders starting earlier this month, home delivery dates were pushed back from launch day into March. But curiously, orders for in-store pickups are still available within a week of launch day at many stores.
A number of scalped Apple Vision Pro pre-orders have sold on eBay for upwards of $6,000.
