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Do People Actually Want to Wear a Headset All the Time? (Wired commentary on Apple's Vision Pro)
First, for a bit of background, linking to yesterday's thread on this new device, which includes Apple's promo videos in the OP and first reply: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217973254 .
https://www.wired.com/story/do-people-actually-want-to-wear-vr-headsets/
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Apple’s headset, like others before it, is a mixed-reality device, meaning it allows users to interact with virtual elements while allowing some of the real world to bleed through. That real-world video pass-through is something Apple focused on during the Vision Pro’s reveal by positioning the device as something you could wear while walking around, without constantly bumping into furniture, countertops, pets, and children. But Apple’s AR vision is still packaged in a VR headset, a wraparound device that obscures your entire field of vision.
Tuong Nguyen, a director analyst at the tech analysis firm Gartner, says it leads to the “head-in-a-box” problem. Something like Google Glass or Meta’s Facebook Ray-Bans may not be as feature-rich as Apple’s Vision Pro, but at least you can see around their frames. Apple’s headset has a physical knob that lets you adjust how much of the screen is taken up by digital elements, but you’re still relying on a screen to pump the real world visuals in.
“Video pass-through is essentially your head in a box,” Nguyen says.
Also, the screens we already use every day aren’t totally reliable. You’ve probably had the experience where you want to snag a photo or video of something, so you launch your phone’s camera app, only to see the image stutter or the app crash. Now imagine that happening with your entire field of vision.
-snip-
Apple’s headset, like others before it, is a mixed-reality device, meaning it allows users to interact with virtual elements while allowing some of the real world to bleed through. That real-world video pass-through is something Apple focused on during the Vision Pro’s reveal by positioning the device as something you could wear while walking around, without constantly bumping into furniture, countertops, pets, and children. But Apple’s AR vision is still packaged in a VR headset, a wraparound device that obscures your entire field of vision.
Tuong Nguyen, a director analyst at the tech analysis firm Gartner, says it leads to the “head-in-a-box” problem. Something like Google Glass or Meta’s Facebook Ray-Bans may not be as feature-rich as Apple’s Vision Pro, but at least you can see around their frames. Apple’s headset has a physical knob that lets you adjust how much of the screen is taken up by digital elements, but you’re still relying on a screen to pump the real world visuals in.
“Video pass-through is essentially your head in a box,” Nguyen says.
Also, the screens we already use every day aren’t totally reliable. You’ve probably had the experience where you want to snag a photo or video of something, so you launch your phone’s camera app, only to see the image stutter or the app crash. Now imagine that happening with your entire field of vision.
-snip-
Apple wants people to believe that these headsets can be worn comfortably for hours, with the person wearing them still able to interact, perfectly normally, with everyone around them.
21 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
It's software. Nothing could possibly go rong!
But seriously, I have strong eyeglasses, and things outside the glasses' field of view are blurred, so I am constantly bumping into things. Having a unified field of view would be a big benefit. That said, it doesn't look like the headset has much wider field of view than the sharp field on my eyeglasses. So, I'd expect to be bumping into things for a lot more money.
Just speculating.
