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New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

arstechnica.com

391–400 of 465 posts

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#391
post #95

Bear in mind that the iPad was rumored to cost >$1000 but then launched at $499. On the other hand it might sense to launch this as a pro-workstation for the usual kinds of task: architects, designers and engineers being able to visualize and interact with models directly in space. If they can make that affordable and usable for pro designers at every level, (which $3500 clearly would be), they will have a hit. A con…

Apple haven't quite convinced me they're serious about being in the pro design segment. They seemed to just quietly forget about graphics and video professionals, focusing on iOS and the consumer side instead. Sure, there's a fresh mac pro lineup now, but is it going to be another 6 years until the next gen?

The switch to "Apple Silicon" is about cost savings so they can further ignore the Mac, because the future of the company is in services revenue.

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#392
post #95

Bear in mind that the iPad was rumored to cost >$1000 but then launched at $499. On the other hand it might sense to launch this as a pro-workstation for the usual kinds of task: architects, designers and engineers being able to visualize and interact with models directly in space. If they can make that affordable and usable for pro designers at every level, (which $3500 clearly would be), they will have a hit. A con…

> they will have a hit. This right here is Appleism. And why wouldn't Occulus, HTC, Magic leap or big boy Microsoft have a hit?

[deleted]

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#393
A lot of comments here are talking about sharing a virtual office or working with VR. No one seems to note that if you cover your face with VR headset no one can see your facial expressions. The article says "more than a dozen cameras".

What if this is actually a helmet? Apple called the FaceID dot matrix projector and capturing a camera before IIRC. It would be possible to capture facial expressions, and even depict the user reasonably accurately in the virtual space. I know trying to represent human facial expressions in 3D is likely a doomed attempt. But it is nice to imagine that Apple might be thinking a bit ahead.

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It obviates the need for a ridiculous number of business trips.

I disagree. Business trips won't ever be a thing of the past. Most people enjoy traveling and see it as a perk rather than hassle.

Not those who travel 3x per week for one hour meetings

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#395
post #95

Bear in mind that the iPad was rumored to cost >$1000 but then launched at $499. On the other hand it might sense to launch this as a pro-workstation for the usual kinds of task: architects, designers and engineers being able to visualize and interact with models directly in space. If they can make that affordable and usable for pro designers at every level, (which $3500 clearly would be), they will have a hit. A con…

> they will have a hit. This right here is Appleism. And why wouldn't Occulus, HTC, Magic leap or big boy Microsoft have a hit?

Why is the AirPod product line a near-Fortune 500 company sized hit on its own? Why did no other company do this?

Why is the Apple Watch dominating it's segment?

Why have Android tablet sales fallen flat compared to Apple's?

Why did the iPhone destroy the prospects of Windows Phone and Blackberry and force Android to completely revamp it's UI prior to release?

Why is the long in the tooth Macintosh line having a sales renaissance?

Apple TV is about the only recent vertical I can think of where Apple hasn't outpaced its competitors in recent years, and even there it's UI is appreciably better than the competition, pricing and incredibly stupid remote being its downfall.

I think you can answer your own question by answering mine.

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#396
post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is inaccurate. Unlike IRL in which objects can appear at varying focal distances, requiring the eye muscles to constantly adjust the focal distance of the eye, the two images in a VR headset (one for each eye) remain at a constant focal distance as determined by the lenses. The 3D illusion in VR comes from stereoscopy. The objects that appear in VR are actually all at the same focal distance.

So why do you need glasses in VR? Just trying to understand.

Because there are lenses in the headset that focus the two images at a set focal distant (between a couple of meters and infinity focus, depending on the headset).

You need glasses for the same reason one would need glasses to see a flat image several meters aways, or to see the stars as the case may be.

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#397
The most interesting thing about this is what it says about the work Apple has been putting into graphics hardware. Dual 8k displays that I assume are being driven by Apple graphics hardware. Lots of R&D for future M1s or discrete cards for Mac Pros.

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why the downvotes? This is a valid opinion. As a former american football player I find that watching the game is not as exciting as playing it. From the outside, and if you don't know about all the micromanagement and stuff going on, american football looks rather "static". Other sports are much more "obviously dynamic" and are therefore probably better suited to be watched through TV or VR.

I had to do a search for that [0] and surprisingly (for me, not watching the sport except snippets in movies) it's actually real. The downvotes may come from people who took that as an unrealistic exaggeration. [0] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/there-were-just-1206-minut...

I’ve also never watched American football, so forgive me. This sounds incredibly dull. Can someone ELI5? What is going on for the rest of the game? Why do people watch?

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#399
post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sports are a special case as, arguably, they're mostly boring and their main value is the social context - cheering for players/teams, spectating together with family and friends. In contrast, the market for serious movies or single-player videogames suggest that there is a lot of demand for "lone time" experiences. I think a big factor in lackluster adoption of VR is... space. VR games require space, which is expens…

>> Sports are a special case as, arguably, they're mostly boring This only applies to american football, where you have on average 12 minutes of actual gameplay over 3.5 hour match. Soccer or basketball are much more dynamic, and therefore can be entertaining on their own, no social context required.

Also cricket and baseball quite frankly.

Re: New report on Apple’s VR headset: 8K in each eye, potential $3k price tag

#400
post #393

A lot of comments here are talking about sharing a virtual office or working with VR. No one seems to note that if you cover your face with VR headset no one can see your facial expressions. The article says "more than a dozen cameras". What if this is actually a helmet? Apple called the FaceID dot matrix projector and capturing a camera before IIRC. It would be possible to capture facial expressions, and even depict…

Oculus has already put in a ton of research effort into replicating facial expressions in VR. You don't need a full helmet for that, but you _do_ need at least a few cameras pointed towards your face: https://uploadvr.com/frl-multiview-face-tracking/

There's a full lecture on the subject here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpdX9jkhv2U

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