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The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

arstechnica.com

61–70 of 201 posts

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#61
post #30

Productivity is correlated with display size, and VR should be the next step in productivity, because it allows your whole space to become a display and an interface. When paired with powerful hardware and innovative software it should be the next step in computing. Therefore, VR should be a replacement for large displays in productive work, not a device that everyone is wearing outside or casually watching videos wi…

I know plenty of software engineer who not even click away the GitHub information banner for weeks.

I don't think VR headsets will not take off as display alternatives.

People don't even care about highdpi.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the saga term is a strong term. At the end of the day Apple did the right call so far, not launch a crappy product. They didn't go the Google way of having to launch and then discontinue it. I'd rather have them spend years figuring it out instead of launching a product with no clear goal without any problem to solve.

How can we say "Apple did the right call" without knowing what their call was, knowing if this article is true, knowing what the product even looks like , or even knowing how successful the product was relative to the rest of their lineup? For all we know, this project is scrapped and dead.

If they launch something that’s garbage, that was the wrong call. If they don’t, it was the right call.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#63
post #30

Productivity is correlated with display size, and VR should be the next step in productivity, because it allows your whole space to become a display and an interface. When paired with powerful hardware and innovative software it should be the next step in computing. Therefore, VR should be a replacement for large displays in productive work, not a device that everyone is wearing outside or casually watching videos wi…

I'm bullish on VR but I think the "many floating monitors around a desk" is a bad use case. I mean, you can just alt-tab through windows or desktops as it is.

In my mind the real power comes from spatial hand tracking as a new UX paradigm(seeing an interacting with objects in 3d space) and possibly the addition of large displays anywhere a monitor couldn't have feasibly been, (eg, floating in the server room in a cramped space when needed).

I don't think working on code will be all that different. There isn't any physical spatial interaction with text on paper that the current editors are missing.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#64
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both Meta and Microsoft are exploring AR/VR in the workplace (Microsoft pretty much entirely). I’m not sure why you’re suggesting they’re not exploring this area.

Their software and hardware are generally crappy, and I don't believe they can deliver anything innovate in a thousand years.

Can you explain what you mean? The Quest2 is easily the best stand alone headset and the hololens has the best world sensing. How can you say it's generally crappy? I consider it industry leading unless you get some niche devices that push up the spec sheet but are generally uninteresting.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#65
post #21
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

64% of US adults wear eyeglasses. Heat exists. We're already basically at the limits of physics for making CPUs faster and heat dissipation is a huge issue even for products that you don't have pressed against your face and eyes all the time. Humans interact chiefly via sight. But it has still been "obvious for ages" that wearable displays are going to be some big inevitable hit? No it hasn't. And why on earth would…

> 64% of US adults wear eyeglasses. ??? I do too. What does this have to do with anything? The lens is irrelevant for something that projects right onto the retina (trivial to correct for). Hell, I'd love it for that reason alone, would be a huge improvement for my computer usage. > We're already basically at the limits of physics for making CPUs faster and heat dissipation is a huge issue even for products that you…

Eyeglasses are relevant because you're talking about "wearable" devices that are worn in a place where most of us are already wearing something. The fact that this isn't obvious helps explain all your other blind spots on this issue.

If you can't figure out why wearing hot things on your face is a problem, you are not even thinking at all about product design.

I meant that humans interact WITH EACH OTHER via sight. Again, the fact that this does not even seem to occur to you as an issue says a lot.

The Mac Mini has of course been updated recently; you seem to be talking about the past. The Mac Studio, you failed to even mention, as if it does not exist, for some weird reason.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#66
post #49
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just common sense. Watch -> Phone -> Tablet -> Laptop -> Desktop. You'd be least productive on a watch and most productive on a desktop, and adding extra displays would make you even more productive. Each of them has an interface that's designed to max out productivity on that particular display size. We don't yet have an interface that maxes out productivity on a VR device.

But there's also clearly an upper limit. And it's not clear what is this limit.

The upper limit would be immersed in a sphere, I suppose. I also think the maxima is a lot less than that.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#67
post #30

Productivity is correlated with display size, and VR should be the next step in productivity, because it allows your whole space to become a display and an interface. When paired with powerful hardware and innovative software it should be the next step in computing. Therefore, VR should be a replacement for large displays in productive work, not a device that everyone is wearing outside or casually watching videos wi…

Problem is most companies prefer higher headcount than more productive employees.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#68
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, no one has released a VR system with mass market appeal. I have and enjoy a Valve Index, but it’s stayed in the box for more than a year because I can’t figure out a socially viable spot for it in my new house. Maybe Ive’s influence on this product will make a big difference.

VR seems to have an insurmountable motion sickness problem. I tried the Quest with a dozen friends and half of them felt sick enough within minutes to never try it again.

May I ask, what kind of experiences did they try on the device?

It seems well-accepted hypothesis that having artificial locomotion in VR can induce motion sickness (cases where the VR body moves but your own body doesn't), whereas with "sit", "stay still" or "walk around IRL" (and even "teleport around") scenarios are highly unlikely to cause it.

There is a still a lot of experiences left in the latter scenario, though it does exclude driving games (in particular if you don't see the cockpit) or first-person shooting-and-moving-around games.

And then the worst thing to do with newcomers is to put them down for a ride in a VR rollercoaster.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#69
post #63
post #30

Productivity is correlated with display size, and VR should be the next step in productivity, because it allows your whole space to become a display and an interface. When paired with powerful hardware and innovative software it should be the next step in computing. Therefore, VR should be a replacement for large displays in productive work, not a device that everyone is wearing outside or casually watching videos wi…

I'm bullish on VR but I think the "many floating monitors around a desk" is a bad use case. I mean, you can just alt-tab through windows or desktops as it is. In my mind the real power comes from spatial hand tracking as a new UX paradigm(seeing an interacting with objects in 3d space) and possibly the addition of large displays anywhere a monitor couldn't have feasibly been, (eg, floating in the server room in a cra…

Thought experiment: imagine fixing your car engine by tabbing around a little viewport.

Re: The saga of Apple’s troubled mixed reality headset

#70
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm bullish on VR but I think the "many floating monitors around a desk" is a bad use case. I mean, you can just alt-tab through windows or desktops as it is. In my mind the real power comes from spatial hand tracking as a new UX paradigm(seeing an interacting with objects in 3d space) and possibly the addition of large displays anywhere a monitor couldn't have feasibly been, (eg, floating in the server room in a cra…

Thought experiment: imagine fixing your car engine by tabbing around a little viewport.

Being able to zoom in and out and pan around using a medium-sized viewport though.
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