Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
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Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
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Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#2> Pancake (MQP) versus Asperical Refractive Optics (AVP)
Guttag's section about the lenses not being pancake and being refractive only I think is wrong, Apple says: "combined with custom catadioptric lenses," which implies reflection is is used like with pancake.
(source: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/introducing-apple-vis... )
> It should be noted that the AVP displays about 3.3 times the pixels, has more and higher resolution cameras, and supports much higher resolution passthrough. Thus the AVP is moving massively more data which also consumes power.
An earlier Sony presentation on their 4K microdisplays from last year I believe showed they had some form of foveated scan out on the microdisplay itself, letting the display controller move less data.
(source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVUSUdzsNgY )
>Apple discussed (linked in WWDC 2023 video) how they implemented features in watchOS to encourage people to go outside and stop looking at screens, as it may be a cause of myopia. I’m not the only one to catch this seeming contradiction in messaging.
Isn't this less of an issue with displays at a farther distance (whether physically or optically)?
> I was doubtful based on what was rumored that Apple would address VAC. Like many others, Apple appears to have ignored the well-known and well-documented human mechanical and visual problem with VR/MR.
There is less vergence accommodation conflict as you age. You slowly lose elasticity of your natural lens as you age and need reading glasses to see up close and the effect isn't as big: you're at a wrong farther focus when your eyes are converging anyway. It might actually be an improvement in vision for people over 45-50.
Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#3I appreciate Karl as the technical Bulldog for AR, doing really good technical analysis for the field.
Even as someone steeped in this space, the fact of the 3-element AVP was news to me. That is a pretty big difference from other designs and tells me they are reaching for anything they can to squeeze optimizations out.
AR is really really hard.
Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#4> Pancake (MQP) versus Asperical Refractive Optics (AVP) Guttag's section about the lenses not being pancake and being refractive only I think is wrong, Apple says: "combined with custom catadioptric lenses," which implies reflection is is used like with pancake. (source: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/introducing-apple-vis... ) > It should be noted that the AVP displays about 3.3 times the pixels, has more a…
Catadioptric does mean exactly that - a combination of mirrors and lenses. In photography, catadioptric lenses are used to make very compact for the focal length telephoto lenses - for example, a 500 mm catadioptric lens with two mirrors and several elements weights nearly an order of magnitude less than a 500mm refractive only design.
I thought it was very interesting and unique, I have no idea what the optical design could look like. Maybe something like the perkins-elmer solid cat design, shrunk down for a long focal length but compact pancake lens.
Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#5Excellent article, I look forward to the updates.
As a Meta Quest 2 owner, and Android user, I'm a bit of an Apple-skeptic when it comes to their pricing on some products; but I have to acknowledge that while the Vision Pro seems mad-expensive on first reveal, it doesn't seem to be poor value going by the previews and specs, which seems to match the article's conclusions.
That is where the Quest Pro seems to have failed - at least at its initial pricing it was very difficult to see the added value matching the price premium.
Apple - at several times the price of the Quest Pro here - has me rooting for it as a considerably more serious product at a relatively-justified serious price in what is an uncertain undertaking.
Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#6> Pancake (MQP) versus Asperical Refractive Optics (AVP) Guttag's section about the lenses not being pancake and being refractive only I think is wrong, Apple says: "combined with custom catadioptric lenses," which implies reflection is is used like with pancake. (source: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/introducing-apple-vis... ) > It should be noted that the AVP displays about 3.3 times the pixels, has more a…
Good catch on the "combined with custom catadioptric lenses." Which by definition means a combination of mirrors and refractive optics. But I still don't think they are pancake lenses, but something more akin to what Limbak, which was recently bought by Apple was famous for designing catadioptric optics. Before being bought by Apple, Limbak was best known for their catadioptric design used by Lynx.
Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#7Anyone else worried that Vision Pro will simply be a large iPad and not macOS like, ie closed app store and not geared towards productivity? The fact that to run VSCode you need to mirror your own Mac simply boggles the mind, it's like Apple wants to cut off the potential of the device at the knees simply to continue selling services.
Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#8Anyone else worried that Vision Pro will simply be a large iPad and not macOS like, ie closed app store and not geared towards productivity? The fact that to run VSCode you need to mirror your own Mac simply boggles the mind, it's like Apple wants to cut off the potential of the device at the knees simply to continue selling services.
Why worry ? It's already guaranteed to be the case. Apps will not have direct access to the cameras, meaning that the Vision Pro is destined to keep being a toy fully steered by Apple. You also cannot access any depth information, or anything that would make it useful as a general 3D computing device. You can't access eye tracking, so say good bye to foveated rendering. And since you can't have foveated rendering, well you're now rendering 2x 4k images on a relatively underpowered device.
Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#9I’ve just learned the Vergence-accommodation conflict [1]. VR/AR, from now on is a no-go for me. It never came to my mind that those headsets had such a problem. We’re talking about an accommodation distance of what, three centimeters? I’m already on my way to reverse my myopia, sorry, I can’t take an even more unhealthy visual environment [3]. Half of the world is already on its way to be myopic by 2050 according to research [2], and keep in mind this is only the effect of smartphones. You don’t exactly hold them centimeters away from your eyes. I’ll stick with my plans of buying a projector if I ever want giant screens.
1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vergence-accommodation_confl...
2: https://www.aaojournal.org/article/s0161-6420(16)00025-7/ful...
Re: Karl Guttag on Apple Vision Pro (Part 1)
#10> In many ways, the AVP can be seen as the “Meta Quest Pro done much better.” If you are doing more of a “flagship/Pro product,” it better be a flagship.
Ok. I'm fine with being told "you aren't the target audience" but... name 5 things I would do with it if I bought one.
Why would I put it on my face/what would I gain from it?
Gaming? Productivity? What can it do that a screen + monitor + mouse + keyboard / iPad / iPhone can not?