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Apple Vision Pro review

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Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I don't think "mirroring" is quite the right term. It's effectively a 4K monitor for the laptop, with the laptop screen going black. Most (all?) Mac laptops don't have a 4K screen, so you have more screen real estate than "mirroring" would make you think. But this is sufficient for many use cases (or at least, mine). I pre-ordered one with the idea that my main work will be on the 4K monitor, with most of my su…

> 4K monitor It's more like 1080p monitor. The virtual monitor only covers a small part of the VisionPro's display. You can compensate a bit for a lack of resolution by making the virtual screen bigger or by leaning in, but none of that gives you a 4k display. To really take proper advantage of the VR environment you really need the ability to pull out apps into their own windows, as than you can move lesser used app…

It is a 1440p display.

Which is the resolution that the majority of PC users are likely using.

Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Learning instruments in a guitar-hero way (Piano, guitar, drums) What would VR add here? For guitar-hero style instrument learning, there are already Yousician, Simply Piano / Guitar, Gibson and Fender apps, and quite a few others.

For piano it lines up the keys with the notes on your physical keyboard, so you don't need to look at a separate representation of a keyboard, you can literally see the notes fall onto your piano at the right times. Same thing with the other instruments.

The problem is that once you get past the very initial stage, you want to read ahead of what you play at the moment. At that moment Synthesia-style falling blocks notation becomes difficult to read because the blocks don't have any position reference besides the keys and no time values. Even the scrolling sheet music or tab is distracting compared stationary black and white. With guitar there's the additional problem that you can't see both hands at the same time, and usually you won't be looking at your hands at all. And if you ever want to play without help from the app, you need to learn to find the notes anyway.

This is by the way a great explanation of all the attempts to make music easier to read and how they fail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq3bUFgEcb4

Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#273

One of the aspects of the device that has been under-realized is that when mirroring your desktop/laptop display to the AVP, you can't break out its applications into different areas. You can't pull them away from the desktop window. This is one of those things that Apple never claimed was supported, and yet there's something about that behavior that feels like such a natural intuitive implication to the technology t…

Yeah, I don't think "mirroring" is quite the right term. It's effectively a 4K monitor for the laptop, with the laptop screen going black. Most (all?) Mac laptops don't have a 4K screen, so you have more screen real estate than "mirroring" would make you think. But this is sufficient for many use cases (or at least, mine). I pre-ordered one with the idea that my main work will be on the 4K monitor, with most of my su…

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Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really isn't 'miles' ahead of the competition. If anything it is way behind. For example, look at Varjo: https://varjo.com/products/xr-4/

is that page supposed to scroll or have clickable links or basically anything?

Yes? Not seeing any issues on Safari, Chrome or Firefox on MacOS. Maybe you have some extension that's acting up?

Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#275
It's definitely a bit niche, given the price of the Vision Pro, but I really think Apple needs to invest in first-party "gaming" simulators along with allowing the corresponding hardware support to easily connect to it (likely via a Mac or dock).

From my experience with VR, the only thing I've been absolutely and definitively blown away by was sim racing. Before getting a PSVR2 I had played roughly 70 hours of Gran Turismo 7, now I'm at over 500 hours in the five months I've had a PSVR2. I want to buy a PC-compatible headset to get access to better pedals, wheels, and simulators (games) than I can get on the PS5. It's quite easy to sink many thousands of dollars into the experience. I believe the margin requirements are there for Apple (eventually) when considering the potential for professional training solutions.

But! Without taking ownership of something, creating some IP (intellectual property) to provide a killer app, and inspire other segments, they're going to be hard pressed to make inroads and get this to scale.

Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#276
Lots of surprises on the downside from all the reviews. Pass through much more limited in quality with motion blur, pixelation, distortions, limited color and dynamic range. The eye tracking driven input method which was seen as holy grail turns out to be annoying after a while because people don't naturally always look at what they want to click on. Personas straight up aren't ready. The lack of AR features is the biggest surprise. They tried hard to avoid it being a VR device but all the actual high quality experiences, especially the ones people are impressed by are the VR ones.

For me the biggest issue though is that it can't fulfil it's primary use cases:

Want it for productivity? it can't run MacOS applications and if you want to use your actual Mac it can't do multiple monitors.

Want it for entertainment? people want to enjoy photos, videos, movies with other people and it can't include them. Even if they have a Vision Pro, I haven't yet seen any sign of ability for multiple people to do these things together.

All up, it all seems far more immature and dev-kit stage than I was expecting.

Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#277
post #137
post #117

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This review from TheVerge answers some of your questions: https://www.theverge.com/24054862/apple-vision-pro-review-vr... I recommend the video review as well. Seeing the video call between Nilay, Joanna, and MKB shows how much the tech has advanced but also how much it still needs to evolve to be at the level of FaceTime Video.

I’m excited about the Vision Pro but I now see why some reviewers called the FaceTime “Personas” creepy. They’re like talking paintings in the Haunted Mansion ride with bunch of blur and depth of field. It’s way too weird. Joanna’s looks a bit like she’s been stuck as the replacement person in the Mona Lisa. A static picture of you or maybe your Memoji (remember those?) would be far preferable. I’m surprised Apple is…

I'd rather have just a VRChat avatar. Hook up the eye tracking and the mouth visemes and it'll probably be more likable than the Personas are.

Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#278
post #217

I think we are now at a stage where VR hardware has surpassed software. Between this and the Quest 3, we have powerful, polished and consumer friendly devices, but beyond a few niches (fitness, simulation, gaming to some extent), there is nothing to convince users to put the headsets on. I am hoping we will see a lot of experimentation in the coming years, and I am excited for what the Apple ecosystem will bring to t…

> there is nothing to convince users to put the headsets on. So the hardware is not good enough yet. It will be good enough when I basically don‘t care, just like I don‘t care with glasses.

Anything goggle-like is a non-starter for me. I'm not even interested in trying it. I don't even like glasses, and I need corrective lenses to be able to see clearly (I wear contacts almost exclusively).

Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a bunch of VR games/apps that are notable for fitness. Beat Saber is the most well known one that's explicitly a game, Supernatural is maybe the most famous one that's framed as more of a fitness app/service. But other notable ones include Synth Riders, FitXR, OhShape, Pistol Whip, Thrill of the Fight, and (maybe) Gorilla Tag. And this list is far from exhaustive. VR is pretty good for fitness just because it…

I’d be too worried about sweat damage to use it for serious exercise.

Meta (and many third-party manufacturers) offer a wipe-clean silicone facial interface designed for fitness-oriented users. The hardware isn't waterproof, but it's quite well protected and I'd be perfectly confident to work up a sweat. Quest has calorie tracking, can sync with the fitness tracking features on iOS and Android and can pair with heart rate monitors. Fitness is one of the key segments in VR, because fitness apps and fitness-oriented users have vastly above-average engagement and retention rates.

https://www.meta.com/us/quest/accessories/quest-3-silicone-f...

https://www.meta.com/en-us/help/quest/articles/in-vr-experie...

Re: Apple Vision Pro review

#280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can already do this with the desktop composition software they use today. All the windows are virtualized onto backing layers that you can draw anywhere and add effects to. It’s how window shadows work, and how certain window effects are done. They just haven’t done it.

> They just haven’t done it. Literally nobody has done it. It's beyond ridiculous that you can't already show or duplicate an application window on any display you want and allow it to be controlled from anywhere it is visible. Searching for ways to do this lead one into extremely niche software ecosystems. Please is there any collaboration app out there that makes it seamless to toss windows around like everyone act…

I feel like multiple people did it back in the original X11 days, and almost certainly when compiz was the new hotness
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