 "Apple’s Vision Pro")
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2023
Every successful Apple product of the past two decades has disappeared into our lives in some way, says an article by Lauren Goode on wired.com — the iPhone into our pockets, the iPad into our purses, the Apple Watch living on our wrists, and the AirPods resting in our ears.
But the Vision Pro, Apple’s newest product, doesn’t disappear. In fact, it does the opposite, says Goode. “It rests on your face and shields your eyes, sensory organs that are a crucial part of the lived human experience. The same is true of every other heads-up display in the world.”
Will this non-disappearance come in Apple’s way, or can the storied tech company revolutionise an industry once again?
Story of the week: The Apple of how many eyes?
On June 5, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, announced the tech giant’s entry into spatial computing with the Vision Pro, which will go on sale in 2024.
Spatial computing is a hybrid method to merge the real world with the virtual through augmented reality. Apple Vision Pro can be controlled using one’s hands, eyes, and voice. It turns the surroundings into a canvas to use apps anywhere and in any size.
Anand Mahindra (readers of the Bites would know him) wondered on Twitter if this signalled the death of large TV displays, which would affect not just the companies making television sets but also social behaviours, such as community watching of sports. Replying to another Twitter user, Mahindra said it could possibly affect cinema theatres as well.
Does this signal the death of large screen TV displays? Wonder what the boardrooms at Samsung & Sony plotting in response… And what about community-watching of movies & sports matches? Will that now be replaced by a roomful of zombies wearing headsets? https://t.co/qQa8vwuy6Q
