Alongside Game Mode for macOS Sonoma, Apple announced the Apple Vision Pro headset during WWDC 2023 yesterday. The Vision Pro will be Apple’s first spatial computer and headset-based piece of hardware. The headset will blend virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) into a unique three-dimensional interface with no additional hardware, save for Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad support.
The Vision Pro’s Spatial Audio and three-dimensional interface allows users to engage in unique entertaining experiences. The Vision Pro can transform one’s physical space into a personal movie theater or transport users to new places altogether through Apple Immersive Video. The Vision Pro also taps into VR/AR gaming by allowing users to play over a hundred Apple Arcade games within the headset; this gaming experience includes immersive audio and controller support.
However, gaming isn’t one of the Apple Vision Pro’s key features. Decrypt writer Andrew Wayward commented how the Vision Pro didn’t offer immersive gaming on the same level as Meta Quest or other VR/AR gaming platforms, nor did it highlight gaming during the presentation.
“Apple didn’t show any fully immersive VR games like you’ll find on the Meta Quest 2 or PC-based VR headsets,” Hayward said. “Perhaps more surprisingly, it didn’t showcase any original augmented reality games that merge the real and digital worlds for new kinds of experiences.”
Despite the Vision Pro’s gaming deficiency, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed optimism about the headset’s potential:
Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing. Just as the Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro introduces us to spatial computing. Built upon decades of Apple innovation, Vision Pro is years ahead and unlike anything created before — with a revolutionary new input system and thousands of groundbreaking innovations. It unlocks incredible experiences for our users and exciting new opportunities for our developers.
The Apple Vision Pro will launch in early 2024 on Apple’s website and all Apple locations in the U.S. and worldwide.