The real value of Apple's AR headset that has been holding back for 7 years is 25,000? That's what the first people who tried it on said.

Spend $3,500 (about 25,000 yuan) to buy an AR headset, just ask if you want to? That's the tough question Apple put out for everyone at WWDC on June 5th.

Ultra-high-resolution screen, almost no sense of delay, minimalist interaction logic, EyeSight black technology that connects virtual and reality... All the features of Apple Vision Pro seem to be challenging the ceiling of mixed reality devices.

This is a product they have been preparing for 7 years, and its goal is naturally to redefine the way humans and machines interact. "The Mac brought personal computing, the iPhone brought mobile computing, and the Apple Vision Pro brought us spatial computing," said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

So the question is, is the Vision Pro's real machine really as good as it was shown in the conference recording? In response, some WWDC attendees revealed their experiences.

**23-megapixel display: Is the moment for the "retina screen" of the head-mounted display coming? **

Among the various sounds that criticize mixed reality headsets, "graininess" and "vertigo" are unavoidable problems. One of the keys to solving these problems is to improve the screen quality. In this regard, Apple can be said to have achieved the ultimate.

The Vision Pro uses a micro OLED screen that packs 23 million pixels into two postage stamp-sized displays, giving each eye more pixels than a 4K TV. Apple did not further introduce the specific parameters of Micro OLED at the press conference, but it shows that people in the industry have calculated the parameters of the Vision Pro’s inner screen based on the information provided by Apple: the Vision Pro’s inner screen has two Micro OLEDs, each with a micro-display of 1.42 inches. The resolution is 3600×3200, and the pixel density is about 3386 PPI (the number of pixels per inch).

This PPI value is quite subversive. You must know that the PPI of Sony PSVR2 is only 800, but many people have expressed that it is very clear and not dizzy.

The Verge reporter Alex Heath, who tried the Vision Pro, lamented that it reminded him of the moment when he tried the iPhone 4 in early 2010.

The iPhone 4 is equipped with a technology called "Retina Display". At that time, Jobs explained it like this: "When the thing you are holding is 10-12 inches (about 25-30 centimeters) away from you, its resolution only needs to reach the magic number of 300ppi (300 pixels per inch). Your retina wouldn't be able to distinguish pixels."

Similarly, people who tried the Vision Pro also said that they could not see individual pixels on the Vision Pro screen. Therefore, Alex Heath believes that the Vision Pro's screen brings mixed reality headsets to the "retina screen" moment. And once you get used to this screen, it will be uncomfortable to look back at other screens, just like Jobs said, "I can't go back."

These two ultra-clear displays also played a big role in connecting virtuality and reality. CNBC reporter Steve Kovach wrote that while Meta's top-of-the-line Quest Pro will also provide images of the outside world, those images are blurry and pixelated, while Apple's Vision Pro is completely different, it will make you feel like you are see-through. Looking at the outside world through the glass, not the screen.

However, Ars Technica Senior Editor Samuel Axon pointed out some brightness issues. He personally feels that although the Vision Pro's display is much brighter than the Meta Quest's, it is still 30% to 40% lower than the real environment.

** "Perverted" Eye Tracking**

"After wearing Vision Pro, the most impressive thing is its "eye tracking"," commented Marques Brownlee, a well-known overseas technology blogger.

"This eye-tracking is 'sick', it looks at your eyes and tracks your eyes as they move around. When you move your eyes near a UI icon, the icon is instantly highlighted."

"If you want to select an icon, you just need to make a pinch of your fingers, which is equivalent to a 'click', and it feels like telepathy," Brownlee described.

The scrolling operation corresponds to pinching and moving your fingers up and down or left and right. "It feels like pulling a string to open the blinds," recalls Samuel Axon. He also mentioned that the Vision Pro's eye tracking reminded him of a similar feature used in the PlayStation VR2, but felt the Vision Pro was more accurate.

The interaction method chosen by Apple abandons controllers in the form of handles and the like, so more effort must be made in tracking and calibration.

Judging from the on-site introduction, this precise eye and hand tracking is inseparable from the multiple cameras and sensors installed inside the headset. Among them, the internal camera tracks your eyes and recognizes what you are looking at; the external camera is responsible for tracking your hand movements. These cameras point in all directions, so you can give commands without even lifting your hands.

In addition, when you first wear Vision Pro, the machine will perform a calibration action, just like entering Face ID, let your eyes look at different bright spots, and the calibration can be completed after watching it around.

However, Brownlee also revealed that he sometimes inadvertently does things like pinch his fingers, which can mislead the Vision Pro's sensors. Therefore, using this new way of interacting requires a process of adaptation.

Dinosaurs Walking Through Walls

In the recording of WWDC, there is an impressive scene: in a virtual room, a dinosaur appeared on the wall display, when you thought it was a two-dimensional picture, it unexpectedly walked away came out, into the room you were in, and roared. Probably no one feels intimidated when watching a recording. But many people who have experienced this application have reported that the actual immersion is far beyond imagination.

Samuel Axon wrote, "I was sitting quietly in a square room, however, at some point, a part of the wall slowly became a door, leading to a 3D rendered rocky environment with a blue sky. This image Perfectly mirrored on the wall, I felt the depth of the space, as if the doorway led to a completely different world. Three-dimensional and lifelike dinosaurs wandered on the other side of this door.

However, what happened next surprised me beyond words. A dinosaur approached slowly, passed effortlessly through the doorway, and entered the room. I can walk up to it and observe it as if it were right next to me. Its head turned and stared at me as I walked around the room.

The dinosaur casts a shadow in the room, which is naturally lit by nearby lights. This way of putting dinosaurs in real space is more convincing than any VR dinosaur video or game I have seen before. "

According to Samuel Axon, the experience confirmed one thing: If someone can get AR right, it will be more impactful than VR.

As the first batch of Vision Pro experiencers, the famous film director Lu Chuan said after watching a clip of the movie "Avatar": "Vision Pro brings the ultimate restoration of color and depth of field, the presence of sound when watching, the three-dimensional sense of interaction and immersion. Feeling, the logic of going to the cinema to watch 3D movies has collapsed.”

Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, the way 3D movies are viewed will change.

Miscellaneous Virtual Modeling

"This is the weirdest call I've ever had," Samuel Axon wrote of his FaceTime experience in Vision Pro.

In the application description of Vision Pro, calling is an important function. However, unlike ordinary mobile phone video calls, people wearing Vision Pro cannot point the camera at their entire face, so true face-to-face video calls cannot be made between wearers, which greatly reduces the experience.

In order to make up for this shortcoming, Apple came up with an idea: first scan the wearer's face, perform 3D modeling, and then display the built 3D models for each other during the call. Moreover, this model will reflect the wearer's expression, eyes and other information in real time, creating a call experience as close to face-to-face as possible.

However, both Samuel Axon and Marques Brownlee mentioned the term "Uncanny Valley" when referring to the experience.

They said that this modeling is indeed very realistic, both in geometry and color are very close to their own, but the texture of the skin and hair looks a bit strange. Compared with using cartoon images, this kind of model does look more real, but its awkward attribute between virtual and reality does make people feel uncomfortable.

Equally unaccustomed is the EyeSight reverse perspective feature: an outward-facing screen showing the modeled results of the wearer's eyes. "Imagine, you're wearing this headset on a plane, and the flight attendant comes and pats you and says 'do you need water?' You look up and your eyes show through the headset, it's weird" Marques Brownlee Evaluation said.

Some small regrets

Overall, those who tried the Vision Pro gave it high marks, with the majority calling it "the best mixed reality device I've tried so far." However, they also pointed out some areas for improvement.

First of all, in terms of weight, due to the main materials such as glass and metal, Vision Pro feels heavy (heavier than most plastic headsets), which will affect the comfort and duration of wearing. Perhaps for this reason, Apple chose to use a cable to connect the battery externally. Samuel Axon described the external battery as having the shape and weight of a chunky iPhone that slips easily into a pocket. The wire that connects the battery to the headset never gets in his way, but it does have a constant presence.

Secondly, from the perspective of interaction, due to the lack of tactile feedback, the experience of some scenes may lack immersion. For example, Marques Brownlee mentioned that when a butterfly landed on his hand, he could observe the butterfly in all directions and even feel its volume, but he had no sense of touch. At this moment, he realized that this was just a virtual image created by a VR headset, and the sense of immersion was suddenly broken.

Finally, most people will mention that the two-hour battery life is indeed too short, and many movies exceed this time. Apple may have a solution when it officially unveils the headset.

As for the high price of $3,500, Samuel Axon interpreted it as "a toy for the rich, a muse for developers." In other words, in order to attract a wave of early users and developers who are willing to make full use of the product and develop potential killer applications for it, Apple is unwilling to compromise on the display and other configurations. These early users and developers will determine the future direction of Vision Pro and help Apple launch a more universal and people-friendly version.

Zuckerberg: Disregard

While all eyes are on Apple's Vision Pro, Meta, who rebranded the Metaverse, doesn't seem to have any qualms about Apple launching the Vision Pro.

According to The Verge, during a recent Meta all-hands meeting, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: “Apple’s Vision Pro doesn’t make any major breakthroughs in Meta’s ‘unexplored’ technologies, and It’s also not what people really want a headset to look like.”

Additionally, Meta's upcoming Quest 3 headset will be significantly cheaper than Apple's Vision Pro, expected to cost as little as $499, which could give Meta a wider audience than Apple.

Meta has long positioned itself as a leader in virtual and augmented reality, spending billions of dollars each year. Although Zuckerberg has high expectations for Quest 3, Quest 3 is not expected to ship until the third quarter of this year.

Whether it is Vision Pro or Quest 3, we all expect a new revolution in human-computer interaction, but we will wait and see who will be the winner.

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