First Hands-On Demos with Apple Vision Pro [VIDEOS]

Apple’s most highly-anticipated Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset debuted yesterday and we already have the first hands-on demos of the $3,499 USD (about $4,700 CAD) super gadget.

For those who missed the unveiling at Apple’s WWDC keynote, the Apple Vision Pro is a first-generation augmented reality/virtual reality headset.

It is a standalone computer with an M2 chip inside, its own WiFi connection, a 4K micro OLED display for each eye, a set of speakers right above each ear on the band, and a dedicated new R1 chip.

The headset is controlled entirely with your hands, eyes, and voice. It has numerous sensors, including two main forward-facing cameras, two downward-facing cameras, two side-facing cameras, two infrared illuminators, a LiDAR scanner, and a true depth camera.

These sensors track your surroundings and your hand movements. Inside the headset, there are infrared illuminators and cameras to track your eye movements.

Here are some of early impressions of Apple Vision Pro from YouTuber Marques Brownlee:

• Eye Tracking: The eye tracking in this headset is highly accurate. It can immediately highlight and select exactly what you’re looking at, no matter how small the target is. To select something, you simply touch your fingers together.
• Hand Tracking: The headset does an impressive job of tracking hand movements, thanks to the array of sensors on the outside of the headset. You can control the UI by simply looking at something and clicking your fingers.
• Voice Control and Optic ID: You can also control the headset by speaking to it. There’s a feature called Optic ID, which uses the unique biometric pattern of your eyes for identification.
• Pass-Through Mode: The pass-through mode on the Apple Vision Pro is the best the reviewer has seen in a headset. It’s stereo, color, sharp, and real-time.
• Computing: The headset runs on a new operating system called Vision OS, which is similar to iPad OS. You can use the headset as its own computer with web browsing, etc., with 4K windows in front of you that you can move around and manipulate with your hands.
• Content: The headset can be used to watch content. Apple is working with content creators and big motion picture studios to create content specifically for the headset.
• Connections: The headset supports messaging and FaceTime. During a FaceTime call, the other person sees a 3D rendered model of you that syncs up and matches the movements of your face with eye tracking and other sensors of the headset.
• Battery Life: The battery life of the headset is two hours.

Based on early reviews, the Apple Vision Pro offers impressive eye tracking and hand tracking.

However, they note that it is heavy and lacks haptic feedback. Some also mentioned that the two-hour battery life might be a limitation for some users.

Check out the Apple Vision Pro early hands-on demo videos below and let us know what you think.