New products are launched everyday in tech. But it’s not everyday that Apple launches a new product, and the Apple Vision Pro is special even within that category. The biggest hardware launch by Apple since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, the Apple Vision Pro is a mixed reality headset and it’s about to send the world into a new era of spatial computing. It’s a new category all together: not a smartphone, not a VR headset and in many ways, not yet meant for the mass market.
There are a lot of excellent reviews popping up on the Apple Vision Pro (some more critical than others). This is not meant to be another one of those. I’m in New York this week and looking forward to try the device tomorrow. After all, one of the big advantages that Apple has in taking a new product to consumer is it’s physical infrastructure of stores when they can craft every part of the experience and collect valuable feedback from customers back to HQ.
The Apple Vision Pro has been under development for the best part of a decade. Take a look at this patent for example that Apple filed back in 2007. In Tim Cook profile in Vanity Fair, Apple’s CEO says how he knew they will always get here, but he didn’t know how long it will take.
Rather than talk about its features, I chose to focus on its potential and the use cases that make it shine. A picture is worth 1,000 words so I’ve collected a few videos that bring these potential use cases to life. The best is yet to be invented yet, I’m sure, but even what’s already available in this first days of a new category is likely to blow your mind. Let’s dive in.
Compelling use cases for the Apple Vision Pro
According to Apple, there are 1 million apps from iPad and iOS that are compatible with the Apple Vision Pro as well as 600 new experiences that take advantage of the unique capabilities of Vision Pro. The product went on sale in the US on February 2nd 2024, and retails for $3,500. You can watch the official product demo here.
Productivity – for the Apple Vision Pro to become a mainstream device, it needs to be more than just immersive entertainment. While it’s still very early days, this demo by an early user is more compelling than the Apple ad for the device
Apple Vision Pro Digital Persona – to make meetings more personal, Apple used neural networks and sensors on the Apple Vision Pro device to create a digital avatar that mimics your facial expressions and is available to use with Facetime.
Real time translation – staying on communication,
Immersive Media – Apple Vision Pro seems like a lot of fun for consuming immersive media in your living room. It reminds me of Magic Leap’s vision – which was directionally right, but perhaps a bit ahead of its time. Beyond just a giant screen (which is also cool) the volumetric video stuff looks amazing. Look at this Formula 1 race in your living room
Spatial Gaming – games were a killer feature for the smartphone when you compared it with a BlackBerry, and it seems to be a major use case for the Apple Vision Pro. I especially like these graphics on real world surfaces or video. Reminds me of ‘Avo’ that was developed by London based Playdeo and was quietly acquired by Apple a few years ago.
Rodney Mullen’s Skatrix by Niantic looks AWESOME.
There’s also Synth Riders which looks like it wants to be the Beat Saber for the Vision Pro
Gamification of the real world – When you can collect coins while vacuuming, doing the house chores can be fun.
Immersive Education – Meta’s Quest device emphasised the use case of education in many of its marketing materials. But while VR blocks the user from the real world, AR augments the real world. A good example of this potential is Flowing Tiles, an app to learn Piano where you can still see your keyboard as well as overlays
Music – The Apple Vision Pro is equipped with Spatial Audio pods positioned next to each ear, which basically enable a 360 sound experience. In addition to consuming music in your background environment of choice, the Apple Vision Pro is great for enjoying immersive concerts with apps like AmazeVR or learning how to DJ.
Everything in 3D – the Apple Vision Pro has the potential to accelerate the adoption of 3D content. Whether it’s for shopping, education or learning how to fix your dishwasher step by step, this app by Jigspace is a great example of that.
Another example of this is playfulness with 3D objects is Blackbox, a game that rewards user curiosity and lets players interact with the world around them.
Immersive tours for real estate properties and soon, hotel rooms – Zillow created an app for the Vision Pro that enables user to visually tour homes for sale.
Space mapping – Apple’s superiority in spatial computing and the understanding of objects in a room, a strength Apple has been building for some time, makes the Apple Vision Pro reveal the potential.
Form Factor – When I had an early version of Google Glass, my favourite feature was hands free videos while cycling. But even with Glass, which was significantly smaller than the Vision Pro, the form factor was an issue. So much so, that the term ‘Glasshole’ was born. I believe the Apple Vision Pro is currently a bit too big and bulky for extended use outside the home/office, but it’s been fun to watch the videos of people using the device in the wild.
And as usual, the Simpsons predicted the future long before.
Developer adoption of the Vision Pro is likely to accelerate as the glowing reviews for this new device continue coming. The next version is likely to try to correct a lot of the issues that are being reported, and perhaps this release is the kickoff for a new wave of spatial computing to come.
Shameless plug, at Remagine Ventures we back entrepreneurs in Israel and Europe at the pre-seed stage. If you’re building a compelling new use case for the Apple Vision Pro, we’d love to speak with you.
I’m a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google’s first physical hub for startups.
I’m also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we’ve built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
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