The Apple Vision Pro is the company’s first VR headset

Just as expected, last night at WWDC, Apple finally put its AR/VR ambitions on show with the announcement of the Apple Vision Pro headset. We've been hearing about Apple building its own virtual reality headset for years, but the final product isn't as exciting as we'd hoped for. 

The Apple Vision Pro is Apple's answer to the Meta Quest Pro and other pro-grade VR/AR headsets. Much like the Microsoft Hololens, it offers VR and AR visuals, self-contained computing capabilities and an astonishingly high price tag. The Hololens launched at $3,500 years ago and now history is repeating itself with the Apple Vision Pro, also priced at $3,500.

Like the HoloLens, the Apple Vision Pro is aimed at professionals and enterprises, rather than regular everyday users, although the marketing does blur those lines a bit. Rather than having a controller, everything will be handled through hand-tracked gestures, which could help regular use feel more natural.

The headset uses a new OS, which Apple has dubbed VisionOS, powered by a dual-chip system under the hood, but most of the use cases shown in the trailer are all things we've seen before with other VR/AR headsets. Artists and designers can use AR apps to visualise changes to a space, or create 3D art. When it is time to wind down, you can play a few Apple Arcade titles, or create a big virtual screen for watching movies and videos,

For battery life, you'll only get two hours of use without being plugged in and the battery is external, so the idea is you hook up the battery and then stick it in your pocket with the wire routed around your body. It isn't an ideal solution, but the positive side is it allowed Apple to keep the headset slimmer and lighter for more comfortable wearing. If there is one thing we know Apple is obsessed with, it is making devices smaller and lighter.

The Apple Vision Pro is being revealed this year, but it won't become available until ‘early next year', so it is going to be some time before we see full reviews that really dive into the capabilities of this headset.

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KitGuru Says: The Apple Vision Pro has finally arrived but with its current price tag, I don't see it taking any market share away from the likes of the Meta Quest. 

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