Apple Vision Pro: Everything You Need to Know

At the WWDC 2023, Apple announced a boatload of new features and improvements to its operating systems. However, the event’s expected but still, mindblowing highlight was Apple Vision Pro, the company’s first-ever mixed-reality headset. With extremely powerful hardware combined with an unbelievable immersive experience, Vision Pro looks truly amazing. However, what exactly is it, and what does it offer? Find out everything you need to know about Apple Vision Pro through our dedicated guide here.

What is Apple Vision Pro?

Apple Vision Pro is Apple’s first and most groundbreaking mixed reality headset that combines the real physical world with the virtual one. Calling it a spatial computer, Apple claims that the Vision Pro is the most powerful and immersive personal electronics device ever.

Vision Pro expands and blends the real life and digital canvas by creating a three-dimensional space users can interact. However, instead of giving users controllers like competitors, Vision Pro only uses your hands, voice, and eyes to operate. The mixed reality headset uses a combination of high-quality hardware, including an advanced combination of Apple Silicon, to make this possible.

According to the company, Apple Vision Pro has been years in the making and is quite unlike any other mixed reality headset or product in the market. The spatial computer seamlessly creates a lifelike virtual atmosphere while keeping users in the real world. So, let’s talk about it below.

Apple Vision Pro: Pricing and Release Date

Apple Vision Pro comes jam-packed with features and looks like one of the finest products of this decade. As such, it is only natural that it would cost a fortune.

The Vision Pro headset will cost a steep $3,499 for the 256GB variant, $3,699 for the 512GB one, and $3,899 for the 1TB variant in the market. Apple has mentioned that the Vision Pro will go on sale on Feb 2, 2024, in the US with preorders already started on January 19th. Here’s how you can pre-order Vision Pro.

While the Vision Pro is initially reserved for the U.S. only, other countries like the U.K. and Canada could see the launch in July 2024, as suggested by Mark Gurman. On the other hand, Asia and other parts of Europe might have to wait until next year.

Apple Vision Pro: Tech Specs

Display	Micro OLED, 23 million pixels
Processor	Apple M2 + Apple R1
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3
Operating System	visionOS
RAM	16GB
Storage	256GB/ 512GB/ 1TB
Input	Hands, Eyes, Voice
Battery	2 Hours (general use)
Weight	21.2 – 22.9 ounces (600 – 650 g)
Price	Starts at $3,499

Apple Vision Pro: Box Contents

Here’s everything you’ll get inside the Vision Pro box:

• Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band — two band options for the fit that works best
• Light Seal
• 2x Light Seal Cushions
• Apple Vision Pro Cover for the front of the device
• Polishing Cloth
• Battery
• USB-C Charging Cable
• 30W USB-C Power Adapter

Apple Vision Pro: Accessories

Apple is also keen on providing a comprehensive array of accessories to augment the user experience. Among those offerings are specialized optical inserts courtesy of Zeiss, catering to different Visual needs.

Zeiss Optical Inserts

For those users requiring vision corrective lenses, Apple is offering two different options:

• $99 Zeiss Optical Inserts: These insets cater to individuals needing basic vision correction.
• $149 Zeiss Preciption Optical Inserts: Specifically designed for those with prescribed lenses, this option ensures precise vision correction while using the Vision Pro headset.

Headband

In addition to optical inserts, Apple is also providing choices for the headset’s headband, allowing users to personalize their comfort:

• $99 Solo Knit Band: Ideal for those preferring a single-band setup, offering a snug fit.
• $99 Dual Loop Band: Perfect for users seeking enhanced stability and balance, thanks to the dual-band configuration.

Other Accessories

• Travel case: $199
• Extra battery: $199
• Extra light seal: $199
• Extra light seal cushion: $29
• Belkin battery holder: $49.95
• Extra solo knit band: $99
• Extra dual loop band: $99
• Extra charging cable: $29
• Extra power brick: $39

While some accessories are a must if you want to fully enjoy the immersive experience the Apple Vision Pro has to offer, some are simply optional to make a dent in your pocket. However, if you want an extended coverage period, adding Apple Care Plus will cost you an extra $499, which includes hardware repairs and technical support.

Note: All Apple Care Plus plans come with a deductible for certain types of repair, and in the case of Apple Vision Pro, there’s a $300 deductible. This means that if you need a covered repair, you’ll pay $300 in addition to the initial cost of Apple Care Plus.

Apple Vision Pro: Design

Apple has incorporated the same level of sophisticated yet elegant design that users have come to know and love in their products. The Vision Pro is fashioned out of a combination of glass, steel, fabric, and other materials to give it its overall aesthetic and quality.

The front of the headset has been made with a single piece of three-dimensionally formed and laminated glass that has been polished to form a lens. This is the backbone used by the headset’s cameras and sensors to perceive the real world. The glass is connected to a custom aluminum alloy frame that seamlessly wraps around a user’s face while keeping them comfortable.

The top of this frame holds a button, while the right has a crown for controlling the immersion. Like other headsets, Vision Pro uses a modular design that lets users achieve a custom fit.

This is made possible by the click-like enclosure on the right side of the Vision Pro. Furthermore, to make the entire Pro headset even more comfortable, the alloy frame also houses vents for air intake.

The headband itself is a single piece of 3D knitted fabric that is supposed to be extremely comfortable, breathable, and stretchy. Coupled with the balanced design, this should make the Vision Pro a pleasing headset.

Finally, the bottom left of the Apple Vision Pro has a slot for the battery pack that connects to the headset. From the available information, the battery pack is connected through a wire that essentially clicks on the headset with visible light.

Apple Vision Pro: Built-in Apps

Apple Vision Pro comes with a bunch of built-in apps to offer a comprehensive out-of-the-box experience. These apps are tailored to leverage Apple’s new device compatibilities and enhance user functionality. The built-in apps include:

• App Store
• Encounter Dinosaurs
• Files
• Freeform
• Keynote
• Mail
• Messages
• Mindfulness
• Music
• Notes
• Photos
• Safari
• Settings
• Tips
• Apple TV
• Books
• Calendar
• Home
• Maps
• News
• Podcasts
• Reminders
• Shortcuts
• Stocks
• Voice Memos

As app developers continue to work on creating additional, with Netflix, Spotify, and Youtube saying that they won’t focus on Apple Vision Pro, these built-in ones provide a solid foundation for users to explore various features and functionalities seamlessly.

Apple Vision Pro: Key Features

Full-Scale Immersive UI with Apple Apps

While the Apple Vision Pro starts like any MR headset, it quickly changes that narrative. The headset shows you your home view with the digital one layered over it.

Unlike other headsets, Apple has gone for a lifelike-centric UI design that feels perfectly at home in real environments. The elements have 3D layering that gives them dimensions and thickness.

The design even responds to light and casts shadows on the environment. Since the design understands scale and distance, it dynamically responds to your environment and movement. However, users can easily place any app anywhere they want in their environment. You can even make the apps extremely large for comfortable viewing.

Like the Meta Quest Pro, Apple Vision Pro allows you to open multiple apps simultaneously, each taking its own space and adjusting to the environment. This gives the Vision Pro an infinite amount of canvas to play as appear can appear side by side with any size and space at once. So no matter if you’re opening apps for work and play, it can all be done easily.

Environments Clear Away Distractions

Even though the Apple Vision Pro is primarily an MR headset, it comes with what the company calls Environments. The Vision Pro will come with dynamic and beautiful landscapes that can quickly help users hide the cluttered real world away. All one needs to do is twist the crown, and the augmented reality will disappear, leaving behind what’s on display.

This is made even better with enhanced entertainment with Vision Pro. As mentioned above, the apps can be scaled as big as they like. This also applies to movies and TV shows, as users can make the screen feel as big as 100 feet. To supplement this, Apple’s Immersive Video will have 180-degree high-resolution recordings with spatial audio and even 100 Apple Arcade games to play on the Vision Pro.

Users can find even more experiences in the all-new visionOS app store. Apple claims this store will house hundreds of familiar iPhone and iPad apps that automatically work with the headset’s system.

A Full Controller-Less System

A big surprise with the Apple Vision Pro is that it comes with no controllers to use it. The headset relies on the user’s hands, voice, and eyes for navigation. Users will be able to browse through apps by simply looking at them.

The headset reads the intent and directs automatically. You can then use your wrists and fingers to select apps and finally use your voice to dictate. This is a big step away from an industry that still primarily uses handheld controllers to navigate around headsets. Even though the Meta Quest series comes with a capable hand-tracking system, it is nowhere as capable of being used independently without any issues. However, Vision Pro surely looks otherwise.

Apple Vision Pro: Eyesight

The new Apple AR headset also comes with a new feature called “Eyesight” that will help the users stay connected to the real world. The display will feel transparent whenever another person approaches a Vision Pro user. This will let both people see each other. The Eyesight feature will even give visual cues to others about what the user is focused on.

This feature differs from the Meta Quest’s passthrough, which allows the headset user to see the outside world but dims the display altogether. Eyesight works more in tandem with both worlds and, by the looks of the demo, looks quite detailed.

visionOS Brings Apple Pro to Life

Even though some interesting hardware powers the Apple Vision Pro, as you will see below, the headset’s software is entirely new. Apple Vision is powered by a new visionOS. This operating system has been built from the ground up to support the low latency requirements of spatial computing.

visionOS also comes with a brand-new three-dimensional interface we mentioned above. While we won’t go into detail here, you can find out everything you need to know about visionOS here.

Optical ID Brings Privacy up a Notch

Like everything else Apple, the Vision Pro has been built with privacy and security in mind. The spatial computer comes with what Apple calls Optical ID. Put simply, Optic ID is a new authentication system that analyzes a user‘s iris and then compares the data to the enrolled ID data. The headset does that through various invisible LED light exposures, making it a sophisticated technology by itself.

Privacy also carries over to general headset use as the new Apple Vision Pro will protect the area the user is looking at and not share that information with other third-party apps.

Apple Vision Pro Specs

Display

While Apple did not provide the exact specifications for the displays inside the Vision Pro, we got a good idea of what was under the hood. The Apple Vision Pro uses micro-OLED technology that the company claims packs 23 million pixels into two displays. These displays are supposedly the size of a postage stamp but pack wide color and high dynamic range. Apple also claims this translates to more than a 4K TV display for each eye.

This is accompanied by custom catadioptric lenses that lend the Vision Pro extraordinary sharpness and clarity, as the reveal showcases. All this is powered by Apple Silicon which we will talk about below. While bespectacled users might have a problem, Apple has thought of that already. The company has partnered with and used ZEISS Optical Inserts for accessibility and clarity.

Audio

The audio technology in the Apple Vision Pro is designed to provide a premium and immersive experience. Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking ensures the audio responds to the user’s movement, creating a three-dimensional sound environment. Personalized Spatial Audio and audio ray tracing further enhance the audio experience, tailoring it to individual preferences and providing accurate sound placement.

The six-microphone array, featuring directional beamforming, enables clear and focused audio capture, enhancing voice recognition and overall audio quality. The Vision Pro also supports a high-quality and low-latency connection to AirPods Pro (2nd gen) through H2 to H2 ultra-low latency technology.

In terms of audio playback, the Vision Pro supports a variety of formats, including AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos, ensuring flexibility for users with different preferences.

The device supports advanced formats like HEVC, MV-HEVC, and H.264 for video playback and provides HDR (High Dynamic Range) with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG for stunning and lifelike visuals.

Chipset

A spatial computer as sophisticated as the Apple Vision Pro requires copious computational power. Combined with the need for no lag, this can get tricky. However, Apple has thought ahead and changed the MR game. The Apple Vision Pro is powered by an intricate combination of the M2 Chip and a brand-new R1 chip.

The M2 chip handles the computational tasks while intelligently keeping the headset cool and comfortable. The second part is where the R1 takes over. The new R1 chip has been specifically designed for the sole task of sensor processing. The chip processes input from the headset’s 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones. The R1 chip’s capability gives a numbingly low latency of 12 ms while streaming new images to the display. Apple claims this is 8x faster than the blink of an eye.

Vision Pro RAM

While Apple hasn’t disclosed how much RAM the Vision Pro headset will have, reports from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman say the Vision Pro would be equipped with 16GB of RAM, and that is also the same amount of memory that was included in Vision Pro development kit distributed by Apple last year.

With 16GB of RAM, users can expect seamless transition between apps, faster load times, and the ability to run demanding applications or immersive experiences without compromising performance.

Vision Pro Storage

Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset comes in three storage capacity options 256GB, 512Gb, and 1TB, which is ample space for storing various types of contents and files. You can save a substantial number of apps, high-resolution videos, an extensive music library, and more directly on the device. This storage capacity ensures that you will have the flexibility to carry a diverse range of content while you are on the go.

This is powered by an external high-performance battery that can give up to two hours of use on a single charge. While plugged in, however, the Apple Vision Pro can last all day.