Cupertino, Dusseldorf About a decade after launching the smartwatch, Apple launched a new product category: smartglasses. “This is a historic moment,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said Monday at the company’s Cupertino, California, headquarters. Under the Apple Vision Pro name, Cook and his team showed off data glasses that looked like futuristic ski goggles.
The device should be fully controlled by eyes, voice and gestures. “It’s the most powerful consumer product in the world,” said Apple executive Mike Rockwell. Rockwell said at the annual WWDC developer conference that Apple has filed 5,000 patents for the device.
Financial markets have already priced in the expected announcement. Apple shares hit an all-time high of $184.80 on Monday evening German time. The iPhone group’s stock market capitalization is approaching the $3 trillion limit — no company has ever been worth more than that. The stock fell nearly 1% shortly before the market closed after the speech.
A demonstration of Vision Pro was broadcast live around the world that evening. How it works: The headset can display digital objects in the real environment on its display. An unusual feature of the device is the display on the front, which shows the user’s eyes when others are nearby.
Technically, this form of immersion is a hybrid of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The display can show and hide the environment as needed. Apple emphasizes that eye contact is guaranteed when using glasses — an important part of social interaction. But full immersion is also possible because the glasses send accurate signals to the outside world. If someone gets close, they will fade out.
The first new device since the Apple Watch
This is Apple’s first entry into a new product category since the launch of the computer watch in 2014. Apple sees possible uses for the Vision Pro in the workplace, as many large virtual displays can be superimposed in the field of view. Another app designed for entertainment with large-format video, even on the go. All content should be seamlessly accessible from different devices through Apple’s cloud services.
Rival Meta, in particular, is leading the way in the development of data glasses. Facebook’s parent company is banking on a thriving digital environment (the “Metaverse”) and recently rolled out an update to its Rift virtual reality headset. Google’s team, on the other hand, is working on AR glasses that can embed digital information into what’s happening around them.
Apple stresses that it doesn’t want to permanently drag users into immersive virtual worlds. This should ensure social interaction when needed.
Apple has repeatedly emphasized the flexibility of glasses, and users can also use it to completely disconnect from the real world-especially entertainment and relaxation. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced at the event that his company will adapt movies and other entertainment formats for the device. For example, he shows NFL games where statistics appear as a “second screen” right next to the game.
A distinctly interactive variant of the Marvel animated series “What If?” is also on display. Additionally, Apple used the conference to make numerous other announcements of new and improved devices.
New Mac computers and processors
Apple, for example, is excluding Intel as a processor supplier from its latest devices. The group’s most powerful computers, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, are getting a facelift. They will be equipped with an improved M2 Ultra processor developed by Apple itself.
These should offer up to a 20% performance boost over the predecessor M1 Ultra. “The new Apple-powered Mac Studio and the new Mac Pro are the most powerful Macs we’ve ever built,” said Apple executive John Ternus.
Screens, apps, and other content should simply appear in the space around the user.
But professional computers are expensive. The price of Mac Studio in Germany is around 2400 Euros. If you want a Mac Pro with a so-called rack enclosure, you’ll have to pay at least around 9,000 euros for a server rack system.
Apple first started developing processors for its iPhone itself. These, while energy efficient, can’t keep pace with Intel or other chipmakers in terms of performance.
>> Read also: How Tim Cook is leading Apple into the post-iPhone world
That has changed now. In comparative tests, Apple chips have outperformed competitors several times over the past few years. “Apple’s vertically integrated approach across semiconductors, software and hardware continues to give the company an edge over its competitors,” said analyst Ben Wood of CCS Insights. Intel couldn’t keep up.
new operating system
Apple also announced a new operating system for the group’s smartphones, tablets and Mac computers. iPhone devices and iPads are being updated to iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, versions optimized for tablets.
In addition to this, the sharing of contact information between iPhones has become much easier. In the future, the iPhone will transcribe messages in real time on the answering machine. The contact receives a poster image that is also displayed to the other party during the call. Standby mode turns iPhone into a permanent display that can show the time or the weather, for example, while charging. For the first time, the iPad also has lock screen display options such as the health app Health.
The computer operating system macOS Sonoma also expands privacy settings. In the future, passwords should be easier to share between multiple people, and the Safari browser should better protect users from spying while surfing the web.
All operating systems will receive spelling corrections enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI), which should be better at identifying mistakes and making suggestions for sentence completion.
more: Here’s what’s known about the new Apple Glasses
