Visions of the future

07 Feb 2024

So with my extra time after the layoff, I decided to try out the device everyone is talking about, the Apple Vision Pro. This new spatial computer has gotten so much attention from tech media before and after its official release. To catch up, watch a review from MKBHD or laugh at Casey wearing it around NYC.

Hot takes! Here are my first impressions of the user experience of Apple Vision Pro.

Onboarding

• After a quick intro from the specialist, it was simple to learn the interface without the controllers typically used in other VR systems. You simply use your eyes to point and hand gestures to act. I quickly learned how to select, move, scroll, resize, and navigate the UI.
• Lesson: Designing a smooth and simple new user experience is essential when users are trying out something so new to them.
• Critique: Apple’s demo was optimized for basic interactions like opening apps, moving windows, and watching content but I wonder if more complex experiences will reveal the limits of this simplified interaction model.

Hardware

• Much has been said about the AVP hardware because of its most obvious design aspect. It has the high-quality design we expect from Apple where every detail has been refined. Since this is a new product it’s fun to see the interesting tricks like the outward-facing screen that can show an image of your eyes to those around you.
• Because of the over-your-eyes goggle format, it does a great job immersing you into the virtual world like traditional VR. But Apple’s trick is the video pass-through, which allows you to see your surroundings. This is a much gentler experience than going to full immersion right away.
• The spacial audio is impressive even in a noisy setting considering it’s coming from above instead of inside your ear like an Airpod.
• The only buttons on the headset are the digital crown which acts similar to a home button and scroll wheel for the immersion setting and a picture/video capture button. These are the only physical interactions while using the device, everything else is gesture-controlled. Again, apple’s relentless simplification is applied here.
• Lesson: Refine, edit, reduce, simplify, repeat. Simplicity isn’t simple to achieve but Apple knows how to refine devices to their core functions.
• Critique: Could the hardware and interface be too simplified for this category of device? Time will tell how customers adopt and developers explore the platform.

Content

• Apple has a big advantage with its huge ecosystem of apps and media ready to go. This makes AVP a natural addition to the customer’s existing ecosystem and builds more familiarity with the device.
• New types of content like immersive videos, 3d movies, as well as your own spatial photos/videos make the tech feel friendly and personal instead of distant and unfamiliar. Although the hardware and context are cutting-edge, the experience is designed to welcome you in with a user interface and content you quickly recognize.
• Lesson: Pair innovative new experiences with a foundation of familiar content so a wide range of customers will easily adopt the product, not just early adopters looking for any new idea. Build in ways for customers to create and play together, instead of only consuming individually.
• Critique: Your own spatial photos/videos and the pro 3d movies are the strongest content reasons to add this device to your life, so they should be promoting those over looking at flat windows floating around you.

Ready to buy?

• Well, it’s a bad time for me to spend money and this price is out of reach for most consumers for now. I’m sure Apple has plans for lower-priced versions as they refine this new product line over time using their well-known iterative refinement.
• To me, it is really interesting to experience the first version as it sets the bar for a new product category at Apple. As usual, they are not the first to the category but they bring a fresh take that will introduce the VR/AR/Spatial Computing world to a wider customer base than competitors.
• Designers and developers should pay attention. This is the start of a big opportunity to invent new experiences and content for this platform as it grows to be mainstream. Let’s help make the future somewhere we want to be instead of a sci-fi dystopia.