[HN Gopher] The Vision Pro
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The Vision Pro
Author : pchristensen
Score : 45 points
Date : 2024-01-30 21:24 UTC (1 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (daringfireball.net)
(TXT) w3m dump (daringfireball.net)
| Pwntastic wrote:
| meta: could we fix the link so it doesnt drop you halfway through
| the page?
| nickthegreek wrote:
| Looks like the proper link was already submitted an hour before
| this one.
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39195112
| aredox wrote:
| Here is a summary of that wall of text by John Gruber, minus the
| spin (except for the first extract):
|
| "I've been simultaneously testing three entirely new products
| from Apple. The first is a VR/AR headset with eye-tracking
| controls. The second is a revolutionary spatial computing
| productivity platform. The third is a breakthrough personal
| entertainment device.
|
| A headset, a spatial productivity platform, and a personal
| entertainment device.
|
| I'm sure you're already getting it. These are not three separate
| devices. They're one: Apple Vision Pro."
|
| "There's no getting around some fundamental problems with the
| Vision Pro hardware."
|
| "The knocks against it are all undeniably true: it's too heavy
| and too big for everyone, and too expensive for the mass market."
|
| "This first-generation Vision Pro hardware is severely restricted
| by the current limits of technology."
|
| "for using Vision Pro, it's clearly intended that you be
| stationary, sitting or standing in a fixed position. Other than
| using Vision Pro as a camera, I can't think of a reason to use it
| while walking about."
|
| "VisionOS virtual keyboards work both ways -- you can gaze at
| each key you want to press and tap your finger and thumb to
| activate them in turn, or you can reach out and poke at the
| virtual keys. Either method is fine for entering a word or two
| (or a 6-digit passcode); neither method is good for actually
| writing."
|
| "every single time I turn my attention back to a Mac app in the
| virtual Mac display, I find myself futilely finger-to-thumb
| tapping to activate or click whatever I'm looking at. This is
| akin to switching from an iPad to a MacBook and trying to touch
| the screen, but worse, because with the virtual Mac display in
| VisionOS, you're continuously context switching between the Mac
| environment and VisionOS apps."
|
| " The displays are excellent, but I'm already starting to see how
| they aren't good enough. The eye tracking is very good, but it's
| not as precise as I'd like it to be. The cameras are good, but
| they don't approach the dynamic range of your actual eyesight."
|
| "When you move your head, the illusion of true pass-through is
| broken -- you can tell that you're looking at displays showing
| the world via footage from cameras. Just walking around is enough
| motion to break the illusion of natural pass-through of the real
| world. In fact, in some ways, the immersive 3D environments --
| mountaintops, lake sides, the surface of the moon (!) -- are more
| visually realistic than the actual real world, because there's
| less latency and shearing as you pan your gaze."
|
| "the catch with Vision Pro's speakers is that they're not private
| at all. Someone sitting next to you can hear what you hear;
| someone near you can hear most of what you hear."
|
| "Personas are weird. They are very deep in the uncanny valley."
|
| "I FaceTimed my wife after capturing mine, and her reaction --
| not really knowing at all what to expect -- was "No, no, no -- oh
| my god what is this?" And then she just started laughing. We
| concluded the test with her telling me, "Don't ever call me like
| that again." She was joking (I think), but personas are so deep
| in the uncanny valley that the first time anyone sees one,
| they're going to want to talk about it."
|
| "I've saved the best for last. Vision Pro is simply a phenomenal
| way to watch movies, and 3D immersive experiences are
| astonishing. There are 3D immersive experiences in Vision Pro
| that are more compelling than Disney World attractions that
| people wait in line for hours to see."
|
| "The only hitch is that Vision Pro is utterly personal. Putting a
| headset on is by nature isolating -- like headphones but more so,
| because eye contact is so essential for all primates. If you
| don't often watch movies or shows or sports by yourself, it
| doesn't make sense to buy a device that only you can see. "
| mkw5053 wrote:
| You can't gaze and finger-to-thumb click something in the
| virtual Mac display?
|
| Edit - I guess you'll be in front of your computer anyway, and
| the entire Mac UI was designed for a keyboard and mouse.
| Probably defaulting to using only keyboard and mouse when using
| the virtual display.
| pazimzadeh wrote:
| Apparently not. Maybe that's why they don't allow splitting
| mac windows into your space yet, it would be too confusing to
| remember where it's enabled and where it's not
| saagarjha wrote:
| I believe it requires a keyboard and mouse to interact with
| it. In practice for most things the tap targets would be
| quite small and without being able to "snap" to UI elements
| you probably wouldn't want to do this anyway.
| xnx wrote:
| Without moving a cursor, the eye tracking doesn't have the
| precision to hit small targets.
| tambourine_man wrote:
| "spin"?
| roughly wrote:
| All the positive stuff, apparently.
| elicash wrote:
| I'm glad he talked a bit about what this thing is like with a
| trackpad / cursor, because for productivity that seems like it's
| the only real way to use this device.
| lordfrito wrote:
| Any reports on fatigue, neck strain, etc? I can't stand more than
| an hour or so in VR before I have to get out. It's warisome for
| long periods. I'd hate to have to work in one.
|
| I'm holding out for a true "retina" display.
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(page generated 2024-01-30 23:01 UTC)