Apple Vision Pro Hands-on – Can Spatial Computing be good for games too?

thesixthaxis.com:

The Apple Vision Pro’s launch in Europe this week has given those of us on this side of the Atlantic the first chance to go hands (well, face) on with Apple’s latest attempt to transform and dominate an emerging tech market. Whether you call it virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality or spatial computing, all of these headsets lean on the same fundamental components and are pulling in roughly the same direction. So, how is Apple Vision Pro now that it’s in UK English? And can it really be another step on a path to a new paradigm of computing?

Our experience with Apple Vision Pro comes primarily from a 30-minute demo at an Apple retail store, first customising the headset to our particular specification and then running through a sequence of apps and experiences.

To be utterly reductive, it’s the retail store equivalent of popping the original PSVR on your nan’s head and loading up that shark tank demo. However, where you wouldn’t expect that one tech demo to convince your nan to rush out, buy a new console and headset, and then become an avid gamer, Apple’s more general approach and demo could have broader appeal in the long run.

And one thing’s certain: the first impressions of Apple Vision Pro, as carefully managed and guided as they are, are fantastic.

The demo starts with scanning your face using your own iPhone to get the best fit for your particular noggin, which is then prepared in the back of the store (now notably using the dual strap instead of the knitted solo loop) while you’re given a short rundown of the handful of gestures you’ll need through the 20-30 minute demo, right down to how you should pick it up.

Coming from other VR and AR headsets, the pass-through video for your surroundings is ridiculously good. Sure, there is some warping and distortion around the periphery because of the lenses between your eyes and the screens, but the raw video feed is incredibly high quality, the per-eye pixel density exceptional, and the way that the Vision