You may have noticed that I haven’t been blogging at all lately. There’s a good reason for that. I’ve been so busy with my full-time salaried job as an academic librarian during the busy fall semester that I have little time or energy left to write blog posts when I get home from work.
But I’m having a blast with my new Apple Vision Pro VR/AR headset! I am currently using it for about 2 to 5 hours a day. At work, I use AVP’s virtual display feature to create a large, sharp, crystal-clear virtual screen on my MacBook Pro notebook computer. And I often listen to playlists on the Apple Music screen set to the right of my work screen. ). And at home, I use Apple Vision Pro as my primary consumption tool for watching 2D and 3D movies and TV shows. I think it’s a huge improvement over using the iPad! I’ve also spent time with a few other AVP apps over the past couple of months, most notably Explore POV and InSpaze.
Explore POV (website) is a subscription service that lets you download and watch amazing short, immersive videos (just 2-5 minutes long) from places around the world. Unfortunately, we’ve encountered some issues with our service over the past couple of months. Twice I lost all my downloaded videos when my Apple Vision Pro reset unexpectedly. I also found it to be a somewhat expensive service given that there are still relatively few videos available. I really enjoyed my time at Explore POV, but I couldn’t justify the cost (currently CA$12.99 per month) so I decided to end my membership. As much as the content is awesome and I want to support the creators who travel the world sharing their videos, I just can’t justify spending a streaming service subscription on such a small library of content. (Perhaps you can come back later if you have more to watch. There are free videos you can watch on POV navigation, so you can get a sneak peek at what’s on offer.)
Another app I use a lot is InSpaze. This is a way to connect with other Apple Vision Pros (and iPhone users who want to join). It became InSpaze. that It’s a gathering place for AVP users to compare notes about apps, report and fix device issues, and just talk about anything. This neatly solves one problem that most Apple Vision Pro users have. This means that you are often the only person in your social circle who owns the device, so there are no other users to chat with (I fall into this category too!).
You can represent yourself as a cartoon avatar (using one of several built-in options) or use a persona (a real head and hands scanned by Apple Vision Pro as part of device setup). Most people choose the latter. 3D personas are still only available for FaceTime calls, so your avatar and persona will appear in a flat screen window. This was actually my first FaceTime chat using 3D Personas, and it was definitely a remarkable and memorable experience to have the people you’re talking to appear in your space with 3D heads and hands! (I was shocked when one of them actually appeared to be sitting on the couch next to me!! There was even a flash of light between their palms when they high-fived! Future.)
Unfortunately, Apple is still watching the Spatial Persona feature closely and has not (yet) allowed other platforms (e.g. InSpaze) to use the technology. However, there is something inevitable about this and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it also affects InSpaze and other apps. It’s really amazing. In fact, I’d say this is one of the most surprising things about Apple Vision Pro.
Another truly amazing feature officially released with the version 2.0 update to the VisionOS operating system used by Apple Vision Pro (although before that it was also available in third-party apps like Spatial Media Toolkit) is the ability to: Convert 2D photos or videos and convert them into 3D! I’ve talked to several InSpaze users who have been experimenting with this new feature, and they tell me how thrilling it is to see old photos of long-lost relatives or pets transformed into three dimensions. The person or pet is right next to you again.
Of course, there are also disadvantages. People took 2D and 3D versions of the same photo, then converted the 2D image to 3D, and then compared the converted 3D image to the directly captured 3D image. These comparisons reveal small details where conversion algorithms (surprisingly!) fail. For example, a flag appears. behind The leaves on the tree in the foreground look like rags. to The tree in the photo converted from 2D to 3D. But to find these kinds of errors, you need to compare them to actual photos taken in 3D. (Of course, this is another topic we discuss in our room at InSpaze!)
I intentionally chose to be an early adopter of Apple Vision Pro, and I don’t regret that decision one bit. I’ve been spending quite a bit of time on r/AppleVisionPro and the r/VisionPro subreddit following all the new developments and discussions since the device first launched in the US in February. Some of these early subreddit users reported and showed photos of cracks in the Apple Vision Pro’s curved front glass. Of course, these situations are still rare, but they happen often enough that they were dubbed “Crackgate” by Reddit users who shared stories of how they had to navigate Apple Support to get a repair or replacement device under AppleCare coverage!
well?
I spent a lot of money on the Apple Vision Pro and treasure it like gold. One morning at work, as I was unpacking it from its carrying case, I inspected the windshield as usual and noticed a small crack in the center of the curved windshield! I immediately made an appointment to visit the Genius Bar at my local Apple Store and brought them over for them to see. (I was told that I was the first person in our area to bring an AVP with such problems.) Considering that the cracks were purely cosmetic (the device still works perfectly) and very small (about 0.5 cm long), we agreed to monitor this. Once there was a crack, I took a picture and decided.now—Don’t be too picky about repairs or replacements. (I’ve talked about this in a couple of InSpaze rooms, and was told by the Apple Support app that I would have to call the Apple Vision Pro team directly to follow up. Especially since it seems to me that the cracks are getting bigger!)
Additionally, devices costing a total of CA$7,700 (1 terabyte model Apple Vision Pro, carrying case, 2-year AppleCare warranty, plus local and federal sales tax) already After 7 weeks of daily use, a 0.5cm crack appeared! So stay tuned for more details about my personal CrackGate. Yes, I’ve been told by people in the InSpaze room I’ve talked to about this that we should do this purely on principle!
I consider myself lucky. ~ no Among the many AVP users who have trouble finding one that fits comfortably on their device; I have been using the medium size solo knit band with no issues and the initial fit of the face shield was quite comfortable even after extended use. (I’ve been wearing various VR headsets since January 2017, so I think it helps that I’ve gotten used to the feeling of weight in the front!)
However, I received regular warnings that my eyes were too close to the lenses, and I noticed some degree of eye strain after about an hour and a half to two hours of continuous use. This is a problem I’ve encountered many times before with other VR headsets. After reading this article from Apple Support, I realized that I could replace the light seal cushion on the face shield with a slightly thicker version (included in the original box). It seems This has alleviated the problem. However, I only did this late last week and will need to spend a bit more time on AVP to see if these fixes alone are enough to alleviate my eye strain issues.
Overall, although I had some pains and issues with Apple Vision Pro, I was quite satisfied. Despite the problems I’ve had so far, I don’t regret jumping in early this time. When you wear it, you feel like you’ve taken an important step into the future. Additionally, since AVP is still new and the community is still small, there is an exciting feeling of being part of a small, vibrant community where connecting with developers is still quick and easy. A fellow newcomer posted the following comment on the VisionPro subreddit, and I completely agree.
At its current level of development, Vision Pro has many issues. However, since this is a ‘golden time’ that will pass someday, I will try to enjoy it as much as possible.
What I consider “golden” is the interaction between VP users and app developers. I have an issue posted in a developer post on another website. I received a reply 5 minutes later and it seems the problem has been resolved. Yesterday I had a video conference with a developer in London and I was able to make some suggestions and he praised me for making the app better.
When submitting a technical support issue (I’ve submitted thousands of issues over the years), response times are usually measured in days or more. I haven’t received a response to a support request I sent to a company a week ago. Once identified, actual resolution of a problem can take years. The MacOS bug I reported two years ago was only fixed through Sequoia. Once the VP leaves this exciting development phase, this interaction with developers and quick resolution times will disappear. You will talk to a support representative who will talk to the developer. The fix will appear in a software release of an unknown date.
I will savor this direct connection while it lasts.
Many new app developers stay on InSppaze or post new apps and updates on the AppleVisionPro and VisionPro subreddits and share TestFlight links to beta versions of their apps. In fact, I realized too late that I could use any existing TestFlight invitations I had already received in the mobile Second Life app on my iPad Pro!
I checked TestFlight on my Apple Vision Pro (using the same AppleID), and was there really a link to the mobile iOS SL client? So I could have been the first and only person in the world to run the iOS mobile version of Second Life in a flat window on an Apple Vision Pro!
In short, my overall experience so far has been magical! And I want to see where we go from here.
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