InSpaze: One of the first social apps for Apple Vision Pro (a sweet look at Apple's new spatial persona)
Emphasizing the term spatial computing (Instead of virtual reality or augmented reality), some observers have noted a somewhat disconcerting lack of social VR/AR apps for the Apple Vision Pro. Well, I recently learned (from the very active r/VisionPro community on Reddit) that there is a social app for AVP called InSpaze. Here's a 15 minute YouTube video to give you an idea of what's possible today:
Note a few interesting things about this video: First, when you see the person's hands capturing this video in Apple Vision Pro (using the built-in video recording feature), they are actually real hands, not real hands through a passthrough. Avatar's hand!
Second, one of InSpaze's unique features is real-time voice translation! One of the participants said a sentence in Chinese, which was translated into English and displayed as a subtitle under his persona (at the 6:45 mark of this video).
This video features people participating around a table through their Vision Pro headsets. Here, their avatars appear as personas (based on real facial scans) that are still in beta testing. setting). AVP's Personas feature may still be a bit unsettling due to its uneasy valley vibe, and is currently only visible in InSpaze via flat screen view, but Apple has just announced (and released) Spatial Personas, which is now available for free. this:
So I predict it's only a matter of time before Spatial Personas is added to InSpaze, replacing the fixed, flat screen look that AVP participants currently have in InSpaze with a three-dimensional version. It's truly amazing! It’s definitely a refreshing change from Zoom calls!
Additionally, iPhone and iPad users running the InSpaze app can also join InSpaze Rooms! iPhone and iPad users actually have cartoonized versions of their real faces, which honestly matches the cartoony look of the AVP persona. One of the iPhone contestants was standing outside, his hair blowing in the wind, which looked really weird combined with his cartoonish face! Another man (Chinese speaking) was behind the wheel of his car (I hope he wasn't driving!).
InSpaze is already available in the Apple Store for Apple Vision Pro, iPhone, and iPad. HelloSpace (Website; Discord; Twitter/X). It seems to have been quite popular with AVP users who appreciate having a way to connect with each other in a virtual space! In fact, in the first video, Apple employees talk about how they love using InSpaze to connect with customers.
Things are happening so quickly in this field that it's hard to keep up with all the developments! I've found that visiting the r/VisionPro subreddit daily is a great way to keep up with everything that's going on with this rapidly evolving technology. I'm still patiently waiting for Canadians to be able to pre-order the Apple Vision Pro (hopefully sometime this spring or summer). And I'm very jealous of the Americans who have already gotten their hands on the device!
