Om Malik discusses Apple Vision Pro’s ability to create immersive photos and videos.

Photo copyright Om Malik – see the original and more on his site

Om Malik, the writer and venture capitalist who introduced me to the world of technology as editor of GigaOM, has just written one of the most interesting takes on Vision Pro I’ve come across.

Om is also an accomplished photographer (evidence above and below), and his real-world experience gives him a unique insight into what Apple’s XR headset will power.

(During my first visit to the Apple campus) I spent a lot of time in the “Photos” app. There, I would look at photos that were part of a library curated by Apple. Once I opened a photo, I was able to pinch and zoom in on it as if I was viewing it on a reference home theater screen. The photo seemed to envelop me. It felt like I was floating within the photo itself. This is a very strange yet intimate experience. We are so used to seeing enlarged photos on our phone or laptop screens. We never experience the full grandeur of photography in our daily lives. This is quite the opposite. There is a whole new appreciation for being there. This is why I believe we will start thinking very differently about photography.

He describes viewing photos as follows: immersive experience. However, it’s not the immersion you typically associate with VR headsets. The VisionPro’s surface similarities to standard virtual reality HMDs have fooled many immersive geeks into thinking they were primarily connecting to a virtual world or AR gaming experience.

However, one in four people enjoy immersive virtual worlds (very broadly defined); All together Who likes looking at photos?

Watch the video – Another place in Om where Vision Pro shines:

^{Photo copyright Om Malik – see the original and more on his site}

(Vision Pro) The playback of the video occurs in blurry, light, borderless frames, giving the video a dream-like quality. It’s a very strange feeling, like you’ve stepped back in time, and the video has a three-dimensional quality to it. The spatial images I experienced gave me a feeling close to memories, somewhere between reality and abstraction.

During my visit, Apple asked me to visit a special location where a sushi chef was making sushi, and I captured a video to play. I zoomed in on his fingers massaging the rice and sushi on his plate. The video was truly amazing, but it definitely lacked the emotional appeal of a family video. On a recent visit, one of our Apple team members captured a video of us walking through the Apple Orchard toward the camera. It was like I was walking out of the frame.

This feels like the following use case: do It has mass market appeal, especially since the Vision Pro falls below the $1000 range. As for the current $3,500 price point, I think Jeff Yang is right that this will replace the expensive multiscreen-enabled Mac Pro.

I’m still excited about Vision Pro for XR and Metaverse related use cases, but I should probably expect it to be a niche market. (Sometimes it gets bigger as the price drops.) Until then, read Om’s post in full to find out what the near/mid future of the Vision Pro could bring.