The business world has been intrigued by the potential applications of virtual and augmented reality for years, particularly in fields such as manufacturing, field service, and product design. However, widespread adoption has yet to materialize significantly. The release of the Apple Vision Pro (AVP) has sparked curiosity about whether this device will catalyse a shift, propelling such technologies into the mainstream of enterprise operations.
Read: EcoFlow River 2 Review: Power in portability
While terms like “augmented reality,” “virtual reality,” and even “metaverse” dominate discussions, Apple chooses to define its approach differently, labelling the AVP as spatial computing or mixed reality. In characteristic fashion, Apple aims to carve out a distinct category. Regardless of the nomenclature, the company views the AVP as a tool not only for consumers, focusing on gaming, media consumption, and web browsing, but also as a potential game-changer for businesses, particularly in enhancing the online shopping experience.
During Apple’s recent quarterly earnings call, CEO Tim Cook highlighted significant interest from leading organizations across various industries, including Walmart, Nike, Vanguard, Stryker, Bloomberg, and SAP, in leveraging the AVP for innovative spatial computing experiences. Cook emphasized the potential applications in everyday productivity, collaborative product design, and immersive training, underscoring the device’s ability to provide users with an expansive digital workspace.
The AVP boasts compatibility with over 600 apps, offering users access to familiar macOS and iOS applications tailored to the device’s visual interface. Navigation is intuitive: users gaze at icons, similar to Apple’s existing apps like Safari and Messages, which illuminate upon focus, and select them by pinching a finger and thumb together.
Notably, the AVP allows users to maintain visual contact with their surroundings, addressing a key distinction from previous devices. Apple intentionally designed the device to enable users to see through it, fostering a seamless integration between the digital and physical environments. This approach, the company believes, opens up new possibilities for user experiences and potential business applications.
Steve Sinclair, a member of Apple’s worldwide product marketing team for the AVP, emphasizes the device’s role in exploring novel interactions with software. “As our first spatial computer, it’s really given us a platform to build upon to create new spatial experiences,” he notes. “We really believe that being able to bring information into your space while allowing you to stay connected to people around you is really important. And that has applications obviously from a consumer perspective but also from a business perspective.”
