Technologies

Vision Pro: Apple’s Ambitious VR/AR Headset Emerges at WWDC, Arrives in 2024

Apple’s first new product category in years makes its debut, at long last. It costs $3,499.

The moment we’ve been anticipating for years has arrived: Apple unveiled its new Vision Pro today, a mixed reality headset that could finally bring augmented reality technology into the mainstream. And after demoing it, we’ve already come away impressed.

This moment marks a whole new phase in Apple’s hardware and software ecosystems, and pushes to reestablish an existing category that’s had trouble going mainstream beyond gaming. If Apple gets this right, it could be the device that finally persuades you to take the plunge and invest in your first ever VR/AR headset. And if you do plan on buying a Vision Pro, you might want to get saving now, as it will cost a whopping $3,499 (around £2,815 or AU$5,290 converted) when it goes on sale early next year in the US.

Watch this: Apple Unveils Vision Pro Headset

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The key to understanding the Vision Pro — what it is and what it does — is in getting your head around how it works with existing Apple apps, services and hardware that you’re probably already familiar with. From the app landscape, you can open up your Messages, Notes, Keynote and Safari as you would on your iPhone using either hand and arm gestures, or you can do so from the digital crown, which you might recognize from the Apple Watch. You can also use Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Trackpad to navigate the interface, which is capable of mirroring the screen of your Mac.

To put it simply: This isn’t just another virtual reality headset. It’s an extension of Apple’s product ecosystem that will bring new flexibility to the tech you know, while opening up access to new experiences you perhaps hadn’t dreamed of before.

App homescreen on VisionOS — Apps you know well, but displayed in a whole new way.

Apple/Screenshot by CNET

«In the same way that Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing,» said Apple CEO Tim Cook introducing the device during his company’s WWDC developer conference. «This marks the beginning of a journey that will bring a new dimension to powerful personal technology.»

Cook unveiled the Vision Pro in a classic Apple «one more thing» moment, showing an image of a sleek black headset with a thick knitted headband and a black, seemingly translucent screen — a little like Meta’s Quest Pro, except you can see the wearer’s eyes from the outside thanks to an OLED display. Unlike other VR headsets that cut you off from the outside world, the Vision Pro functions as a kind of second screen that sits between your eyes and the real world beyond.

You can also dim the world beyond the headset or tune it out completely, to provide a more immersive environment, depending on what you’re using it for. If you’re totally in the Vision Pro zone, the outward OLED display will warn people in the room with you that you’re not totally present.

Vision Pro headset, side view — The replaceable strap is made from a chunky knit.

Apple/Screenshot by CNET

Apple is pitching the Vision Pro as your dream movie-watching experience, creating a private theater within your headset that feels 100 feet wide and that can even display 3D films (hello, Avatar) for you, and you alone — ideal for that long-haul flight you’ve got coming up. To really sell the movie experience, the company has partnered with Disney to make its Disney Plus streaming service available from Day 1 when the headset goes on sale.

FaceTime is another reason Apple thinks you will love using the Vision Pro. Hanging out with people remotely (in the metaverse) is an idea Meta has really been selling for the past year or so, but Apple is selling a similar premise without using the same language. Instead of appearing as an avatar, if you’re on a call wearing Vision Pro (and therefore have your face covered) will appear as a rendered picture of yourself that Apple is calling a «Persona.» FaceTime calls take advantage of the room around you, said Apple, with everyone on the call reflected in life-size tiles. While on a call you can co-watch movies, browse photos or collab on a presentation together.

To make all of this happen, there’s a ton of sophisticated tech built into the Vision Pro. Apple’s Spatial Audio will make immersive sound part of the Vision Pro experience, while the ultra-high resolution double displays should deliver crisp, clear images, whether in 2D or 3D. The entire headset is powered by a homegrown dual chip, bringing together Apple’s M2 silicon for the performance and a new R1 chip processing the info from the 12 cameras, five sensors and six microphones on board — phew.

Apple had been expected to enter the VR/AR space for years, with reports going all the way back to 2018. Apple has already had AR tools for iPhones and iPads going back to 2017. Apple’s entry into the landscape now comes when Meta, with its lineup of VR headsets, is having challenges evolving its devices beyond game consoles, and ahead of a Google-Samsung partnership that could lead to competition in the next year. That doesn’t mean it’s eschewing gaming, though. Over 100 Apple Arcade games will be playable on the Vision Pro at launch.

More from WWDC 2023

The end game for these mixed reality devices is in compact glasses that ideally can stay on for a whole day and don’t feel strange to use, but in the meantime a wave of smaller VR headsets that blend virtual and real things using passthrough camera video are becoming standard. Apple’s video of someone wearing the Vision Pro as they’re moving around their house didn’t look any different to someone walking around in a standard VR headset, but the fact that you can adjust the immersive level of virtual environments and fold in more of the real world with a twist of the digital crown means that it has more potential than most for all-day wear… or for you being able to function while wearing the headset.

Apple’s headset also looks to redefine an emerging space of AR hardware that still isn’t established yet. The Magic Leap 2 and Microsoft HoloLens 2, along with a handful of smaller glasses like the NReal Light, have all been business-focused or niche AR devices with transparent lenses that haven’t caught on with everyday customers.

Apple’s emergence into this space, and its focus on creating a fluid system that can serve up amazing visuals on an impressive display while finessing hand-tracking tech, could advance the evolution of a whole new wave of much more capable mixed reality headsets to come.

Technologies

Apple Reportedly Planning Cheaper Macs to Compete With Budget Chromebooks, PCs

Apple doesn’t market its machines as affordable, but that could be changing.

Apple may release more affordable Mac laptops to compete with Chromebooks and budget-friendly Windows laptops as early as 2026.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports the company has plans to roll out a machine for «well under $1,000.» According to Gurman, the new laptop is already in early production under the codename J700. This matches earlier rumors that a low-cost MacBook Air was in the pipeline at around $599, which would allow Apple to directly compete with other cheap laptops, including Chromebooks and Windows PCs.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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According to the report, costs will be kept down by using a lower-end LCD that’s smaller than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, potentially making the new affordable MacBook as small as 12 inches.

Another way Apple could reduce the cost is by using an A-series iPhone chip, which falls short of the top-tier performance offered by the MacBook Pro or the current M4 Air. The upcoming chip may be a variant of the A19 Pro chip that debuted with the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air, which Apple says is capable of MacBook-level performance.

As CNET senior editor Matt Elliott noted, the promise is a bold one. He speculates that the rumored $599 MacBook Air may get the same smartphone processor, or an M-series chip based on that architecture.

Bloomberg also reports that a MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro and M5 Max chip is in development, and Apple has completed work on a MacBook Air powered by the M5 chip, which is planned for release early next year.

The affordable laptop would be designed for casual users, students and businesses, specifically individuals who need a device for tasks such as web browsing, light media editing and document creation. The tech giant is also targeting the education market, as well as iPad buyers who may also want a traditional laptop.

«If this is strictly a move to entice consumers with a high-quality, lower-cost MacBook running MacOS in place of an iPad with a keyboard, then yes, Apple can likely take a chunk of that market,» said Josh Goldman, managing editor at CNET.

«Making inroads into the education market at this point, where Chromebooks have taken over since the pandemic, will prove challenging, though I’m sure it’s nothing that throwing billions of dollars at can’t fix,» CNET’s Goldman said.

This price range is ‘a big departure’

Price is likely to be key here. A $599 price tag would place the new Mac in the same range as more affordable Chromebooks and entry-level laptops, representing a significant change from Apple’s previous strategy.

«Apple potentially dipping into the Chromebook range of $300 to $500 with a new MacBook is a big departure,» said Goldman.

He notes that one of Apple’s most affordable MacBooks is the M4 MacBook Air, available new starting at $999 for the 13-inch model. Walmart still sells a new M1 MacBook Air, a 5-year-old laptop, for around $600.

By contrast, an iPad 11th Gen with a Magic Keyboard will run you around $600, making it clear that Apple’s target market for the rumored device is students and lighter users.

Apple typically hasn’t targeted the lower-priced segment of the market with its MacBooks. However, with consumer wallets under pressure from inflation, high tariffs and layoffs, an affordable MacBook could be imperative and timely.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 5, #408

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 5, No. 408.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is pretty diverse. The blue answers stuck out to me right away, because some of them are super famous and the others felt like they belonged with those names. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: How to see a game.

Green group hint: Soccer.

Blue group hint: Giddy up!

Purple group hint: Not a run play.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Ways to consume a sporting event.

Green group: NWSL teams.

Blue group: Triple Crown horse racing winners.

Purple group: Pass ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is ways to consume a sporting event. The four answers are in person, radio, streaming and television.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NWSL teams. The four answers are Current, Dash, Pride and Spirit.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Triple Crown horse racing winners. The four answers are Citation, Gallant Fox, Omaha and Secretariat.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is pass ____. The four answers are breakup, interference, protection and rush.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 5, #878

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 5, #878.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics, including a neat blue category that music fans will ace. And it isn’t too tough, but if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Mess up.

Green group hint: Lead pipe is another one.

Blue group hint: They command the stage.

Purple group hint: Not snow, but …