① Altman wrote on social media, “Vision Pro is the second-most impressive technology since the iPhone”; ② Gurman wrote in the article that after his own testing, he believes Vision Pro excels in many ways.
AFP, Feb. 12 (Editor: Zhao Hao) Recently, the mixed reality (MR) product “Vision Pro” launched by Apple was officially launched in the US market. Following the successive shipments in North America, some of the biggest names in the tech sector began to evaluate this potentially revolutionary device.
Last weekend, Sam Altman, CEO of American artificial intelligence research firm OpenAI, wrote on social media, “Vision Pro is the second-most impressive technology since the iPhone.”
Altman didn't specify who came in first place, but it can be assumed that he probably hinted at artificial intelligence technology. Some commentators say that the name Vision Pro sounds bad. In response to this, Oltman's “highly emotional” response was that he personally felt that the name “ChatGPT” was much worse.
Yesterday, well-known Apple whistleblower Mark Gurman also published a summary of his latest views on Vision Pro. As the number one source for many exclusive Apple news, he knows all about the company's software and hardware. Gurman wrote in the article that after testing it himself, he believes Vision Pro excels in many ways.
“Vision Pro excels at streaming video, working tasks, sending email messages, and more. It's also great for viewing photos and as an external monitor for Mac computers; it can be a computer replacement when you're sitting on the couch, in bed, or on an airplane.”
There is a video showing that users can simultaneously use six pages in Vision Pro to view financial market conditions separately, browse social media, etc. In reality, to do this, you need to have six displays and a computer with decent performance.
Gulman also mentioned that the hardware aspect of the device is also impressive. “The built-in speakers are great, the processing is sensitive and agile, and the graphics look great. The eye hand control system also feels like the best interface in the headset field so far, and it's easy for people familiar with iPads and iPhones to grasp its operating system.”
But he pointed out that Vision Pro is still just a “prototype” product; it's too heavy, the battery life is too short, and there aren't enough dedicated applications. Despite its many advantages, the operating system VisionOS has more flaws than is usually expected from Apple's first generation. “Apple still has a lot of work to do.”
In terms of hardware, the device's two straps aren't very comfortable to wear, unless Apple can reduce the headset's weight by one-third in the future; the camera showing the surrounding real-world environment didn't fully achieve the early advertising results, and the visual effects aren't much better than Meta's $500 Quest 3. Also, there are some issues with the monitor itself, eye tracking isn't always effective, etc.
On the software side, eye tracking software support is not up to standard, and some features don't work at all. For example, the official built-in Apple Music program will crash, and the third-party app Zoom has login issues. Also, the “AI face-swapping” function has been criticized for not being natural enough, and the app store options are too limited.
Gurman concluded that Vision Pro's future potential is definitely visible, although it seems a bit vague at the moment. He also predicted that after Apple fixes the hardware and software flaws, Vision Pro will eventually replace the iPad because it can provide a better experience working on a tablet.
Editor/Somer