When the first iPhone was launched in 2007, then Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, among other things: “Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.” Today’s CEO Tim Cook echoed these words last year when he presented the Apple Vision Pro: “Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing. Just as the Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro introduces us to spatial computing.” Apple has taken a holistic approach to this innovative product by not only extensively redesigning the hardware, but also developing an entirely new operating and input system. The result is a spatial computer that could permanently transform the way people work, connect and enjoy entertainment. The Apple Vision Pro has an extremely high-resolution display system, uses specially developed chips and is designed so that every experience appears as if it is taking place in real time in front of the user’s eyes. The visionOS operating system seamlessly blends digital content with the real world, creating an infinite, three-dimensional user interface that gives the impression that the digital content is physically located in the same space as the user. To enable users to navigate and interact with spatial experiences, the Apple Vision Pro introduces a completely new input system controlled by a user’s eyes, hands and voice. Users can easily browse and control apps by looking at them, tapping to select them, swiping to scroll or using their voice to dictate. The Apple Vision Pro packs an amazing amount of technology into a compact and modular design that utilises advanced materials. The jury marvelled at how the Apple Vision Pro fuses the latest technologies with previous Apple technologies to create a groundbreaking product that appeared completely new, but is also familiar and manageable. “The way in which the user’s interaction with the content has been designed here using spatial computing is fascinatingly intuitive,” said the jurors. This could be the point at which physical and virtual worlds actually begin to become one. Whether it is also the beginning of a new era remains to be seen.
