This year's "One More Thing...", Apple's first new product category in eight years – after the Apple Watch – turned out to be a 3D camera. Their words, not ours.
OK, the Vision Pro, as the long-awaited augmented reality goggles are being called, do have a bit more going for them (as our full coverage shows), but Apple is making a big deal of the photographic functionality.
That includes a top button that can act as a shutter. We also saw the playback of eerie but cute 3D videos of a kids' birthday party hovering in front of the wearer as we were told it needed to be experienced. It looked much like a moment in a movie that fades back to an older, happier time. It becomes even weirder when you realised the
Vision Pro also alerts people to the fact you're recording. What looks like a visor actually has a screen (Eyesight) that can either show your eyes or display a graphic – a bit like a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica – when you're otherwise engaged. This is used to "flash" or indicate recording.
When you realise the family 3D videos were caught using Eyesight, by someone wearing the Vision Pro, it's a little harder to imagine the situation as quite so cute!
The Vision Pro design is built around a three-dimensionally formed piece of curved glass and aluminum alloy frame. This holds two displays, totaling 23 megapixels, and is held in place by a 3D-knitted headband. The headband also has spatial audio speakers built-in.
The battery is worn at belt height, or tucked into a pocket, on a trailing cable. This isn't unusual in FPV goggles, though it seems a bit un-Apple. The light seal can be adjusted and Zeis magnetic lenses added over the main 3-piece lenses for each eye.
If you want a 3D camera – which can also serve as a revolutionary new computer, eye-worn iPad, portable cinema (with 3D), and a whole lot more, you've got time to start saving. Apple announced they'll be available in the USA only in early 2024, with other regions to follow, at $3,499 (about £2,820 / AU$5,300).
