Apple Vision Pro is a brand-new computer that’s strapped to your face

Apple Vision Pro is the first mixed-reality headset from the Californian company. Announced during its annual developer conference, Apple revealed how the headset can transform productivity at your desk, extend the screen from your MacBook, and bring a cinema-like screen to watch the latest blockbusters with friends. It can also be used to shoot three-dimensional photos and videos.

The headset, which sees Apple go toe-to-toe with rival products from Meta and HTC Vive, will launch in 2024 with a $3,499 price tag. Shoppers in the United States will be able to test out the Vision Pro in Apple Stores. More countries will be able to get their hands on the headset later in 2024, Apple says.

So, how does it all work?

With the Vision Pro strapped to your face, your apps will seemingly float in front of you. These can follow you around as you move around the real-world. You can shrink and expand the size of these apps – with the windows casting shadows on the world around you. Multiple apps can run side-by-side, like having multiple screens plugged into your Mac.

Unlike an iMac or MacBook, you’re not limited to viewing your content in two dimensions, Apple says. For example, 3D renders can be placed on surfaces like a table, with Vision Pro wearers able to peer around the object from every angle. You can also watch 3D films, like Avatar: The Way Of Water, with objects seemingly extending from the floating screen closer to you.

A separate App Store will be accessible on the headset, with Apple promising that software like Microsoft Excel and Photoshop will be coming to the Apple Vision Pro.

The headset, which has been rumoured for years, is designed to work with almost all of Apple’s portfolio of best-selling gadgets – from an Apple Watch to Mac accessories, like the Magic Keyboard. It can also offer experiences that aren’t available on any other Apple product, like the ability to take three-dimensional photographs and videos. These will change in perspective as you move your head around – just like when you viewed the same scene in real life.

A Digital Crown, like the one on the Apple Watch and AirPods Max, is used to summon a main menu of apps. Twisting the dial will show more of the real-world environment around you, or replace your surroundings with a digital wallpaper.

In one demo, Apple showed a Vision Pro wearer replacing a packed aeroplane with a tranquil desert scene with a humongous cinema-like screen to watch a film in peace. Alternatively, you can choose to have a single digital element – like a three-dimensional render of a human heart beating above the textbook you’re studying in the University library.

Apple will display an approximation of your face on the outside of the Vision Pro, so others will be able to tell when you’re making eye contact with them. If you’ve decided to replace the real world with a digital one, your eyes will vanish from the screen, so people will know not to disturb you.

During the announcement, Disney CEO Bob Igor confirmed that Disney Plus would be available on Vision Pro at launch. Not only that but the streaming app would also be updated with exclusive features like the ability to watch shows in unique three-dimensional environments, like planets from The Mandalorian.

Apple Vision Pro is powered by an all-new custom-designed chipset, dubbed R1, and a new realityOS software that can map out windowed apps in three-dimensional space.

Apple says its headset will offer a maximum resolution of 4K Ultra HD. For those with glasses, the company has partnered with Zeiss to create optional corrective lenses that snap into the headset with magnets.

Battery life is limited to just two-hours and the lithium-ion cell – attached with a braided cable to avoid adding the extra weight to the headband – needs to be tucked into a pocket. You can also attach the Vision Pro to a power socket so you won’t need to worry about the limitations of the short battery life.

The headset ties together a number of services and features we’ve seen announced by Apple over the years. For example, you can watch films and series from Apple TV Plus, play games from Apple Arcade (with a paired PlayStation or Xbox controller), and share what you’re doing with friends and family on a FaceTime call with SharePlay.

As you’d expect, Apple Vision Pro owners will be able to pair with AirPods Pro and other wireless ‘buds to listen to music, make hands-free calls, and watch movies with support for Spatial Audio. Bluetooth accessories, like the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, can be paired with the Vision Pro to allow you to hammer out lengthy emails and edit photos with a few swipes.

If you don’t want to pack these accessories with you, you can use the built-in microphones to dictate or the virtual keyboard that appears to float in front of you.

Apple says it will use the unique pattern of your iris to verify your identity when you don the headset, so you won’t be able to snoop on other people’s documents when you put on another person’s Vision Pro.