Apple has already opened pre-orders in the Taiwanese market.VisionPro, and will be officially open for sale on December 12th.In-store experience appointmentThe reservation was already full, and reservations would have to wait until later. Having previously experienced it briefly in the US, and having previously experienced it in Taiwan, I'd like to share why it's so important to actually visit the store and be guided by the staff.
The experience services offered in Taiwan mirror those currently offered at Apple Stores in the United States. The Apple Store at A13 in Xinyi District will feature large, long sofas, similar to the visitor center at Apple headquarters, for customers to comfortably sit and experience the experience. The Apple Store inside Taipei 101 shopping mall will have a smaller experience area due to its smaller space, but the experience will remain the same.
In addition, in all countries and regions where Vision Pro is currently available for sale, Apple will set up a Vision Pro experience area in its Apple Store for consumers to make reservations for experience time. Consumers can also reserve about 45 minutes to 1 hour to immerse themselves in the features of this product, which Apple has hailed as the computing device of the future, under the guidance of staff.
Why is actual experience necessary?
Many people must have heard about other people's experiences with virtual reality headsets, or even borrowed someone else's virtual reality headset to use, but the overall experience may be difficult to imagine, and may even leave a bad impression.
Factors may include difficulty imagining the experience others describe, or borrowing someone else's device but not knowing how to use it properly, resulting in a poor initial user experience and even affecting subsequent use intentions. These are situations that Apple hopes to avoid, and therefore encourages consumers to actually make an appointment to experience Vision Pro and experience the differences in Apple's design thinking compared to other brands in this type of product.
After all, differences in each person's head shape, eye distance, myopia, and other conditions may affect the use of virtual vision headsets. In addition, the current pricing of Vision Pro is not very affordable. Therefore, instead of bothering others to borrow it, it is better to go to the store to experience it in person, and you can also get assistance from staff during the experience process.
More tailored to personal experience
Due to differences in head shape, eye distance, and myopia, in order to quickly adjust Vision Pro to suit consumer requirements, staff will first ask consumers to take a photo of their face using their iPhone. Using the iPhone's Face ID function to confirm personal head shape and other information, staff can then correctly adjust the size of the lens hood and headband accessories. Even consumers with myopia or presbyopia can undergo a simple eye test through on-site equipment, allowing them to experience it with ZEISS magnetic lenses.
Currently, Vision Pro offers two headband accessories: a single-loop woven headband that only covers the back of the head, and a double-loop headband that provides additional support for the top of the head. In terms of convenience and comfort, the single-loop woven headband is more suitable, but in terms of stability, the double-loop headband is better. You can also change it according to personal needs when experiencing it in the store.
Actual experience
Many people have already experienced Vision Pro, so I won't rehash the details here. However, it's important to note that compared to the initial firmware release, the current visionOS 2 fixes many gesture issues, allowing users to operate Vision Pro features more intuitively.
However, when setting up the device for the first time, remember to keep your head as still as possible and only change your gaze position by moving your eyeballs. Don't be like me, who was curious at the beginning and kept turning his head to look around during the setting process. This caused the positioning recognition to be confused during the initial setting, making it difficult to correctly judge the gestures later, and the result was that the setting had to be reset.
After completing the settings, you can start experiencing the Vision Pro function, and also feel the experience of intuitively operating various functions and services by focusing your eyes and using gestures.
During the staff's guidance, users will not only learn how to wear Vision Pro, but will also learn how to operate the interface functions through a combination of gaze and gestures. For example, they must look at specific options in order to use gestures to tap or drag, or even zoom, slide, etc. Except for typing, which requires large hand movements, the rest of the time, they basically only need to keep their hands in a fixed position and make slight movements to complete the operation.
It's important to note that compared to virtual reality headsets from brands like HTC and Meta, which mostly operate via handheld controllers or rely on gesture recognition to identify relative movement positions in the virtual vision interface, Apple's Vision Pro's operating logic is based on determining the "gaze" position and then performing the corresponding gesture recognition operations. While it may not seem to make much of a difference, the process reduces the computational workload of constantly recognizing gestures and positions, allowing more computing power to be focused on content interaction and presentation, while also resulting in relatively fast operational responses.
However, the prerequisite is that the initial settings must be completed. Otherwise, like the author, some errors may occur in the recognition setting process, resulting in delays in subsequent operations, etc., which will cause the dilemma of "hand-eye incoordination" during use (you can still adjust it by resetting it later).
The entire user experience will be showcased through built-in apps such as photos, including more immersive image viewing, as well as basic gestures such as pinching your palm to call up the home screen, or turning your palm over to display quick functions. Consumers will also be accustomed to the experience of first looking at the operation item and then operating it through gestures.
The entire experience allows users to easily transition from simply viewing content to interactive games that require moving their hands or even their bodies. It also includes connectivity with Mac models via AirPlay, allowing consumers to use their Mac to complete various tasks in the large virtual windows presented by Vision Pro, or even in multiple virtual windows.
In addition, during the experience, you can also experience the spatial sound output function of Vision Pro, which allows consumers to maintain "communication" with the outside world. When using Vision Pro to watch various immersive experience content, they can still feel the impact of being in reality through sound.
personal opinion
When Apple announced Vision Pro, it said that this product would become the computing device of the future. However, if you look at it from the perspective that everyone is used to using mobile phones, you might think it is a joke.
However, from a science fiction perspective, the smartphones we use today were unimaginable in earlier times (people only imagined mobile calling functions at the time, and hadn't thought about the availability of more online application services). So, why isn't it possible for virtual reality headsets to become the mainstream portable computing device in the future?
Of course, the reason why it is difficult to imagine now is that such devices are still difficult to carry around and are also bulky. However, if these devices can be reduced to the size of ordinary glasses in the future, or even with the advancement of semiconductor and battery technology, such devices can be used all day or even longer, they may become mainstream computing devices in the future.
What Apple is aiming to achieve with the Vision Pro isn't a better display (though the current 4K resolution per camera is already quite impressive), but rather a better user experience. Apple's design philosophy clearly suggests that while more people will create quality content, a good user experience must be built from the ground up.
Therefore, the Vision Pro's user experience boasts intuitive operation, immersive visuals, and even the ability to adjust the immersiveness to suit individual preferences. Furthermore, its integration with Apple's ecosystem of products is another factor contributing to the Vision Pro's user experience.
Although there are rumors that Apple and Sony are collaborating,PlayStation VR 2 handheld controllersCombined with Vision Pro, the operating experience of Vision Pro's gaze and gestures is actually quite intuitive and can meet many operational needs.
