Apple Vision Pro has just been released and reviewers are raving about the incredible technology inside, although they note that the user experience still has some flaws. Despite this, it’s expected that around 400,000 units will be in use by the end of the year.
Many may initially dismiss Apple’s new headset as too expensive, heavy, and not very useful. However, history shows that Apple has a way of mainstreaming new platforms and dominating them with high-quality products over time. Just like the Apple Watch, which started off with mixed reviews but eventually became unbeatable in the market, the Apple Vision Pro is expected to become the leading spatial computing platform in the future.
Apple Vision Pro users will soon be appearing in meetings as “Personas,” which are CGI-looking video representations. Critics have raised concerns about the appearance of these “Personas,” but Apple is likely to improve them with each iteration.
Zoom has announced that their flagship product will support Apple Vision Pro avatars with a new visionOS Zoom app, allowing users to remove meeting participants’ backgrounds and “pin” their real-time hologram anywhere in their physical workspace.
Apple Vision Pro holographic meetings have been anticipated since 2020, and the use of avatars is expected to increase with the availability of generative AI tools for creating avatars.
While Apple Vision Pro is expensive, starting at $3,499, competing devices are becoming available at a range of prices. For example, XReal’s Air 2 Ultra is now available for preorder at $699.
Regardless of the platform, people wearing augmented reality (AR) headsets will likely prefer to take meetings via AR and appear as avatars rather than wearing the headsets during video calls. This trend is also expected to extend to virtual reality (VR) platforms with business meeting capabilities.
Microsoft recently launched Mesh in its meeting platform Microsoft Teams, enabling VR meetings for businesses. Mesh in Teams supports spatial audio, allowing participants to have private conversations by moving their avatars during a meeting.
2024-02-12 17:00:03
Original from www.computerworld.com