Apple has unveiled a much-anticipated augmented reality headset, Apple Vision Pro, in its first major hardware launch for almost a decade.
In a Twitter post, late Monday Night, June 5, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the new headset “seamlessly blends the real world and the virtual world”.
The headset has a two-hour battery life, costs $3,499 (£2,849) and will be released early next year in the US.
Last week Meta announced its Quest – which costs $449, meaning Apple’s New device costs considerably more than virtual reality headsets currently on the market.
Cook made the announcement at a developer’s conference at Apple Park, the company’s headquarters, in Cupertino, California.
Apple used the phrase “augmented reality” to describe what the new device does.
Augmented reality, also known as mixed reality, superimposes virtual objects in the world around us – enabling us to mix reality with virtual reality by looking through a screen.
Users can access apps, watch movies, and write documents in a virtual world.
In his sales pitch, Cook said the headset allows users to “see, hear and interact with digital content just like it’s in your physical space”.
It is controlled by using a combination of your hands, eyes and voice such as tapping your fingers together to select, and flicking them to scroll.
Apple’s last major hardware release was for the Apple Watch device in 2015.
Aside from the Vision Pro announcement, Apple also unveiled iOS17, the latest version of its iPhone operating system.
Updates include “contact posters” – a picture or image of yourself that will appear on a person’s phone when you call them – and “live voicemail” – which provides a real-time transcription of an answerphone message being left to you.
This transcription will also apply to audio messages left using Apple Messages.
And Apple has introduced a system called Check-In – which will automatically tell a friend or family member when you’ve arrived home.
The new operating system will be available in Autumn 2023.
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