Apple’s unannounced product already sounds better than Meta

Following Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s attempt to smack Apple down over a product it has neither confirmed nor introduced, we really haven’t had to wait too long until the Apple rumor machine takes a swing back against the criticism.

In fact, it already looks as if Apple’s response has effectively knocked Meta off its feet.

I can’t stand up for falling down

You see, while Meta’s demonstration of the addition of legs to its avatars in its Horizon World AR space is effectively a trick as it used animations created from motion capture, Apple has spent time getting things right.

A report claims it has cameras on its upcoming mixed reality device to capture leg movement in avatars.

That’s by no means the only way in which Apple already seems to be preparing to introduce a better thought through mixed reality device than we should expect from Zuckerberg’s Meta.

We’ll see the fruit of the company’s work soon.

What Apple is planning

The Information tells us to expect this from Apple reality:

• Apple’s system will support iris scanning to authenticate payments, which Meta’s Quest Pro won’t do.
• This scanning also means different people can use the same device privately from their own accounts.
• And Apple’s headset carries four more cameras than Meta’s own, 14 against ten.
• Apple has put some thought into the millions of people who wear glasses, who will be able to clip prescription lenses to the inside of the device, so they can see.
• Apple has also made use of sophisticated tech acquired with SensoMotoric Instruments in 2017 to enable smart visual effects, such as putting focus (and processing power) where a person’s looking. SensoMotoric developed an eye-tracking development kit for the HTC Vive VR headset in 2016.
• The Apple Reality device has two downward-facing cameras designed to capture the wearer’s legs for more realistic virtual experiences. Which sounds a little like Continuity Camera on Mac/iPhone to me. It also means avatar leg movements will be more real.
• We also believe it will run a Reality OS, which I doubt will look like Second Life, or Meta’s VR space.

There’s also a difference in how the glasses look.

(Though they don’t look like these, at least, not yet)…

Looks aren’t everything, but…

While Meta’s gadget looks like a big slab of plastic on the face, Apple’s appears more like a set of ski goggles and makes a lot of use of mesh fabrics, aluminium, and glass.

Surprising no one who watches Apple, the device is allegedly thinner and lighter than Meta’s Quest Pro.

In a unique twist, it also has an outward-facing display which shows the facial expression of the wearer. This last point sounds a little weird but does at least pay some attention to the concept of staying connected in a digital age.

Not the cheapest, probably best

Speculation on price is that Apple will aim at the high-end with its first-generation device, which means high-res displays and inclusion of a variant on the M2 processor. That focus on premium quality means the Apple Reality could cost as much as $3,000 — which is more expensive then Meta, but it remains to be seen how the two products will deliver in terms of quality of experience, aka ‘bang to the buck’.

Photo by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash

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