Apple’s WWDC event started yesterday. There were a ton of announcements, and I will focus on ones that are business related or adjacent.
Apple completed its transition to Apple silicon with the announcement of the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra Chip, with up to a 24-core CPU and 76-core GPU. Facetime is coming to Apple TV, including Zoom and WebEx apps on the upcoming tvOS 17. AirPlay is coming to hotels, allowing users to place content on hotel televisions. iOS 17 brings NameDrop, designed to help with contact information sharing, and Live Voicemail, which transcribes voicemail in real time and shows on the screen as the caller leaves their message.
The headline, of course, is the new Apple Vision Pro headset. It’s priced at three thousand four hundred ninety-nine dollars and coming early next year. It’s controller-free and looks like a pair of ski goggles. The headset has a glass front and an aluminum frame containing five sensors, 12 cameras, a 4K display for each eye, and a computer that’s cooled with a fan. It’s controlled with motion gestures, runs apps, and connects with other Apple devices nearby. Microsoft Word, Excel, and Teams will all be available on the platform.
Notable business-related demos included using it as a display for a Mac while still using native apps for browsing and communicating, participating in meetings where participants are displayed in space alongside presentations, and working with 3D-rendered objects within the space.
Tim Cook referred to the idea as “spatial computing,” which is the element to care about. This device doesn’t even arrive until next year, so this show was about developers making software for it. It also leans into augmented rather than virtual reality, making the device’s vision far more relatable.
The use cases outlined are the first ones with a specific, usable implementation I could relate to using on a more daily basis. Describing it as another display for your computer makes a ton of sense, and the fundamental pitch is distinctly business.
Knowing I’m an Apple fan, a colleague asked me if I had ordered it already. Besides, it isn’t available for order; the answer would be no. The price/value ratio is off … right now. This is version one, and while I love my iPhone, I didn’t buy the first version either. I am intrigued by the combination of the technologies and where the future may lead.
Imagine this technology either in a lighter form, such as glasses, or implemented within a physical space without needing glasses. If you dream a bit, you can see where this might go, and that vision is much clearer than what competitors have offered. There’s a practicalness here, too – rather than Zuck’s bad cartoon people, this leans into reality… augmented. By intentional choice.
One of Daniel Burrus’s thoughts: all technology gets smaller over time until it’s built into something else. We’re not viewing the final product here.
And that’s the critical flaw now. Users look ugly wearing it. There’s a reason none of the executives wore the device during the presentation – it’s too easy to be mocked while using it. More than anything, that will be a consideration. Humans don’t like technology that makes them feel awkward. Time will tell if the value increases enough to overcome that or morphs into something else.