The Apple Vision Pro headset is an "over-engineered DevKit" that includes more sensors than are necessary to deliver Apple's desired experience, according to Hugo Barra, former vice president of Android and former head of Oculus' Meta.
Barra, who oversaw the Oculus team in 2017 after it was acquired by Facebook, published an in-depth analysis of Apple's spatial computing device that's worth reading. But there are a few things worth noting.
See also: Apple Vision Pro: Used in surgery
Hugo Barra says Apple has equipped the Vision Pro with an impressive six tracking cameras, two traversal cameras, two depth sensors, and four eye-tracking cameras. This high-end selection, Barra says, is “a hallmark of a v1 product, where the creator is counting on it to withstand the initial rigors that early adopters will undoubtedly want to put the product through.”
Apple's decision to over-weight the Vision Pro makes the headset over 14 ounces (600 grams), which makes it difficult to wear for long periods of time. Many will have difficulty wearing them for more than 30-45 minutes without feeling uncomfortable.
Due to its heavy weight, the Vision Pro has inevitably taken the world by storm as a high-quality “devkit” designed to generate interest. It realistically targets developers as its primary audience. After all, the Vision Pro is a devkit that helps prepare the world for a technologically advanced Apple VR that could emerge in the product market in future generations.
Hugo Barra claims that Apple intentionally made the Vision Pro look blurry in order to improve the realism of the graphics, which he considers a “smart move” by Apple.
“One of our biggest product placement struggles within the Oculus VR team from the beginning—especially when trying to convince reviewers—has always been related to having unbearable displays. Every Oculus headset we’ve released (including the most recent Quest 3) has had resolution/pixelation issues that range from “terrible” to “pretty bad.”.
With the Vision Pro optics slightly out of focus, Apple achieves “much smoother graphics across the entire surface, as it hides the door screen effect (meaning you won’t see pixelation).” However, Hugo Barra expresses his displeasure with the Vision Pro’s “significant motion blur and image quality issues that make the pass-through feature unusable for longer periods of time.”.
Also read: Meta: Is it deleting all Oculus accounts?
He also says that motion blur during mode was one of the reasons he recalled the Vision Pro. He says it's stupid, unnecessarily taxing on the eyes, and makes it difficult to use the headphones for long periods of time.
You can read Hugo Barra's detailed account of his experience with the Vision Pro on his blog. The Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 in the United States, with the device expected to be released in more countries later this year.
Source: macrumors
