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Apple Vision Diary

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Apple Vision Diary: Trying virtual Mac monitors on the Quest 2

Virtual Mac monitors | Immersed app on Meta Quest 2

While some rolled their eyes when Apple described Vision Pro as a spatial computer, instead of a headset, I didn’t. That’s because, to me, having virtual Mac monitors in front of my eyes, no matter where I am, is by far the most exciting use case for the device.

At a minimum, it could transform the way I work when away from my home office – and in the longer term, it could potentially be a great way to work even when at home. So when I discovered I could try out this idea on the Meta Quest 2, I couldn’t wait to do so …

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Apple Vision Diary: After a top-end headset, what can a Quest 2 tell me?

What can a Quest 2 tell me about Apple Vision | Table tennis VR game

From one extreme to the other! I recently got the chance to try a $6,500 enterprise mixed-reality headset, and I’ve also been experimenting with the $300 Meta Quest 2, to see whether there’s a place in my life for this type of tech as I wait for a more affordable Apple Vision Product.

I mentioned before that I’d previously bought what was then the Oculus Go, and the novelty had rather quickly worn off, but one commenter did make a fair point about that: that the Go was more about 360-degree viewing (of both video and VR worlds), and that a Quest would be a better taster for truly interactive virtual reality …

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Apple Vision diary: Trying the $6,500 Varjo XR-3, to get a better sense of Vision Pro

Varjo XR-3 demo

There aren’t many cases of another company charging more than Apple for a similar product, but the Varjo XR-3 mixed-reality headset is a rare example.

Not having been one of the chosen few to be invited to try Vision Pro (was it something I said?), I took advantage of an invitation to try what Varjo believes is the most advanced mixed-reality device available. In particular, I wanted to see whether it could change my view of the tech as something that doesn’t yet justify the steep price-tag when it comes to my own needs

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Apple Vision Diary: This is looking like it could be a 2027 purchase

Apple Vision Diary 2027 | Mindfulness on the Vision Pro

Yeah, it is somewhat crazy to start an Apple Vision Diary when the first-gen model isn’t set to go on sale until next year, and I currently don’t expect to buy until the third-gen, and I’m saying I think that could be four years away. But here we are (and I kind of already did).

Let’s start by looking at the timings of Vision Pro going on sale – both theory, and potential practice …

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Apple Vision Pro looks insanely impressive – but my Vision Air 2 guess still feels right

Apple’s Reality Vision Pro was in some ways one of the company’s worst-kept secrets. We’ve known for years that Apple was working on AR/VR devices, and our renders were close enough to give us a decent preview of the design.

But Apple still knocked it out of the park yesterday! What we witnessed was the most impressive implementation of mixed reality that’s ever been seen, and also the most persuasive (partial) answer so far to the question, Why would anyone use this tech? …

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I won’t be buying Reality Pro; a 3rd-gen device, probably

I won't be buying Reality Pro | 9to5Mac render

I won’t be buying Reality Pro. That’s partly down to the anticipated price, but also because I haven’t yet found either augmented or virtual reality to be in any way compelling.

Cute, yes. Impressive, also yes. But I can’t remember the last time I used an AR app, and while I did buy a VR headset, I also can’t remember the last time I dug it out of the back of a drawer …

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