Apple Vision Pro finally releases into the market

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

• Headline: Apple Vision Pro has a slew of interesting apps that were released on 2 February (analysis below).

• Stat of the week: 31% of US shoppers want VR to recreate retail shopping, according to PYMNTS.

• Conversation-starter: Meta’s Reality Labs hit $1bn in revenue for the first time (though it is still making a loss).

• Candidates board: Four more professionals have been added.

• Other stories: Apple announced 600 new apps for the Apple Vision Pro and Panasonic sold its VR hardware subsidiary, Shiftall, to Creek & River (more stories below).

Analysis

Apple Vision Pro has a slew of interesting apps that were released on 2 February.

• What are the themes I noticed? Many apps are productivity-focused or have films, implying that the Apple Vision Pro has a more natural home for productivity and media consumption. Also, many apps have been made by small-time developers who transfer their work to visionOS, keeping a dynamic edge. 

• Scrappy is a good word to describe the situation. A lot of people are making smaller experiences to get a project out there, or working to adapt their already-VR experiences soon.

David Attenborough Immersive Anthology is playing in OTHERWORLD venues across the UK.

• I attended a viewing in London on Sunday and it was a mixed bag. On the one hand, the actual anthology was solid going over the lives of insects and plants, which was gripping. The pods were comfortable, with good audio quality and seating.

• On the other hand, it was not for me. I viewed the experiences at home some time ago, and the VR headsets here were an older model where the quality was less good. The film was also 180 degrees rather than 360; a shame when you are sat in a circular pod. The pods seem better suited for the 360 experience they offer.

• Who is it for? I would say it is for people who have not seen immersive films before and want a solid place to see what the fuss is about. That’s great for VR-curious people who do not own a VR headset, but less good for people who are already knee-deep in the area. That would be 99% of people, so dive in if you’re in that 99%.

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Other notable stories

Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• Apple announced 600 new apps for the Apple Vision Pro.

• Blippar and The Mars Agency unveiled an AR Superbowl campaign for Snickers on Apple Vision Pro.

• Museum Alive Immersive with David Attenborough is out on the Apple Vision Pro.

• Niantic and Reality Crisis have signed a Co-Publishing agreement to bring “Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX” to mobile platforms and select headsets for the next seven years.

• Panasonic sold its VR hardware subsidiary, Shiftall, to Creek & River.

• Resolution Games is working on three titles for the Apple Vision Pro.

• SynergyXR is on the Apple Vision Pro.

• Synth Riders, a rhythm-based game, is now out on - you guessed it - the Apple Vision Pro.

  • (I am starting to see a theme here)

• Xreal, an AR glasses maker, raised $60m in funding.

Help corner

If you have a problem that you think could be solved by another reader of The Immersive Wire and would like to be connected, let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works within Accenture’s metaverse group. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.