How do you see Apple's New Vision Pro Semi-helmet?

To their credit, Apple didn't use the nonsense two-word techno-mumble-incantation "AI" in their Monday announcements. Emulate their restraint. It's not like they're always well restrained either.

Before getting to the new Apple Vision Pro devices, let’s put Apple’s announcement into a broader context:

I continue to be impressed by the progress we’re making in the sciences that make up the many and various areas of artificial intelligence research.

Digression: There is no single, isomorphic entity or discipline know as AI, no more than there is a single, isomorphic “investment strategy” or a single, isomorphic capability known as “human intelligence” for that matter.

Consternation: I continue to sigh over the hype, fear mongering and foaming-at-the-mouth hysteria (from sellers, buyers, regulators, consultants, much of the press and others) that surround the many spaces that make up AI. The keynote at Apple’s world wide developer conference, WWDC, was remarkably free of all that FUD and FOMO.

Ars Technica had a good writeup (from a developer’s point of view, which is their audience) that illustrated how Apple encloses AI in value delivery, not techno-worship. Until we get to the ‘Vision Pro glasses’ anyhow, which I will get to below.

But first, here’s a no-BS claim of capabilities that most Apple users should applaud:

"Thanks to new machine learning models, iPadOS can identify the fields in a PDF so you can use AutoFill to quickly fill them out with information like names, addresses, and emails from your contacts.”

Nice, simple, incremental value. Here’s another:

“Using on-device machine learning, your iPhone can create personalized suggestions of moments to inspire your writing…Suggestions will be intelligently curated from information on your iPhone, like your photos, location, music, workouts, and more. And you control what to include when you enable Suggestions and which ones to save to your Journal." (Journal is a new app Apple announced.)

Then we get to Apple Vision Pro (A-VP), available early 2024 for only $3,499.00. On the Apple site, Apple says

With Vision Pro, you have an infinite canvas that transforms how you use the apps you love. Arrange apps anywhere and scale them to the perfect size, making the workspace of your dreams a reality — all while staying present in the world around you. Browse the web in Safari, create a to-do list in Notes, chat in Messages, and seamlessly move between them with a glance.

Redundant?

I have two monitors, one a 32 inch 4K display, the other a 27 inch 5K display, as well as a 75 inch Samsung 4K TV and the built in displays in my 15 inch 2019 MacBook Pro (MBP) and my 13 inch 2021 MBP. So with A-VP, I would have an infinite canvas to boot! Sounds quite redundant to me.

Impressive?

The amount of tech packaged inside A-VP is impressive! I could see myself borrowing one of these devices from my kids or grand-kids to use on a trans-Pacific flight to occupy my time as I cross the international date line, but I doubt any of them will have A-VP until the price-point drops well below $500. That’ll be quite a while from now I suspect.

Spooky?

Remember the glass-holes remarks about Google Glass circa 2012. And even earlier experiments with head enclosing display devices? I do. And I think Apple’s wise to try to invent something that will make the A-VP devices less spooky or offputting.

Here’s what they did:

A-VP synthesizes an image of your eyes (hidden behind the Apple Vision Pro) and projects them on the front of the glasses so people can see where you’re looking. Sort of the same thing if you could close your eyes and synthesize an image, from inside your eyelids onto the outside of your eyelids, so people could see where you’re looking if your eyes weren’t closed. Did you get that picture? (Of course, the same would happen if you took off A-VP.)

Spooky? Yes, quite probably! As spooky as Google Glass? I suspect they’re close-enough to create concerns and usage bans in a broader range of locations than Apple might have expected.

My take:

If you’re a one-percenter in monetary terms, go get an Vision Pro from Apple as soon as you can. They’ll be fun. At least for a while. Then lend them to me. I’ll take them on planes, too. But I bet I’ll get a lot of strange reactions…

Everyone else? Check out a demo at your local Apple store once the A-VP is available there for demos. And let us all know what you think.