The Apple Vision Pro officially goes on sale today. I'm scheduled to pick up my pre-order at my local Apple Store this morning. Also, starting at 8am today, you can sign up for a Vision Pro demo appointment at an Apple Store if you want to try it out for about 20 minutes. Even if you don't buy one right away, I think that this will be something that you will want to try out. The importance of this device in the history of Apple and computing in general will be judged by future historians, but right now, it does seem like we are witnessing the launch of something revolutionary. This was made clear om an article about the Vision Pro released yesterday that I highly recommend: the cover story by Nick Bilton for the most recent issue of Vanity Fair (available in Apple News+). As a 1.0 product, I'm sure that we will one day look back on this device and laugh at some of its specifications—perhaps it will one day seem too big or too heavy or underpowered. But just like Apple introduced a graphical user interface to the masses with the Mac in 1984 and Apple introduced a touch smartphone interface to all of us with the iPhone in 2007, today is the day that Apple brings spatial computing to the world. As people start using it, we will likely see interesting apps from developers unveiled over the course of this year. And in the upcoming years, Apple will tweak the device to provide even more of the features that people like. Whether you are one of the few who is an early adopter or you are just watching from the sidelines to find out whether this technology is useful or a bust, there is sure to be lots to talk about. If you want to hear my initial reactions, Brett Burney and I will be recording an episode of the In the News podcast at the end of the day today, so look out for that episode tomorrow. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- Apple announced yesterday that there will be over 600 new apps for Vision Pro available at launch, plus over a million iPad apps that are compatible.
- In a post on the Microsoft 365 blog, Gabriel Valdez Malpartida reveals that the Microsoft apps Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Loop will be available for the Apple Vision Pro today. Apple had previously demonstrated the Word app, so we knew that one was coming, but it is nice to see the others as well.
- If you work in a corporate environment that uses Mobile Device Management (MDM) to manage devices like the iPhone, as I do, I believe we will need to have MDM enabled on the Apple Vision Pro to access certain services such as Mail and the Calendar. And so far, I haven't heard anything about MDM being available on the Vision Pro. For example, Microsoft has a product called Intune that is used by many law firms and other businesses to manage devices, and I don't see any reference to Intune in that post from Microsoft that I just mentioned. A few weeks ago, Jonny Evans explained in his Apple Holic column in Computrworld why it is important for Apple to support MDM with the Vision Pro, but that article is the only reference I have seen on this topic. Without MDM support, I suspect that I won't be able to access my work email on an Apple Vision Pro even though I can do so on my iPhone or iPad. This seems like one of countless issues that Apple will need to address in future software updates.
- The Zoom app will be available for the Apple Vision Pro starting today, as reported by Chance Miller of 9to5Mac. I'll try it out and, if it works, I'll try to use it for part of the time when we record today's episode of the In the News podcast. Once it is posted, check out what will be the YouTube version of the Episode 133 of the podcast to see what you think.
- Shortcut Button is an interesting Apple Vision Pro app developed by Finn Voorhees and reviewed by Matthew Cassinelli. The app lets you put floating automation buttons in space around you, such as a button next to your stove that starts a timer. (If the name "Voorhees" sounds familiar, Finn's father is John Voorhees, a former practicing attorney who now works at MacStories and is often cited here.)
- Harry McCracken of Fast Company explains why the Apple Vision Pro is more like the first Mac than the first iPhone.
- Salvador Rodriguez of the Wall Street Journal reports that Meta, the parent company of Facebook that sells the Meta Quest VR headset, hopes that the Quest will serve as a competitor to the Vision Pro in the same way that Android is a competitor to the iPhone.
- Emma Roth of The Verge reports that Meta will update the Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets so that they can also watch 3D spatial videos recorded for Apple’s Vision Pro. Folks who have used a Vision Pro have reported that watching spatial videos can be an incredibly moving experience. With the lower resolution of the Meta devices, I'm curious whether that emotional aspect will still be there.
- How many Apple Vision Pro units has Apple pre-sold? Only Apple knows for sure, but Juli Clover of MacRumors claims that the number is around 200,000. At one point, I heard a rumor that Apple could only get 1 million of the tiny screens used in the Vision Pro during the first year, and with two screens per device that means 500,000. If that number is even close to accurate, it is hard to believe that Apple has already sold 40% of the units available in Year 1, so some of those guesstimates must be wrong.
- One number that Apple has revealed for the first time is the number of users of the Apple Card credit card. As reported by Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac, there are over 12 million people using the Apple Card, with over $1 billion in cash back paid last year. I own an Apple Card, and while I don't use it for all of my purchases, I definitely use it for all of my Apple purchases thanks to the 3% cash back.
- The iPhone has been able to take panoramic photos for a while now, and I understand that those photos will look great in an Apple Vision Pro—so much so that I'm sure that I will soon wish that I had taken even more of them in the past. But you can also use the panoramic photo feature to perform some tricks, as Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac explains. Fun stuff.
- Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reviews NexDock, a product that looks like a laptop but connects to an iPad to essentially turn the iPad into a laptop. It's a fascinating product, even though I don't think that I would want to ever use it myself.
- Dan Moren of Six Colors reviews the Level Lock+, a smart lock that supports Apple's home key standard so that you can just hold up your Apple Watch near the lock to unlock the door.
- If you want a web browser for the iPhone that is easier to use with just one hand, Federico Viticci of MacStories recommends the Arc Search app.
- One of the shows that I thoroughly enjoyed watching on Apple TV+ last year was Hijack starring the amazing Idris Elba. Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reveals that Apple is picking up that show for a second season. This is great news, and I look forward to seeing the next installment of this exciting series.
- William Gallagher of AppleInsider reports that victims of a horrible accident when a car ran into a palm tree in California were rescued because one of the occupants was wearing an Apple Watch, which called for help.
- There isn't an iPhone connection for this one, but as an appellate attorney who is often thinking about the right font to use, this video from Elle Cordova that personifies fonts made me laugh, as did the follow-up video.
- And finally, here is the advertisement called Hello Apple Vision Pro that Apple is running on TV to promote sales of this new device.