Apple has added a significant upgrade to the Apple Vision Pro, you can position 'Spatial Personas' to have a conversation around the table for example.
Ever since the early days of internet chatrooms, people have been desperate to find the perfect digital avatar to represent themselves. Personally, I remember trying as a teenager to create myself in Nintendo Mii form - with limited success.
With the Apple Vision Pro, Apple took a slightly different approach, giving users a near photo-realistic representation of themselves (minus the headset) to use when interacting with others. Users can create their 'Persona' using the headset to scan their faces from several angles and record several different expressions. Until now, you could only use this representation of yourself in FaceTime calls but now you can hang out with CGI friends in real locations.
Thanks to the introduction of Spatial Personas, if you have friends with Vision Pros then you could for example gather your friends around the coffee table for a chat, or watch the same football match simultaneously in the living room. Actually doing something together rather than just intensely staring into each other's (digital) eyes is a big step forward.
First big Vision Pro update: Shared experiences. "Spatial personas"This was at the top of my list of what was missing from Vision Pro - the floating head is a little odd looking, but the principle is there: Interact with the same content/game/object as someone else in realtime pic.twitter.com/wGWFiq9oycApril 2, 2024
As the Apple Vision Pro still isn't out in the UK yet, we haven't tried this new feature but Marques Brownlee tweeted a demonstration. He kindly described the floating heads as a "little odd looking" and I would agree that it looks like a great way to turn your friends into Star Wars force ghosts with a blurry body and detached limbs.
Jokes aside, this is impressive stuff. With the 1.1 VisionOS update, you can position the avatars for yourself but also watch movies and even play games together via SharePlay. Of course, the biggest obstacle is the headset's $3499 price tag, but this could change the way we work and play. If you're not made of money maybe stick to one of the best video conference cameras for now.
Up to five people can use Spatial Personas at once, and at least two need headsets. To position your friends appropriately simply pinch and drag them to the most appropriate/least creepy spot.
