Apple unveils its long-awaited augmented reality headset Vision Pro at WWDC

It’s been years, but Apple officially introduced its AR headset at its annual World Wide Developers Conference.

The headset, called Apple Vision Pro, is the first product you look forward to and not to, CEO Tim Cook said at the live event on Monday.

The headset allows users to merge the real world with a digital world controlled by their eyes, voice and hands.

Vision Pro has a single, thick band at the back of the head that connects a large screen that sits over the eyes.

“With Vision Pro, you’re no longer limited by a screen,” said Cook, introducing the new headset.

Rumors speculated that the headset would feature mixed reality, but Apple has focused solely on AR.

Apple calls it “spatial computing,” where content is integrated into the space around you.

Users move their eyes and hands and say specific commands to power their journey through the augmented experience.

Alan Dye, Apple’s head of human interface, said users use their eyes to select content in the glasses, tap their fingers together to click and swipe gently to scroll.

And the EyeSight feature lets people in the room see your eyes, unlike Meta’s Quest, which has an opaque visor.

Vision Pro’s outer screen goes dark when a user is fully immersed in a virtual world.

When a person approaches a user completely virtually, the headset will show the user and the remote person to each other.

“You’re never isolated from people around you,” Dye said. “You can see them and they can see you.”

For work use, Apple showed how the headset can be used with a trackpad and keyboard to work like a traditional multi-display computer.

Apple said the headset uses a new chip called R1, which is designed to process information from its sensors in less than an instant.

Walt Disney’s streaming service Disney+ will be available on the device from day one. Disney has been working with Apple for years.