Exclusive: Apple is the best known, most popular and most valuable brand name in the world. Add to that their $3.4trillion dollar market capitalisation and the job of CEO isn’t just standing up on stage announcing shiny new products.
Twelve months ago Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company’s first all-new product in almost eight years, the Apple Vision Pro. This week, that product goes on sale in Australia.
Ahead of it’s launch Cook sat down with 9News to discuss the product and it’s Australian launch.
‘Entirely new AR platform’
When the product itself was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference last June, Cook described his passion for Augmented Reality, saying: “I believe that Augmented Reality is a profound technology, Blending digital content with the real world can unlock experiences like nothing we’ve ever seen.”
He then described the new product as being on an “entirely new AR platform”.
I asked Cook, 12 months on, to describe Apple Vision Pro.
“Vision Pro is the most advanced personal computing device in the world. And just like the Mac ushered in personal computing, and the iPhone ushered in the modern mobile computer, the Vision Pro is ushering in spatial computing,” he said.
The move away from calling it Augmented Reality is perhaps a way for Apple to distance themselves from products already on the market, with their belief their product presents differently to consumers.
Cook went on to describe this new term.
“So what is spatial computing? Spatial computing is a big idea that you can see here and interact with your digital content right in your physical space. And so it’s an enabler to do things that you couldn’t do with other devices and it’s so great to bring it to Australia.”
Personally, I’ve been reviewing technology for near on 20 years, and have seen the iPod era come and go, the smartphone era reach it’s innovation peak, the smartwatch era come along and the rise of AI. One year ago when I got to first try Apple Vision Pro it was overwhelming.
I put my views directly to Tim Cook, telling him I think it’s the most amazing technology I’ve ever seen, but, that I don’t know what we need it for.
He responded with a look to the future, one built on new features and many new apps to come.
“I’m excited about the number of use cases I’m seeing and I’m excited about the ecosystem building out,” he said.
“There’s now over 2000 apps that have been custom designed right for Vision Pro, and there’s over a million and a half that are compatible with Vision Pro. “
“The consumer is using it to enjoy their immersive content. They’re using it to enjoy their spatial photos. And now with Vision OS 2, which is coming out later in a few months from now, it will enable you to take your 2D old 2D photos and make and convert them to 3D And it will feel like if you’re watching them or looking at them and with Vision Pro that you’re there, you are reliving that moment with your family or friends or your special vacation.”
Australian developers at the fore
Citing the vibrant Australian development community, Cook revealed he also has a passion for a couple of great Aussie Apps on Vision Pro, including Jigspace a 3D modelling app that until now was used on flat screens like iPhones or iPads.
“They’re doing some incredible work. They were one of the original app developers, so they got in really early. You can see and understand things like a like a Formula One car. You can see things like a jet engine and take it apart. This is an incredible way to learn and understand and something you can’t really do on a flat 2D screen.”
What games does the CEO of a three trillion dollar company play? Fruit Ninja of course. Cook knows all about it, telling me: “It’s great. I play it.”
“Super fruit Ninja was also one of the original games on Vision Pro and so as you know the developer community in Australia is very vibrant, very creative, and we couldn’t be happier than to, to bring the product there and open it up to even more developers.”
Perhaps Apple’s biggest problem with Vision Pro is its price. At $5999 it’s the most expensive base model product Apple Sells.
So if an Aussie is going to try one, or buy one – what should you do on it?
Here’s what the Apple CEO himself recommends: “I would be curious. I would be curious and try a bunch of different things. I would watch some of my favourite content, I hope you’re looking at TV plus, but you may be looking at some of the other great content out there.
“I hope that you’re looking at some of the immersive video that we’re providing and experiencing that, because there will be more of that coming along the way.
“I hope that you try to do your normal things that you do, whether it’s browsing or email and find out whether that’s for you or not. I hope that if you’re using a Mac, you use it as a virtual display because the idea of having this virtual display is huge.”
Bottom line, try it, says Cook.
“I hope that you’re curious and you check out many different things on it. It’s an exciting time”
There likely won’t be queues around the block to buy Apple Vision Pro given it’s price, but Apple Stores across Australia will be making demo’s available and I expect many, many people to try it.
Trevor Long travelled to Cupertino as a guest of Apple.
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