February 2, 2024

In 2017 I bought a used Oculus Rift DK2 from a startup here in the Bay Area. VR seemed like such an obvious evolution of computing I just had to try it myself. At that time I didn’t have a single Windows system in my house, running a mix of Linux and Mac. Shortly after my purchase Oculus dumped Mac support, so I built a Windows PC and my long, frustrating journey with PC based VR began. Since then I’ve purchased an HTC Vive, Oculus Quest and an HP Reverb G2, none of which have ever been inspiring. The vast majority of that VR market is gamers, which I am not. I am a creative, I love shooting photo and video, making electronic gadgets, 3D printing and music. The Apple ecosystem has served creators like me well for years and is the best!
Fast forward to 2023 when Apple announced the Vision Pro, and I was excited about VR again. Apple shows such attention to detail around the experience. I could tell from the early marketing that Apple was more aligned with my vision of VR. The wording was carefully chose, spatial computing, spatial video, environments etc. I had spent years trying to explain to people what my 360 degree, stereo photos and videos even were. There was not an easy way to show them to people, but now “regular” folks may have seen (or even tried) a Vision Pro demo and “get it”. Apple’s focus on building a user interface that uses our hands and eyes is genius, it is how VR has been envisioned by sci-fi writers and those who don’t have a gamer-based preconception of the interface. I don’t need a “button orgy” controller to operate my computer!
So today marks the beginning of my intentional dive into the Vision Pro ecosystem. I realize some long time VR enthusiasts may be bitter about Apple’s entry into the space. I don’t understand the hate, but will focus on creating and not arguing with those that don’t get it. I’ve created a separate entity, Reality of Vision, where I will focus on an Apple-centric view of “spatial computing” and see where it goes. I’m hopeful at some point an open hardware and software spatial ecosystem will form, but I don’t see that happening soon. My hope is that new web technologies like WebGPU and WebXR will allow Apple Vision Pro users to lead the way to a more open and diverse landscape.