With the highly anticipated release of Apple's Vision Pro on Friday, you may start to see more people wearing this futuristic device, ushering in the era of "Spatial Computing".
This is a complex technical concept that Apple executives and their marketing gurus are trying to bring to the mainstream. It avoids other more widely used terms such as "Augmented Reality" and "Virtual Reality" to describe the transformative power of a product hailed as a potential milestone, much like the iPhone launched in 2007.
On Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook enthusiastically said during a discussion with analysts about Vision Pro, "We can't wait for people to experience its magic."
Vision Pro is also expected to become one of Apple's most expensive products, priced at $3,500. Most analysts predict that the company may only sell one million units or less in the first year. However, Apple sold only about four million iPhones in its first year on the market, and now sells over 200 million units annually. This history suggests that initially niche products can become integral to people's lives and work.
If Vision Pro follows this trend, mentions of Spatial Computing may become as deeply ingrained in modern language as mobile and personal computing—both of which Apple played an essential role in creating two technological revolutions.
So, what is Spatial Computing? It is a way to describe the intersection between the physical world around us and the virtual world created by technology, enabling humans and machines to manipulate objects and spaces harmoniously. Cathy Hackl, a long-time industry consultant, said that accomplishing these tasks often involves elements of Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), both of which contribute to achieving Spatial Computing. She now runs a startup developing applications for Vision Pro.
"This is a pivotal moment," Hackl said. "Spatial Computing will enable devices to understand the world in unprecedented ways. It will change human-machine interaction, and every interface will eventually become a Spatial Computing device."
According to Apple, over 600 newly designed applications will be immediately available on Vision Pro, indicating its excitement. The range of applications will include a wide variety of television networks, video streaming services (although Netflix and Google's YouTube are notably absent from the list), video games, and various educational options. In terms of work, video conferencing service Zoom and other companies providing online meeting tools have also built applications for Vision Pro.
However, if Vision Pro's use of Spatial Computing becomes so captivating that people start to believe that life seen through it is much more interesting, it may expose another unsettling aspect of technology. This situation could exacerbate screen addiction, which has been popular since the advent of the iPhone, and deepen the sense of isolation fostered by digital dependence.
Apple is far from the only well-known tech company dedicated to Spatial Computing products. In recent years, Google has been developing a three-dimensional video conferencing service called "Project Starline," which uses "realistic" images and a "magic window" to make two people sitting in different cities feel like they are in the same room. However, Starline has not been widely released. Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has been selling the Quest headset for years, which can be seen as a platform for Spatial Computing, although the company has not positioned the device in this way so far.
