Table of Contents for 3D Models for furniture software - SketchUp / pCon.planner / furnplan
- What is Apple Vision Pro?
- What does Spatial Computing mean?
- Meaning Enhanced Perception
- Operating Apple Vision Pro
- Who is the Apple Vision Pro interesting for?
- So, is the Apple Vision Pro revolutionizing the way we work with Mixed Reality?
- No real view - all camera and CGI
- 3D Content and Mixed Reality - User and Creator
- FAQ
With the Apple Vision Pro, the Cupertino-based company wants to launch mixed reality glasses on the market in the near future that can also be used without Apple devices. The market launch in the USA is planned for 2024, with a few selected countries to follow. It will be a while before the glasses, which are expected to cost 3,500 US dollars, are available in Germany.
What can the Apple Vision Pro do? And what do tools like this mean for the future of CGI?
What is Apple Vision Pro?
If you're expecting pure AR glasses, you're wrong. Apple is positioning Vision Pro as a "spatial computer " - a standalone system with visionOS, M2 chip for apps and R1 chip for real-time sensor fusion. Two micro OLED displays deliver more than 4K per eye - a total of ~23 million pixels - including spatial audio. It is controlled with eyes, hands and voice; apps float in space as windows.
Vision Pro launched in the USA on February 2, 2024 (from USD 3,499) and has been gradually rolled out internationally since summer 2024, including to Germany. Details, specifications and the product video can be found on the Apple product page for Vision Pro.
What does Spatial Computing mean?
Spatial computing links digital content with the physical world: windows, volumes and 3D objects behave "spatially logically", reacting to depth, light and surfaces. For designers and developers, this means that interfaces must function in space - including visual, gesture and voice interaction. Apple summarizes the principles in the visionOS Human Interface Guidelines for technical classification, it is also worth reading the visionOS developer overview.
Importance of enhanced perception
The "screen" is the room. You place apps, media and 3D objects in your environment, scale them and use them in parallel - without a classic display. Vision Pro complements this with Spatial Audio, which displays sound sources spatially. On the outside, EyeSight fades in your gaze for others and shows how attentive you are to your surroundings (e.g. when someone enters the room). Apple explains the concept and behavior in "Use EyeSight with Apple Vision Pro".
Operating Apple Vision Pro
Keyboard? Mouse? You don't need one. You focus with your eyes, confirm with a minimal finger gesture, zoom and organize windows freely in the room; Siri accepts voice commands. For people who wear glasses, there are magnetic ZEISS inserts that are stored in the system. FaceTime calls use personas - realistic 3D avatars generated from the face scan that are "in the room" with Spatial Personas and work together via SharePlay. Apple explains how to set up and use them in "Set up your Persona (beta)" and "Use spatial Persona (beta)". For battery practice: The external battery pack provides up to ~2 hours (mains operation enables longer sessions).
Who is the Apple Vision Pro interesting for?
Of course, entertainment benefits: Disney has set up a visionOS app including immersive "environments" for the launch - a prime example of brand-appropriate, spatial experiences. Check out the announcement on Disney's Newsroom at. At the same time, Vision Pro is getting exciting as a work tool: With Mac Virtual Display, you can expand your Mac to a huge, sharp screen - including support for 32:9/ultrawide layouts and higher resolution according to Apple support. Pointed on the media side The Vergeexplains why this can be a "killer feature" for working.
So, is the Apple Vision Pro revolutionizing the way we work with Mixed Reality?
Yes and no. Many things feel familiar: familiar apps, only freely placeable, scalable, usable in parallel. The added value comes from ergonomic interaction, large virtual displays and spatial collaboration. Since visionOS 2 (WWDC 2024), new hand gestures, optimized workflows and functions such as converting photos to Spatial Photos have been added - the distance to "smooth" 2D software is growing step by step. Apple's overview: "visionOS 2 brings new spatial experiences".
No real view - all camera and CGI
Important to note: Vision Pro is not optically transparent AR glasses. You see the world via video passthrough - the cameras capture your surroundings and visionOS places them on the displays. This makes technological sense (latency, HDR, depth recon), but it is not a direct see-through experience. At the same time, EyeSight projects your eyes outwards to receive social signals. Apple openly explains the behavior and limitations in the EyeSight documentation and points out in safety and handling instructions points out sensible usage scenarios.
3D Content and Mixed Reality - User and Creator
Two perspectives, one goal: people want to be amazed, brands want to be experienced. This is exactly where CGI / 3D and Vision Pro meet. For home & living brands, this means virtual showrooms, configurable products and emotional brand experiences in space - consistent from render to real time.
If you think end-to-end, you need resilient 3D assets and a clear story. We support you with Augmented reality in 3D (from the AR freeze frame to the room try-out), interactive 3D viewersprecise 3D animations and a 3D render studiothat plays out PBR materiality down to the last detail. You can find examples from real projects in our CGI references - and if you have specific ideas, please contact us directly to us.
Mixed Reality needs not only users – but also creative makers
With regard to the digital spatial experience, the Apple Vision Pro is an extremely interesting presence, without question. This naturally results in the second scenario: Someone has to create the content. Because of course it won't just be about the landscape shots of the last vacation or the next James Bond movie when more and more people buy this spatial computer.
Apple is already advertising the device by saying that the visual content of the mindfulness app can extend throughout the entire room, making the relaxation exercises even more effective. These are not images taken with cameras - these are CGI, computer-generated images.
What makes the Apple Vision Pro really exciting for 3D Artists
What's really new and interesting isn't the Apple Vision Pro product, but the approach to how mixed reality is understood here. The spatial computer, as Apple calls the glasses, is much more intuitive and natural to use than anything else available on the computer market so far.
The natural body feeling is less disturbed, the operation is ergonomic in the deepest sense of the word due to the naturalness of the movements, the interactions with the Vision Pro. The transition between Real Life and Virtual Reality is so natural that it poses a challenge to CGI/3D. And we gladly accept it!
Because, and this is the third scenario, of course the Vision Pro is also interesting as a work device for people who create CGI/3D images. The various features may not revolutionize working with the currently available software, but they make it much more pleasant.
When the smallest details wander from the screen into the room and can be brought to any size without losing their sharpness, it makes working very different. If hand-eye coordination is no longer necessary for graphic work with a mouse or stylus because integrated cameras follow the tiny movements of the pupil, then this opens up completely new possibilities.
You can find out in this overview how Adobe is setting new standards for immersive content with Mixed Reality and Substance 3D.
