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☆ Apple shareholders should rejoice about Vision Pro's $3,500 price tag — and it's a better approach than Facebook's
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Henry Blodget | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Facebook's going for ubiquity — the platform approach — but it's not working well. For anyone who has watched Apple's pricing strategy over the years, this approach shouldn't have been a surprise. Apple's pricing choice also illustrates a distinctly different pricing strategy than the one taken by Apple's big AR/VR rival, Facebook. But Apple's approach does come with a distinct advantage over Facebook's. If Vision Pro is a dud — or takes forever to gain traction — like Quest, Apple at least won't likely burn tens of billions on its investments in it.

Persons: it's, Apple, Facebook's, Steve Jobs, gizmo Organizations: Apple, Facebook, Quest VR, Quest, Microsoft

☆ First mission to ‘touch’ the sun catches the solar wind
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The slower solar wind, located in the same plane of the solar system as Earth, flows at a calmer 249 miles per second (400 kilometers per second). This flip causes the coronal holes to appear across the sun’s surface and release bursts of solar wind directly toward Earth. JHU Applied Physics Laboratory/NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterUnderstanding the source of the solar wind can help scientists better predict space weather and solar storms that can affect Earth. Fortunately, Parker Solar Probe and a separate mission, Solar Orbiter, are perfectly poised to observe the sun’s powerful, dynamic forces at play. “There was some consternation at the beginning of the solar probe mission that we’re going to launch this thing right into the quietest, most dull part of the solar cycle,” Bale said.

Persons: Eugene Parker, Parker, ”, James Drake, “ That’s, Stuart D, Bale, ” Parker, ” Bale Organizations: CNN, Parker, Probe, JHU, Physics Laboratory, Space, University of Maryland, College Park, University of California, Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe Locations: Berkeley

☆ Thank you, Apple! Ignore the haters. Innovation is brave, inspiring, necessary, and cool.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Henry Blodget | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

You may think Apple's new headset is ridiculous, but you should cheer the company anyway. Innovation is expensive, difficult, and risky — and the only way to create a better future. And I don't think creating "eyes" on the outside of my goggles to make me look friendlier is going to change that. I do think there are certain communities and applications that might see fast adoption of Apple's goggles — gaming, for example. So I'm not ready to write off Apple's goggles yet.

Persons: Steve Jobs, Apple, I'm, It's Organizations: Vision

☆ Apple's next challenge: It needs apps for its Vision Pro headset, but it's not on sale yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks with members of the media next to Apple's new Vision Pro virtual reality headset, during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, June 5, 2023. On Monday, Apple revealed its $3,500 Vision Pro "spatial computing" headset to the public ahead of a planned launch early next year. Now Apple needs to convince developers to make apps for it, even though the hardware isn't widely available yet. App support for the Vision Pro will be critical for its success. All this effort is to ensure the app store for the Vision Pro is stocked when it eventually goes on sale.

Persons: Tim Cook, Apple, Morgan Stanley, Erik Woodring Organizations: Apple, Apple's Worldwide, Vision, Union Locations: Cupertino , California, California, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo

The initial reviews were mixed and skeptics questioned whether even Apple could make virtual reality anything more than a niche technology. But boosters say that if any company can make it mainstream, it’s Apple with its ecosystem of two billion iPhone, iPad and Mac users. “We believe Apple Vision Pro is a revolutionary product,” Tim Cook told developers and journalists on Monday. It certainly looks like an Apple product: Unlike other virtual reality headsets, an external display shows your eyes to others, and the device is controlled using hand gestures, eye movements and your voice. “The most perfect headset demo reel of all time is still just a headset demo reel,” wrote Nilay Patel of The Verge.

Persons: Tim Cook, ”, Joanna Stern, I’ve, Marques Brownlee, “, Nilay Patel, lockdowns Organizations: Apple, Apple Vision, The, Street, Investors

☆ Apple Vision Pro demo roundup: Here’s what everyone is saying
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple let some people try out its new Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. The Vision Pro will allow users to see apps in a new way, in the spaces around them. The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said the Vision Pro was intuitive to use, has the "fit and finish" of an Apple gadget, and is more comfortable than Meta Quest Pro or Quest 2. Stern said Apple showed her a number of different demos, and she said she thinks the most valuable initial uses for the Vision Pro will be for watching movies and working. 9to5Mac's Chance Miller said that it was easy to get the Vision Pro to feel "snug" and that it was generally pretty comfortable.

Persons: Joanna Stern, It's, Stern, Apple, 9to5Mac's Chance Miller, Miller Organizations: Apple, Worldwide Developers, Apple Watch, Microsoft, Meta Quest, Vision

☆ iPod godfather says Apple 'jumped the shark' with its Vision Pro headset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tony Fadell, a former Apple executive known as the iPod godfather, just dunked on the company's new $3,499 Vision Pro headset. But he slammed the price, battery life, and other aspects. "It's has truly nothing to do with 2hr battery life," Fadell responded. "The apps & marketing pitch is awful even if it had 24 HR battery life…. "There's no dancing in the virtual world when people don't even have bodies.

Persons: Tony Fadell, Fadell, Jeff Lutz, Apple, It's, I'm Organizations: Wired, Apple, Tech

☆ Apple didn't mention the metaverse once
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple's mixed-reality headset is finally here, but it isn't talking about the metaverse. Apple may see the term metaverse, pushed by Mark Zuckerberg, as confusing and alienating. Apple mixed-reality headset, called Vision Pro, is finally here but for anyone watching the grand unveiling in Cupertino something was conspicuously missing: The metaverse didn't get a single mention. At no point did the Apple CEO use the term metaverse. "In the same way Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing," he said.

Persons: Apple's, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Mac, Zuckerberg's, Neal Stephenson, Satya Nadella, Gene Munster, That's chunky — Organizations: Morning, Vision, Apple Vision, Apple, Facebook, Meta, Labs, Zuckerberg, Microsoft, Google, Apple Watch, Deepwater Asset Management Locations: Cupertino

☆ Apple's new Vision Pro is amazing, but there's no good reason to buy it, and lots of reasons not to
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Michael Gartenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Apple has chosen AR/VR as the next big area to pursue with its new Vision Pro glasses. The product, which was shown off during an extensive demo by Apple on Monday, is called Apple Vision Pro (AVP). It represents years of research and the first major Apple product launched without the guiding hand and showmanship of the late Steve Jobs (if one doesn't count the Apple AirPods or Watch as major new products, and I do not.) And the Vision Pro isn't likely to have one either. Apple's Vision Pro can be used for FaceTime conversations AppleWith just their eyes, consumers already have large-screen viewing and playing experiences with 4K monitors on their walls connected to excellent video game consoles.

Persons: Apple, Michael Gartenberg, Steve Jobs, Apple —, it'd Organizations: Apple, Apple Vision Pro, Meta, Microsoft, iTunes Ping, AVP, Mac, Consumers Locations: Patagonia

☆ People who were whisked away in golf carts to try out Apple's $3,500 headset are calling it 'magic' that is 'still searching for a purpose'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Following the announcement of Apple's Vision Pro headset at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, some attendees were whisked away in golf carts to a location on the company's campus to try out the new headset. Many noted the device's display screens were impressive (each have a more-than 4K resolution) and its hand-eye scrolling and tapping functions were responsive and worked mostly smoothly. YouTuber Brownlee said the most impressive thing about the headset was the device's internal eye-tracking technology, calling the experience "telepathic." The Verge's Patel was impressed by the device's display, which he said was "easily the highest-resolution VR display I have ever seen," and its "video passthrough" technology — the device's display adjusting to show a person who is talking to you in-person or your surroundings. "The most perfect headset demo reel of all time is still just a headset demo reel — whether Apple's famed developer community can generate a killer app for the Vision Pro is still up in the air," The Verge's Patel wrote.

Persons: YouTuber Marques Brownlee, Nilay Patel, —, YouTuber Brownlee, Brownlee, I've, Patel, Robin Roberts, Roberts, Joanna Stern, Stern Organizations: Apple, Developers, Apple's, Developers Conference, Vision

☆ Why Steve Jobs would love Apple's Vision Pro headset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Cadie Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Isaacson, who had special access to Jobs, thinks Jobs would have loved Apple's Vision Pro headset. Isaacson said Apple's mixed-reality headset is a "big leap" for human-computer interfaces. The late Apple CEO and cofounder Steve Jobs would love Apple's new Vision Pro headset if he were alive, Walter Isaacson, who wrote Jobs' biography, said Tuesday during an interview on CNBC. Apple unveiled its new mixed-reality headset on Monday at the company's World Wide Developer's Conference. Apple Vision Pro is a "big leap" for human-computer interfaces, Isaacson said.

Persons: Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, Isaacson, Jobs, Apple's, Apple Isaacson, Siri, … Organizations: Apple, CNBC, Aspen Institute, Tulane University . Apple, Apple Watch

☆ Apple's Vision Pro an impressive headset with few likely buyers, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

June 6 (Reuters) - Analysts lauded Apple's (AAPL.O) Vision Pro on Tuesday for its impressive technology, but warned that it will be a few years before the $3,499 augmented reality headset sees widespread adoption. That vision, analysts said, could take some time to materialize because the high price tag will likely dissuade most buyers and the product does not have any clear use beyond entertainment in a still nascent augmented reality (AR) market. "Apple proved they have a vision for the role AR technology could play for consumers ... and Vision Pro looked sleek/differentiated versus incumbents and performed with clear potential," Morgan Stanley analysts said. "However, the Vision Pro is not ready for mass consumption," they added, pointing to a bulky external battery pack and the lack of a "killer app", among other issues. The uncertainty regarding Vision Pro sales also drove a wide range of predictions on its expected shipments once the device goes on sale next year.

Persons: Tim Cook, Apple, Morgan Stanley, Harmeet Singh Walia, Walia, Christine Wang, James Cordwell, Aditya Soni, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Apple Watch, Vision, Meta, Apple, Facebook, Counterpoint Research, Vision Pro, KGI Securities, Credit Suisse, Thomson

☆ A First Try of Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro Headset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Brian X. Chen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Monday, I got a sneak peek into Apple’s vision for the future of computing. For about half an hour, I wore the $3,500 Vision Pro, the company’s first high-tech goggles, which will be released next year. Imagine wearing a headset to assemble furniture while the instructions are digitally projected onto the parts, for instance, or cooking a meal while a recipe is displayed in the corner of your eye. But after wearing the new headset to view photos and interact with a virtual dinosaur, I also felt there wasn’t much new to see here. And the experience elicited an “ick” factor I’ve never had before with an Apple product.

Persons: I’ve Organizations: Meta, Sony, Apple

☆ Apple's entry into VR with its new headset is a 'watershed moment,' say top industry execs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple's mixed-reality headset debut marks a "watershed moment" for the industry, said the executives of some major players in the augmented and virtual reality space as they welcomed competition for the U.S. tech giant. Cher Wang, Taiwanese tech giant HTC's CEO, told CNBC that she sees Apple's move as a validation for the industry. HTC has long been a mainstay of the virtual and augmented industry, pivoting from its ailing smartphone business several years ago to focus on its Vive headsets division. Apple says the Vision Pro will allow users to see apps in a new way in the spaces around them. With the headset, users can watch movies, including in 3D with spatial audio, view their own pictures or videos, and play video games.

Persons: Cher Wang, Apple's, Apple Organizations: Apple, U.S, CNBC, HTC, VR, Microsoft, Vision, iOS Locations: Cupertino

☆ I tried Apple’s new headset. Here’s what it’s like to use
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The headset blends both virtual reality and augmented reality, a technology that overlays virtual images on live video of the real world. The new Apple Vision Pro headset is displayed during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 05, 2023 in Cupertino, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the annual WWDC23 developer conference with the announcement of the new Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset. During another demo, an Apple employee wearing a Vision Pro headset FaceTimed me from the other side of campus. The Vision Pro has the potential to do all of that in an even more striking way.

Persons: I’d, Alicia Keys, Tim Cook, Apple, Justin Sullivan, “, Alan Dye, else’s, ”, Cook, Bob Iger Organizations: CNN, Apple, Apple Vision, Apple Worldwide, Vision Pro, Vision, Hollywood, Disney, Geographic, Marvel, ESPN, Apple Watch Locations: Cupertino , California

☆ I tried the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset — here's what it's like
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Steve Kovach | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

related investing news Here's what analysts are saying about Apple's new Vision Pro headset The promise of Apple's new mixed-reality headset isn't really about the headset I got to take one for a test drive. The Vision Pro isn't large enough to fit glasses if you wear them. Even though most of the focus with Apple Vision is on the visuals, I was equally impressed by the audio. The Vision Pro has a pair of speakers that sit near your temples and provide a surround sound effect. But as someone who has tried just about every mainstream headset to date so far, I can tell you that Vision Pro feels like a $3,500 machine.

Persons: Josh Edelson, It's, Siri, I've, Apple, — audibly Organizations: Apple's Worldwide, Apple, AFP, Getty, Apple Watch, Quest, Vision, Meta's Locations: Cupertino , California

Club holding Apple (AAPL) on Monday unveiled its long-awaited mixed-reality headset, known as Apple Vision Pro, expanding the technology giant's unrivaled hardware-and-software ecosystem into a new realm of computing. Of course, some investors may not be wowed by the Vision Pro. Vision Pro — Apple's first new major piece of hardware since the Apple Watch in 2014 — joins a fledgling field of mixed- and virtual-reality headsets. Bottom line More important than anything announced Monday, we're finally getting a glimpse of Apple's vision for this next-generation computing platform. It's too early to tell where Apple's headset business will be in five or 10 years.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Steve Jobs, it's, Tim Cook, Cook, Apple, —, Bob Iger, we're, It's, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Brittany Hosea, BRITTANY HOSEA Organizations: Apple, Apple Vision, Developers Conference, Vision, Pro, Apple Watch, Meta, PlayStation, Club, Disney, Vision Pro, CNBC, Getty, Afp Locations: Cupertino , California, AFP

☆ Apple Debuts Its Next Big Product, a Virtual Reality Headset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Apple lived up to months of expectations on Monday when it introduced new high-tech goggles that blend the real world with virtual reality. The $3,500 device, called the Vision Pro, will offer “augmented reality” and introduce “spatial computing,” Apple said. But conspicuously absent from its carefully choreographed announcement were the actual words “virtual reality,” underscoring the challenges the tech giant will likely face in marketing the device to a mass consumer audience. Past virtual reality offerings, including Google Glass, Magic Leap, Microsoft’s HoloLens and Meta’s Quest Pro, have been either commercial failures or only modest successes. And companies have so far failed to demonstrate what is indispensable about virtual reality.

Persons: Apple, ”, —, Microsoft’s Organizations: Google, Meta’s

Apple announced its mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, on Monday during its WWDC developer conference. The $3,499 headset is its first major new product since the Apple Watch in 2014. The Vision Pro will allow users to see apps in a new way, in the spaces around them. Disney CEO Bob Iger appeared on stage to announce that Disney+ would be available on the Vision Pro from day one of its release. Unity stock spiked over 20% and trading was briefly halted after Apple announced a partnership with the game development platform.

Persons: Bob Iger Organizations: Apple, Vision, Apple Watch, Microsoft, Disney

☆ Why reading can make you carsick, according to an expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Gabbi Shaw | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

For some people, reading in the car is a great way to pass the time. For others, it's a one-way ticket to motion sickness. It happens when your eyes focus on a stationary object but your inner ear experiences movement. To find out why reading while in a moving vehicle suddenly makes some people nauseous, Insider spoke with neuropsychiatrist Dr. Ooha Susmita. But there's bad news for book lovers who do get carsick: Susmita recommends that anyone who feels motion sickness should limit or altogether avoid reading while in the car.

Persons: it's, —, neuropsychiatrist Dr, Ooha, Susmita Organizations: Service Locations: New Africa

☆ Zuckerberg unveils Meta Quest 3 VR headset days before Apple reveals its own
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg teased his company's latest virtual reality headset, the Quest 3, on Thursday. Apple is expected to debut its competing VR headset next week as part of the company's June WWDC event. The iPhone-maker's consumer headset, which could also incorporate augmented reality technologies, will reportedly work with hundreds of thousands of iPad apps and cost at least $3,000. Meta continues to be spending heavily in the metaverse, the yet-to-be-developed digital universe that requires virtual reality and augmented reality technologies to access. Last October, Meta debuted its Quest Pro VR headset intended for businesses as opposed to consumers.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, it'll, Meta Organizations: Qualcomm, Apple, Labs, Meta, Quest Pro, Research, NPD Group, CNBC, Nvidia Locations: U.S

☆ Plague: Oldest known cases in Britain uncovered in mass burial
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A team of researchers excavating mass burial sites in England have detected the DNA of the bacteria that caused the plague in human skeletal remains — and they are the oldest known cases of the disease in Great Britain. The bacterial DNA is thousands of years more ancient than the oldest strain uncovered prior to this latest finding. When it comes to the disease, there is a lot that scientists still don’t know — including how it spread, Swali said. And science may never truly know the severity of the plague 4,000 years ago when it came to humans, Roberts said. And while there are historical records of plague outbreaks, ancient DNA could potentially give us a look even further back, Swali said.

Persons: CNN —, Pooja Swali, Francis Crick, Swali, ”, Benjamin Roberts, ” Swali, Lee Mordechai, pestis, Roberts, ” Roberts, paleogeneticists, Mordechai, ” Mordechai Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Francis, Francis Crick Institute, Durham University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Locations: England, Great Britain, Cambridgeshire, London, Somerset, Cumbria, Scotland, United Kingdom, Britain, Europe

☆ Sleep apnea linked to smaller brain volume, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

However, people who snore heavily or who have sleep apnea can experience hundreds of mini-arousals per night — even though they don’t realize it. The study group underwent brain scans, memory tests that were repeated at about 21 months, and an overnight sleep study done at their homes. Severe sleep apnea was associated with worrisome changes in the brains of middle-aged and older adults, a July 2018 study found. “We surmise that hypoxia may also have a deleterious effect on the volume of the regions of the medial temporal lobe. Studies such as these reinforce the need to be assessed by a sleep specialist and treated for sleep apnea.

Persons: ”, Géraldine Rauchs, ” Rauchs, “, Rudy Tanzi, ” Tanzi, Tanzi, Rauchs Organizations: CNN, National Institute of Health, Medical Research, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital Locations: Caen, France, Boston, Massachusetts

☆ The Venice Architecture Biennale puts Africa center stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Marianna Cerini | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Venice, Italy CNN —Until recently, the Venice Architecture Biennale — arguably the world’s largest architecture exhibition — has drawn crowds for its (mainly Western) star appeal. In a May 20 Facebook post titled “Venice Biennale Blues,” Zaha Hadid Architects’ principal, Patrik Schumacher, wrote that “the ‘Architecture’ Biennale is mislabeled and should stop laying claim to the title of architecture. The German pavilion, which is displaying construction waste produced by 2022’s Venice Art Biennale is a case in point. The German Pavilion at the 18th Architecture Biennale is displaying and repurposing constuction waste from the city's Art Biennale last year. The British Pavilion curators Meneesha Kellay, Joseph Henry, Jayden Ali and Sumitra Upham, with commissioner Sevra Davis, photographed in London.

☆ World’s oldest architectural plans date from the Stone Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Archaeologists working in Saudi Arabia and Jordan say they have discovered the oldest known architectural plans. The Stone Age hunting traps date back about 9,000 years and are known as kites because of the shape they form. Archaeologists are shown during the discovery of the kite engravings at Jebel az-Zilliyat in Saudi Arabia. Engravings made to scaleThe engraved stone is shown at the JKSH F15 site in Jibal al-Khashabiyeh in Jordan. His colleagues in Saudi Arabia unearthed a larger engraved stone in the region of Jebel az-Zilliyat that was almost 4 meters (13 feet) long.

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