Apple announced its first XR headset, the Vision Pro, at WWDC 2023. This begins a new era of augmented and virtual reality hardware for the company, which has captured the lead in many other consumer electronics categories started by other manufacturers. What Apple adds to the equation is style, integration, and the overall thoughtfulness that comes from patient deliberation.
After years of rumors, the Vision Pro is finally here. Here’s what we know so far.
Apple began the event with a mention of Apple Silicon and the big speed and efficiency gains this family of chips brought to the Mac, including the new 15-inch MacBook Air and completely refreshed M2 Ultra Mac Pro. Apple Silicon is essential to the Vision Pro as well, since extended reality is among the most demanding computing tasks.
It looks slim, shiny, and decidedly Apple. It’s as if an iPhone were stretched and curved to wrap around the eyes, with glinting edges and a glossy glass face. The familiar digital crown that Apple placed on the Apple Watch and AirPods Max rests on the side of the Vision Pro. Even the band is reminiscent of an Apple Watch band.
More intriguing and possibly disturbing is the moment when a person is shown wearing the headset with their eyes visible on the front. When someone is nearby, your eyes are revealed. When you are immersed, Vision Pro shows that you are busy with a colorful view on the front of the headset.
You use your hands and voice to interact, with the headset somehow recognizing finger taps and allowing intuitive control.
Multiple screens are shown, along with what appears to be a remarkably clear and realistic view of your physical surroundings, and 3D content can be grabbed and pulled out of a flat screen for manipulation.
FaceTime allows you to see group calls with each person in a large virtual screen while you keep working on apps in your Apple Vision Pro. Panoramas captured with your iPhone can even surround you.
Apple Vision Pro will have over 100 games available on day one via Apple Arcade. Game controllers work with the Apple headset.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also announced a partnership with Disney to create experiences the latter company’s Bob Iger called “previously impossible.”
A few teasers showed XR examples of Mickey Mouse jumping out of a poster and the wearer’s reality cracking to show a view of the Marvel Universe, as well as immersive National Geographic and NBA experiences.
We’ll cover the full specifications in a separate post, but a few key details are the two chips, the superfast M2 chip for standalone performance and a new R1 processor for high-quality XR processing. This is dramatically greater performance than any other VR headset and opens up many more possibilities.
VisionOS handles Spatial frameworks, a 3D engine, foveated rendering processor, and real-time renderer. This is an entirely new platform that draws from Apple’s diverse product line.
The new visionOS App Store will use Optic ID iris verification for privacy and security.
With this being such a high-performance device with incredible potential, the price has to be on the expensive side. Most expected a $3,000 price tag. Apple went beyond that with a staggering $3,500 cost that will sadly put this revolutionary product out of reach for most people. This makes it clear the Vision Pro is a product for early adopters, app developers, and corporations. For reference, Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 starts at $3,500.
Apple says the Vision Pro headset will be available early next year.
Google just dropped its latest AI model, Gemini 4 Carbon, designed to tackle complex coding jobs and cybersecurity threats. The company claims it can work through difficult engineering problems for days, finding hidden bugs and developing fixes across large codebases.
Gemini 4 Carbon also takes the top spot on Artificial Analysis' updated Intelligence Index, scoring 59 points, pushing out Claude Opus 5.5, OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra, and even its own predecessor Gemini 4 Argon.
Apple has just introduced a redesigned MacBook Pro with a few bells and whistles. The focus this time around is on a thinner and lighter build, and an upgrade to a touch-sensitive OLED screen without any ugly notch. And, in case you were wondering, there is definitely a price premium to pay for these niceties, which also include a glowing Apple logo at the back. What if you wanted to get the best that Apple has to offer? Well, the numbers are finally here.
For a mere $14,549, you can get yourself the fully kitted 16-inch MacBook Pro PROLED XDR with the beefiest laptop chip that Apple has to offer, and the best memory configuration in tow. For nearly $15,000, you treat yourself to the 16-inch version of the laptop with a nano-texture glass layer on the screen to reduce reflections and glare.
Apple has unveiled its first-ever touchscreen MacBook Pro. The company seems a bit confused about the naming, calling it the "MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display," which is tough to remember. If you look past that and review the full spec sheets, you might ask a genuine question: what are the differences between the touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions?
Given that Apple continues to sell both variants together, that's a genuine question. Luckily, you don't have to spend more time lining up the spec sheets side by side and hunting for differences hidden in the fine print. I took that bullet for you. Here's everything that's different between the PROLED XDR Display and the regular MacBook Pro.