Lots of apps coming for Apple’s AR/VR viewer. The keynote of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will take place on June 5 and among the innovations that should be presented is the Apple Mixed Reality headset that has been talked about for years.
iPhone 15 and 15 Plus with matte rear glass like the Pros
The House of Cupertino is working on various dedicated apps for the new device designed to offer specific experiences for sports, games, wellness and collaboration features.
This was reported by Bloomberg, explaining that new versions of various iPad apps will be usable with the viewer, which will allow the merger of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality with a 3D interface.
There are optimized versions of the Safari browser and for accessing Apple services for calendars, contacts, file management, home automation control, mail, maps, messages, notes, photos and reminders but also music, news, weather. There is a version of FaceTime for calling and video calling and also a specific version of the Apple TV app, all apps with similar functionality to those for iPad but which take into account the viewer worn by the user.
In addition to the ability to use the various central apps of iPadOS, there is a version of the Books app that will allow you to read from the viewer; Apple has also planned an app for taking images and as regards wellness – both physical and psychological well-being – there is an app for guided meditation and exercises with Apple Fitness +, complete with graphic elements, voices and music that help to regain calmness with breathing and other activities.
Apple is working on a specific version of the Fitness+ service for the headset, with an app that will allow users to practice exercises while wearing the headset, following the instructor in VR, along the lines of what Meta is already trying to do with apps from fitness for Meta Quest.
Apple is also developing a version of the Freeform headset app with collaboration features that can be used in Mixed Reality, allowing multiple users to work on a virtual whiteboard.
FaceTime will allow you to generate 3D versions of users to be displayed in virtual meeting rooms, giving the impression to multiple participants that they are in the same place, a feature also seen on Quest headsets but which has so far not seemed to attract interest from companies aiming to improve the collaborative experience among co-workers by eliminating the feeling of isolation present in traditional video conferencing services.
At the end of March, the New York Times interviewed some employees and former employees of Apple and they seemed skeptical about the probability of success of a product of this type, in stark contrast to what happened in the past in the run-up to the launch of new products, brought forward with determination and enthusiasm from all the teams.
Earlier this month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo Few highlighted that the presentation of this device represents an important milestone, with Apple having to convince investors of the sales potential of such a product.
