Apple’s Vision Pro and Archaeology
Let me start by telling you that I am not an Apple fan. I think it’s overpriced and many of the applications I use can only be used in a virtual machine, which just doesn’t make sense to me. But you have to admit that Apple has made some great innovations. Although it hasn’t been that way for a long time, Apple has always been good at making technology sexy. This year, it looks like VR will finally get its turn. We will see how the Vision Pro and Archaeology come together.
Apple’s Vision Pro
Some time ago, Apple announced that they were working on a headset to rival Meta Quest and other brands. Everyone was excited because Apple is known to be innovative and everyone wanted to see what the folks in Cupertino were doing with VR. A few days ago, the first unboxing videos and reviews were released, and it looks pretty amazing. At first.
After watching a few, I have to admit that it is not the reinvention of the wheel. Sure, everything is neatly designed and fits perfectly into the Apple Eco System, but other than that it sort of does what everyone else does, only prettier. You have these things called Personas, which are impressive and use the headset as a fast structure-from-motion scanner for your face. I think if you use Apple products, conference calls are going to be very different in the future.
The Vision Pro and Archaeology
So the Vision Pro is a stand-alone device that comes with a portable battery. In theory, you could use it and walk around with it. You could even use it on a dig, but I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon. In an office, the Vision Pro could be used for conference calls, writing and researching your papers in VR, or giving virtual presentations. But something else caught my eye.
In one of the presentations you can also see the ability of the VR headset to project 3D models into the room you are standing in. In the video I saw, it was a life-size race car standing in an office room. That would definitely be something I would use: Observing and analysing 3D models in VR with the headset. Sure, you can do this with other headsets, but I think Apple (for better or worse) will make this more usable and responsive than other companies. Archaeology is already doing a lot with VR, but it never seems to have really taken off.
The true value of the Vision Pro
This is all well and good, but I actually see a different value in the product launch. I don’t think the Vision Pro is going to revolutionise the way we work (in or out of archaeology) and I still don’t know if I would buy one. But I think the real value of the Vision Pro lies elsewhere. Apple makes products acceptable to the public. Before the AirPods, wireless headphones were available but never really used. Before the Apple Watch, smartwatches were a thing, but not mainstream. I think what the Vision Pro can do is make VR headsets more acceptable to the public.
This can actually be beneficial for museums. If there is a real acceptance of wearing these things, there will be more headsets. They’ll get smaller and better, and like AirPods or the Apple Watch, people will be walking around with some form of VR/AR headset, whether it’s from Apple or someone else. I kind of dread that vision of the future, but I can’t really change it.
One of the big problems with using VR or AR in museums is that these institutions have to provide the hardware, and it is more or less local. If people come to museums with their own hardware, it will dramatically change the way people visit museums in the future. I am very sure of that. Once the VR train starts rolling (started by Apple), the possibilities will skyrocket. What that will look like is another question, but I definitely think that the use of VR/AR will change in the next few years.
