While it’s not the first headset on the market to incorporate mixed-reality elements into its featureset, Apple’s Vision Pro is certainly one of the more eye-catching tech products that we’ve seen in recent years, thanks to the possibilities that it offers in terms of software experiences. This will no doubt include support for entertainment platforms, games, and more importantly productivity apps.
With that in mind, Zoom recently announced that it will be launching a special app designed for the Vision Pro, which brings major features from the mainline app to a more unique form factor for users, in addition to some new add-ons for the app. The app launches on February 2nd, but what exactly can we expect with it?
Zoom Features for Vision Pro
First up are personas, which are spatial representations of users within the Vision Pro. This also allows other meeting participants to view their facial and hand movements while using the app. There’s also the “Spatial Zoom Experience,” which allows an immersive user setup that can be scaled to a user’s desired size without the need for additional gear or setup.
Zoom adds that it will bring over more features later this Spring, which include 3D object sharing which is ideal for media and design projects, and allows users to share 3D files with others, allowing better viewing in a spatial computing scenario. Zoom Team Chat is also scheduled to be brought over to the app, and is a staple feature of Zoom in general. There’s also “Real-world Pinning,” which allows users to pin up to five Zoom Meeting participants anywhere in their physical space, with the option to remove the background of pinned participants.
Vision Pro Specs
Announced back in June last year, the Vision Pro is Apple’s first attempt at a premium MR headset, although the company has frequently leaned towards the term “spatial computing.” In terms of design, the Vision Pro comes with a curvy look which incorporates aesthetic elements from other Apple products though, with a laminated glass visor that joins into an alloy frame.
Inside is a micro-OLED setup that packs 23 million pixels across two displays, as well as a custom Apple M2 SoC, allowing it to be used for an array of different applications as well as hardware, with planned connectivity for other Apple products such as the Magic Keyboard and Trackpad, in addition to natively-built gesture and motion controls. FaceTime support will also be available soon, for more immersive video calls.
The App Fiasco
While Zoom has pledged to provide exclusive software support for the Vision Pro, other major platforms have yet to warm up to Apple’s fancy new headset – for example, Netflix announced that it won’t be launching an app for the Vision Pro, essentially citing the need for additional time and effort for a relatively-small user base.
On one hand, users can still watch their favourite Netflix programming with the Vision Pro’s we browser, although one could argue that this isn’t the most seamless method overall. Other big names such as Spotify and YouTube have also stated that they won’t be bringing over exclusive apps for the Vision Pro.
Going back to Zoom support however, it is pretty interesting to see how work calls will be handled on the Apple Vision Pro, and this does provide users with a sneak peek as to how spatial computing will work on the new headset.
