While the Apple Vision Pro headset is not launching until early 2024, some developers have access to the device in order to develop visionOS apps. Through Feedback Assistant, Apple is collecting opinions on the Vision Pro "Persona" that is created for each person for use with FaceTime.
The Persona is a digital representation of the user, with Apple using the headset's cameras to recreate the face and hands. While the FaceTime call is ongoing, the Persona is able to make the same facial expressions and hand movements as the user, so that FaceTime calls feel more like a person-to-person interaction.
There is likely some degree of uncanny valley with this experience, so it is no surprise that it is a feature that Apple is working to refine. Apple is asking developers a number of questions about the Persona experience.
How do you feel about your Persona?
To what extent do you feel this Persona represents your appearance?
To what extent do you feel your Persona responds to your facial expressions?
What do you like most about your Persona?
What do you like least about your Persona?
What do you like/not like about this Persona?
Respondents are given multiple choice answers for most of the questions, with the last one being an open feedback form. For the "How do you feel about your Persona?" question, for example, responses include "Very Happy - I'm excited to use it," "Happy - I would be okay using it," "Unhappy - I would be hesitant to use it," and "Very Unhappy - I would never use it."
Exclusive: Apple is asking developers with the Vision Pro to fill out a feedback survey about FaceTime Personas.
Some questions include:
How do you feel about your Persona?
To what extent do you feel this Persona represents your appearance? pic.twitter.com/wKgQlKrODL
— Aaron (@aaronp613) September 14, 2023
Apple does not plan to release the Vision Pro headset until early 2024, so it still has several months of software refining and hardware tweaking to do before the device needs to be mass produced in order to sell.
The headset will be priced at $3,500 when it launches, and it will first be available in the United States before expanding to other countries.
Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr.
The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models:
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhon...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory.
A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June.
The original AirTag was announced...
Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by Juli Clover
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
The Uncanny Valley is a real thing, and teams of digital artists spending hours doing 3D work have an enormously hard time making true-to-life CGI people that don't freak us out. I'm curious to see how Apple pulls this off in real-time practice.
I'd like customizable Personas, preferably clown-themed: Pennywise for calling the kids, Bozo for business associates, and Weary Willie for close friends.
It seems to me that until we gain the technologies to project holographic versions of ourselves into distant meetings/greetings, this has to be towards next best thing. All those FaceTime/Skype/Zoom/etc face-to-face conversations people have every day are all limited to that 2D flat screen experience... where you very much are reminded that you are not there and they are not with you. This moderates that feeling towards creating a face-to-face environment that will certainly feel like you are there and they are here with you.
I look forward to trying it out and hope it works at least as good as implied in the WWDC demo... if not even better.
