While the new Mac Pro features six available PCI Express expansion slots for audio, video capture, storage, networking, and more, the desktop tower is no longer compatible with graphics cards. Instead, graphics processing is handled entirely by the M2 chip, which includes up to a 76-core GPU that can access up to 192GB of unified memory.
Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus briefly touched on the matter in an interview with Daring Fireball's John Gruber last week, explaining that expandable GPU support for Apple silicon is not something that the company has pursued.
"Fundamentally, we've built our architecture around this shared memory model and that optimization, and so it's not entirely clear to me how you'd bring in another GPU and do so in a way that is optimized for our systems," Ternus told Gruber. "It hasn't been a direction that we wanted to pursue."
Another limitation of the new Mac Pro compared to the Intel-based model is the lack of user-upgradeable RAM, given the unified memory is soldered to the M2 Ultra chip. In addition, the Intel-based model could be configured with up to 1.5TB of RAM, which is 8× as much as the 192GB maximum for the Apple silicon model.
There are certainly advantages to the new Mac Pro and its unified architecture. For example, Apple says the new Mac Pro is up to 3× faster than the Intel-based model for certain real-world workflows like video transcoding and 3D simulations. For video processing, Apple says the new Mac Pro's performance is equivalent to an Intel-based model with seven Afterburner cards. For overall CPU performance, the new Mac Pro's $6,999 base model is up to 2× faster than a 28-core Intel-based Mac Pro, which started at $12,999.
The new Mac Pro is available to order now, and launches in stores on Tuesday. Customers who don't need PCI Express expansion should consider the Mac Studio, which can be configured with the M2 Ultra chip for $3,000 less than the Mac Pro.
Apple is already developing 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M3 chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he expects the updated laptops to be released in 2024.
The current 13-inch MacBook Air was announced in June 2022, while the 15-inch model was introduced last week. Both models are currently powered by the M2 chip, manufactured based on TSMC's 5nm process. The M3 chip is expected to be built on TSMC's 3nm process, resulting in significant performance and power efficiency improvements. Gurman said the M3 chip should have similar CPU and GPU core counts as the M2 chip.
Priced starting at $1,299, the 15-inch MacBook Air's primary differences compared to the 13-inch model are a larger display and six speakers instead of four. Apple says the laptops have equal battery life, and they share the same overall design. For a more detailed comparison, read our 13-inch vs. 15-inch MacBook Air Buyer's Guide.
Gurman reiterated that new iMac and 13-inch MacBook Pro models with the M3 chip are also in development. He expects the new iMac to launch by early next year with a similar design as the current model from 2021, which still has an M1 chip.
The 15-inch MacBook Air can be ordered now and launches this Tuesday.
Apple at WWDC this week announced a new toolkit that makes it easier for game developers to port Windows games to the Mac. The toolkit provides an emulation environment that allows developers to run their existing, unmodified Windows game on the Mac and quickly evaluate how well the game could run on macOS before writing any code. A beta version of the toolkit is available for download on the Apple Developer website.
Apple is also offering developers a new Metal shader converter that simplifies the process of converting a Windows game's shaders and graphics code to run on Macs with Apple silicon. Apple says the toolkit and converter significantly reduce the total development time required to port games to the Mac, from months to just a few days.
Developers interested in porting Windows games to the Mac can watch Apple's series of "bring your game to Mac" videos for more details. Apple also has a page on its website outlining various gaming technologies and tools available for developers.
Apple appears to be increasing its commitment to high-end gaming on the Mac. For example, macOS Sonoma features a new Game Mode that temporarily prioritizes CPU and GPU performance for gaming. Game Mode also lowers AirPods audio latency, and reduces input latency with popular third-party game controllers by doubling the Bluetooth sampling rate, according to Apple. macOS Sonoma will be released later this year.
The Talk Show Live From WWDC 2023 is now available to watch on YouTube. Daring Fireball's John Gruber discussed the Vision Pro and other WWDC announcements with Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, hardware engineering chief John Ternus, AR/VR chief Mike Rockwell, and marketing chief Greg Joswiak.
The on-stage interview took place on Wednesday at the California Theatre in San Jose, California, and runs for approximately two hours.
The first benchmark results for Apple's new M2 Ultra chip have surfaced on Geekbench 6, providing a closer look at CPU performance improvements. The high-end chip is available in the new Mac Studio and Mac Pro models launching next week.
There is currently some variance in the results, but the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra chip appears to have single-core and multi-core scores of up to approximately 2,800 and 21,700, respectively. As expected, these scores confirm that the M2 Ultra chip offers up to 20% faster CPU performance compared to the M1 Ultra chip, as Apple advertised. This also means the M2 Ultra is now the fastest chip that Apple has ever released.
Geekbench 6 result for Mac Studio with M2 Ultra chip
More interestingly, the scores reveal that the new Mac Pro should have around 2× faster overall CPU performance than the fastest Intel-based Mac Pro with a 28-core Xeon W processor. This feat is even more impressive given that the new Mac Pro starts at $6,999, while the 28-core Intel-based model started at $12,999, nearly double the price. During its WWDC keynote, Apple said the new Mac Pro is up to 3× faster than the Intel-based model, but that only applies to select "real-world pro workflows like video transcoding and 3D simulation."
The primary reason to consider the Mac Pro over the Mac Studio is for the desktop tower's six available PCIe expansion slots. Otherwise, customers should consider the Mac Studio, as it can be configured with the M2 Ultra for $3,000 less than the Mac Pro. For a more detailed comparison, read our Mac Studio vs. Mac Pro Buyer's Guide.
The new Mac Studio and Mac Pro are available to order now, and will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, June 13.
As expected, Apple's WWDC keynote on Monday was jam-packed with announcements, headlined by a first look at the upcoming Vision Pro headset as well as some new Macs and the usual bevy of operating system updates.
Vision Pro will allow you to interact with apps as if they are floating in the air. The headset is powered by an all-new operating system called visionOS, and can be controlled with your eyes and hands. The headset has an Apple Watch-like Digital Crown for switching between virtual reality and augmented reality, along with an external battery pack.
iOS 17 includes many new features, including a StandBy mode while an iPhone is charging in a landscape position, interactive Home Screen widgets, improved autocorrect, a Journal app, swipe to reply in the Messages app, and more.
Apple Introduces New 15-Inch MacBook Air With M2 Chip
The long-rumored 15-inch MacBook Air is finally official. The laptop is powered by the M2 chip and is equipped with six speakers, compared to four in the 13-inch MacBook Air.
Apple is already accepting 15-inch MacBook Air orders, and the laptop will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, June 13. Pricing starts at $1,299, and the 13-inch model with the M2 chip now starts at $1,099.
macOS Sonoma Unveiled With Desktop Widgets and More
macOS Sonoma is the name! The latest version of the Mac's operating system will be available later this year and has a handful of new features, including desktop widgets, Apple TV-like screensavers, a new Game Mode, Safari improvements, and more.
macOS Sonoma is currently available in beta for developers, and will likely be released to the public in October like macOS Ventura and macOS Monterey were.
Apple Unveils New Mac Pro With M2 Ultra Chip and More
Apple Announces watchOS 10 With Widgets, Redesigned Apps, and More
Another software platform previewed by Apple this week was watchOS 10, which includes several new features for the Apple Watch, including widgets and redesigned apps that take advantage of Apple Watch models with larger displays like the Ultra.
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
Just after putting an end to multi-household password sharing in the United States, average daily signups to Netflix reached 73k per day, a 102 percent increase from the prior 60-day average. Netflix saw close to 100,000 daily signups on both May 26 and May 27, beating out signups even during COVID lockdown periods.
Netflix did see an increase in subscription cancelation following the policy change, but the number of people canceling did not beat the number of new signups that the company received. Antenna says that the ratio of signups to cancels since May 23 is up 25.6 percent compared to the prior 60-day period.
Average daily Sign-ups to Netflix reached 73k during that period, a +102% increase from the prior 60-day average. These exceed the spikes in Sign-ups Antenna observed during the initial U.S. Covid-19 lockdowns in March and April 2020. https://t.co/2CNU67kQST
— Antenna (@AntennaData) June 9, 2023
According to Netflix, more than 100 million households were sharing accounts, impacting its ability to "invest in and improve Netflix" for paying members. The company said that it expected some cancel reaction in the United States, but based on earlier rollouts in other countries, the policy change would result in acceleration in revenue growth and member base.
Netflix is no longer allowing subscribers to share passwords with people who do not live in the same location. Netflix users are required to establish a primary location, and subscribers who live elsewhere are not able to use the account. There are allowances for travel or second homes, but Netflix is now using IP address and other information to restrict multi-household usage.
Netflix users can pay an additional $7.99 per month to allow one extra member to use a Standard or Premium Netflix account outside of the primary location, and up to two additional people can be added (Premium plan only).
The extra fee provides each person with a profile, personalized recommendations, login, and password. Alternatively, there is a profile transfer process that will allow those who were previously using Netflix for free to make their own paid accounts.
Netflix is priced starting at $6.99 per month for the plan with ads. A basic plan with no ads, access on one device at a time, and 720p HD streaming is priced at $9.99 per month. The Standard Plan with 1080p streaming and access on two devices at one time is priced at $15.49 per month, and the 4K Netflix plan with support for watching on four devices at a time is priced at $19.99 per month.
Note that while the Standard and Premium plans allow for watching on two to four devices at a time, Netflix's new policy is that all of those devices need to be in the same household location.
Apple at WWDC this week announced a new TipKit framework that will allow developers to offer tips in their apps on iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17. These tips can help to surface hidden features, highlight brand new features, show a faster method of accomplishing a task, and more.
Tips may appear next to a button or other user interface element in an app at timely moments, providing contextual information about features. Of course, apps can already offer their own tips and helpful information, but Apple is now providing a native solution with a consistent design. Apple has a WWDC session with more details for developers interested in TipKit, but there is no documentation available yet.
iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17 will be released to the public later this year, and more apps should start to incorporate TipKit over the coming months. All of the updates are available in beta now for anyone with a free Apple developer account, and public betas will be available in July.
All of Apple's software announcements have been somewhat overshadowed by the Apple Vision Pro, but there are a number of useful changes that are coming in iOS 17. We've pulled out five features that we think are the most interesting and that iPhone users will be most excited about when iOS 17 launches this fall.
Live Voicemail - If you're like us, you sometimes forget that voicemail even exists. With iOS 17, when someone calls and leaves a voicemail, you can see the transcription live on your Lock Screen. If they have something notable to say, you can pick up the call right then and there.
StandBy - StandBy is similar to Nightstand mode for the Apple Watch. When you put your phone in landscape orientation on a charger, it activates a full-screen display with at-a-glance information like your calendar, clock, weather details, and even Live Activities. It's truly best with the iPhone 14 Pro's always-on display, but it works on older iPhones if you tap on the screen.
Interactive widgets - Widgets on the Home Screen and the Lock Screen are now interactive, which makes them much more useful. You can check off Reminders, control music playback, activate HomeKit devices, and more, without having to open up an app.
Keyboard updates - Autocorrect is using a new machine learning model that can better predict what you want to say. You can more quickly complete words just by tapping the space bar, and in some cases, fill entire sentences. When a word is corrected, it's now underlined, and you can tap it to revert back to the original word you typed if autocorrect makes a mistake.
FaceTime on Apple TV - If you've ever wanted a larger display for FaceTime, you're in luck, because with iOS 17 and tvOS 17, you can use FaceTime on the Apple TV. With Continuity Camera, you can connect your iPhone to your Apple TV, using the iPhone's camera for FaceTime while the picture is displayed on the larger screen of the television set. All the usual FaceTime features work like Center Stage, and it's the perfect setup for calls with multiple people. FaceTime on Apple TV works with the new FaceTime effects that let you activate hearts, balloons, laser beams, and rain through gestures.
An honorable mention should go to the Journal app that's coming in iOS 17; it's just not on the list because it's not part of the initial iOS 17 release. The Journal app will let you record your thoughts and activities each day, with Apple-provided prompts to help inspire you.
There are a number of other features in iOS 17 that are worth knowing about, including a fun option to customize what people see when you call them, a quicker way to share contact information with people, improvements to Messages, mood tracking, shared passwords, an option to lock the Safari private browsing window, AirTag sharing, and more. Full details can be found in our iOS 17 roundup, which is still undergoing updates.
Do you agree with our top picks? Let us know in the comments below. Stay tuned to MacRumors, because we're going to have coverage of iOS 17 and Apple's other software updates all summer long as the beta testing period progresses.
To celebrate the upcoming release of watchOS 10, we've teamed up with iMazing to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Apple Watch Ultra, Apple's top-of-the-line Apple Watch option, and a copy of the iMazing iPhone backup software.
For those unfamiliar with iMazing, it's an iPhone management app for Mac that's an alternative to Apple's Finder-based iPhone management system. You can get it on Windows machines too, where it can be used instead of iTunes. iMazing offers far more versatility than Apple's built-in iPhone management options, and it will be ready to go for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma when the updates launch.
With iMazing, you can create hassle-free wireless backups of your iPhone, with multiple versions available. With iCloud backup, new backups overwrite your old backups, so you can get in a sticky situation if you need access to something that was overwritten. You won't lose older files that you might be looking for with iMazing, and there are even options to schedule your backups regularly. Backups can be saved to any local storage device, including a NAS, keeping your data out of the cloud.
For transferring photos from an iOS device to a Mac or vice versa, there is a drag and drop option for moving images around. You can keep the images that you want and get rid of the clutter, with iMazing offering support for HEIF, RAW, PNG, and JPG files. A built-in EXIF viewer shows data on file type, size, and location, plus there are tools for creating and editing albums for easy organization.
Backups of iMessages and WhatsApp can be created with iMazing, and not only can you save all of the text, it also keeps a copy of photos, videos, contacts, and links. iMazing is also useful for music management because you can transfer songs from an iOS device to a computer or from a computer to an iOS device. It's particularly useful if you have an old iPhone or iPod and no other way to get the music off of it, or if you simply want a way to manage physical media without relying on cloud music services. All media types are supported, and iMazing has an included media player so you don't even need to swap apps to hear your songs.
iMazing makes upgrading to a new device easy with device-to-device transfers. You can pick and choose what you want to move from your old device to your new device, and there is a drag-and-drop Quick Transfer feature if you just want to move a few files.
For apps, iMazing keeps backups and can be used to restore app data of deleted apps, plus you can do quick mass cleanups with just a few clicks if your iPhone tends to get cluttered with apps.
If you want to get a copy of iMazing, you can do so from the iMazing website. iMazing is priced at $39.99 for a single device, with multi-device licenses also available.
We have an Apple Watch Ultra and a free copy of iMazing for one lucky MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older, UK residents who are 18 years or older, and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. All federal, state, provincial, and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (June 9) at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 23. The winner will be chosen randomly on June 23 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
We're tracking a few solid deals in the wake of WWDC this week, including the first-ever discount on the 15-inch MacBook Air, which Apple just announced on Monday. You'll also find record low prices on all other current models of the MacBook Air, along with solid deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, and MacBook Pro.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
MacBook Air
With the announcement of the all-new 15-inch MacBook Air this week at WWDC, both the 13.3-inch and 13.6-inch models have seen notable markdowns this week at Amazon and B&H Photo. Additionally, the new 15-inch MacBook Air itself has received its first-ever sale at Amazon with $49 off select models.
AirPods deals that remain in stock on Amazon heading into the weekend include the AirPods 3 for $149.00 ($20 off) and AirPods Pro 2 for $199.99 ($49 off).
Apple Watches have hit all-time low prices for select configurations on Amazon this week, including the 41mm GPS Series 8 device at $329.00 and 45mm GPS at $359.00. If you want an even cheaper starting price, Apple Watch SE starts at $219.00 right now.
Lastly, we're tracking a collection of all-time low prices on the new 14-inch MacBook Pro. Prices start at $1,749.00 for the 512GB model and reach up to $300 off these notebooks. All deals are available on Amazon and you'll find some matching sales at B&H Photo.
At various points in Apple's Platforms State of the Unions video for developers, a Vision Pro headset with a USB-C adapter attached to the right side of the headset can be seen, leading to some speculation on social media as to what the adapter is for.
It appears that the adapter has a USB-C cable leading to a Mac Studio in one shot, although there is no definitive view to confirm this. In this scenario, it is possible the adapter could provide a direct connection to a Mac for visionOS app development in Xcode, but the adapter's purpose ultimately remains a mystery for now.
The Vision Pro's external battery pack attaches to the left side of the headset, so the USB-C adapter is connected on the other side.
Vision Pro isn't launching until early 2024, so we'll learn more details about the headset over the coming months. Apple will also be making Vision Pro developer kits available in July, which could help to paint a better picture.
Apple's previous-generation 16-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Max, 1TB) has hit a new all-time low price today on Amazon. You can get the notebook for $2,649.00 in Silver, down from $3,499.00.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
We've been tracking steeper and steeper discounts on the 2021 MacBook Pro models in the wake of the 2023 notebooks that launched back in January. At $850 off, Amazon's discount today on the 16-inch MacBook Pro is one of the biggest markdowns we've seen to date on these computers.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, 1TB) is also still on sale on Amazon for $1,899.00, down from $2,499.00. This has been one of the most consistent discounts on the 2021 MacBook Pro line, and it's still an all-time low price on the notebook.
Since the release of iOS 15 in 2021, Apple Maps has been rolling out a more detailed map with custom-designed 3D landmarks in major cities around the world. This week, both the more detailed map and cycling directions went live in Paris.
Landmarks app showing Apple's 3D models in Paris via André Baev
Apple says the updated experience provides richer detail for road markings, buildings, commercial districts, land cover, trees, elevation, public transit routes, and more. Turn-by-turn navigation is also improved with augmented reality walking directions in Paris, as well as the addition of cycling directions along bike lanes and bike-friendly roads.
Notably, this means the world-famous Eiffel Tower can now be viewed in 3D in Apple Maps, along with the Louvre museum and other landmarks.
More detailed mapping is also available in Atlanta, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Miami, Montréal, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Sydney, Toronto, Washington D.C., and a few other cities.
Earlier this year, we highlighted an iPhone app called Landmarks that allows you to easily view hundreds of 3D models from Apple Maps.
Father's Day falls on Sunday, June 18 this year, and with just over a week to go before the holiday we're tracking notable discounts from a few Apple-related accessory companies. These sales include Sonos speakers, iPhone cases, Samsung monitors, and other products that could make good gifts for Father's Day.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
All of the deals listed in this article have already begun, and most of them will last until Sunday, June 18, unless otherwise stated. You'll find discounts from Belkin, ZAGG, Samsung, Sonos, Satechi, and more. With nine days to go until Father's Day, most orders placed today should make it in time for the 18th.
Samsung
Samsung's event for Father's Day is focusing on savings on monitors and TVs, including a great deal on the popular Smart Monitor M8. You can get this monitor for $449.99 during the sale, down from $699.99.
The M8 houses a 4K UHD flat LCD panel providing 400 nits of brightness, a 60Hz refresh rate, HDR support, and adaptive picture technology that automatically adjusts display brightness and color temperature for viewing comfort. The M8 chassis is 11.4mm thin, which is 0.1mm thinner than Apple's iMac, and it includes a flat back, thin bezels, and a height adjustable stand with tilt functionality.
Otherwise, in this sale you'll find various savings on monitors, memory, storage, speakers, and TVs. We've collected a few of these deals below, and be sure to browse Samsung's event before the deals expire on June 11.
Sonos recently kicked off a big sale that has up to 25 percent off select products through Father's Day on June 18. Sonos sales are very rare, so now is a great time to pick up one of their popular speakers, particularly if you're looking to make it a gift for Father's Day.
All discounts in the new sale have been applied automatically, so you won't need any coupon codes in order to see the sale prices. The sale includes savings on speakers, portable Bluetooth speakers, sound bars, subwoofers, and more. We've collected a few of the best deals below, but be sure to visit the Sonos website to see the full sale.
ZAGG is offering 20 percent off select wireless chargers, travel chargers, portable batteries, and more for Father's Day this year. You can choose up to three products to get 20 percent off your order on ZAGG's website, and this excludes already-discounted items.
Satechi is well known for its Apple-compatible products and is a perfect place to shop for anyone in the Apple ecosystem. With these codes, you can get solid discounts on USB-C hubs for MacBook users, cables and MagSafe-compatible products for iPhone users, and more.
B&H Photo
B&H Photo is hosting a big sale for Father's Day this year, with discounts on cameras, lenses, drones, lighting equipment, computers, storage, TVs, smart home products, and more. The retailer says that these sales will run through Father's Day on June 18, or while supplies last, so be sure to shop soon if you spot anything you may want to buy.
Belkin
Belkin is always good at hosting notable discounts for holidays throughout the year, and Father's Day is no different. You can get up to 40 percent off and free two-day shipping on select items with the code DNG23.
Apple announced tvOS 17 earlier this week with a handful of new features for the Apple TV, including FaceTime and a redesigned Control Center. Another new feature is support for VPN apps, although it remains to be seen if there will be any limitations.
VPN apps could allow for Apple TV users to watch geo-restricted content from any location, such as the U.S. version of Netflix in another country. In its tvOS 17 press release, however, Apple focused on how the VPN apps can benefit enterprise and education users, so it is possible that Apple could restrict usage of the apps.
Apple:
Third-party VPN support, which enables developers to create VPN apps for Apple TV. This can benefit enterprise and education users wanting to access content on their private networks, allowing Apple TV to be a great office and conference room solution in even more places.
tvOS 17 will be released later this year, and is available in beta now for anyone with an Apple developer account. The software update is compatible with all Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models released in 2015 and later. The first VPN apps should begin to appear on the Apple TV's App Store over the coming months.
Coming away from all the press coverage and the demonstration videos that Apple released for its Vision Pro headset, most people would be forgiven for not realizing that there is an optional additional strap for the device that goes over the head.
Still from Apple's WWDC keynote video showing over-the-head strap in use
The additional strap is presumably used to better disperse weight and/or keep the headset from being easily dislodged when the wearer is moving around. It only appeared once in Apple's WWDC keynote, in a brief scene where a man stands and records a video of children playing with bubbles using the headset's outward facing cameras.
Otherwise, it is conspicuous only by its absence in Apple's marketing materials. Indeed, Apple has not even mentioned the optional head strap, but some of those who got to try the headset in person in Cupertino this week, such as MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera, did get to use it.
"A lot of people probably didn't know this just by looking at some press images, but there is another band that goes over the top of your head," said Dan in his initial impressions video.
In his opinion, with the additional strap attached, the Vision Pro is "not that far off from other headsets in terms of weight," but it does "a really good job of dispersing that weight" and making it not so front-heavy. "I do think most people will want to use it," he added.
Apple has not revealed the weight of the Vision Pro, but Apple's decision to offload the battery to an external pack speaks volumes about the need to keep the headset as light as possible. The braided headband that goes around the back of the head has a fit adjustment dial, but by offering an additional strap, Apple implicitly seems to be acknowledging that the one headband may not be comfortable or secure enough for some users, especially if the device is going to be worn for extended periods of time.
It's worth remembering that members of the press who got to try the headset did so only for around 30 minutes, which is some way off Apple's stated two-hour battery life (Apple even says it is designed for all-day use when plugged in to a power outlet). For example, in his own first impressions write-up, Daring Fireball's John Gruber did not mention any use of the additional over-the-head strap, but he did have this to say about the weight:
The single biggest downside from my demo experience is that Vision Pro feels heavier on your face than I had hoped it would. It's not uncomfortable — at least not for 30 minutes — but I never forgot it was there, and it just makes your head feel a bit front-heavy.
Since Apple hasn't discussed the existence of the additional strap, we don't yet know if it will be included in the box with the headset when it goes on sale next year. But given its relative absence in marketing materials, the likelihood is that it will be offered as a separate paid-for accessory for those who feel they need it.
Whether that will go down well with consumers considering buying a first-generation product with a $3,499 starting price remains to be seen.
Zuckerberg added that Apple's announcement "really showcases the difference in the values and the vision that our companies bring to this," noting that Meta's goal is to offer products that are "accessible and affordable to everyone." Vision Pro will be priced at $3,499, while the Quest 3 will be priced at $499 and the Quest Pro costs $999.
Meta's goal with the metaverse is "fundamentally social," whereas the Vision Pro appears to be more isolating, according to Zuckerberg. He admitted that Apple's approach "could be the vision of the future of computing," but is "not the one that I want."
Zuckerberg's full comments, as reported by The Verge:
Apple finally announced their headset, so I want to talk about that for a second. I was really curious to see what they were gonna ship. And obviously I haven't seen it yet, so I'll learn more as we get to play with it and see what happens and how people use it.
From what I've seen initially, I'd say the good news is that there's no kind of magical solutions that they have to any of the constraints on laws and physics that our teams haven't already explored and thought of. They went with a higher resolution display, and between that and all the technology they put in there to power it, it costs seven times more and now requires so much energy that now you need a battery and a wire attached to it to use it. They made that design trade-off and it might make sense for the cases that they're going for.
But look, I think that their announcement really showcases the difference in the values and the vision that our companies bring to this in a way that I think is really important. We innovate to make sure that our products are as accessible and affordable to everyone as possible, and that is a core part of what we do. And we have sold tens of millions of Quests.
More importantly, our vision for the metaverse and presence is fundamentally social. It's about people interacting in new ways and feeling closer in new ways. Our device is also about being active and doing things. By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself. I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it's not the one that I want. There's a real philosophical difference in terms of how we're approaching this. And seeing what they put out there and how they're going to compete just made me even more excited and in a lot of ways optimistic that what we're doing matters and is going to succeed. But it's going to be a fun journey.
Just days before WWDC, Meta previewed the Quest 3, its next-generation mixed reality headset. Launching later this year, the headset features a 40% slimmer and more comfortable design, a higher-resolution display, and up to twice the graphics performance as the Quest 2. The headset will start at $499 with 128GB of storage, and the company plans to share more details about it at an event on September 27.
Apple said the Vision Pro will be available in the U.S. in early 2024.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
