Apple has unveiled a mixed-reality headset called Vision Pro – its first entirely new product in eight years.
The US tech giant claims the device is “the most advanced personal electronic device ever”.
Resembling a pair of ski goggles, it features a glass 23-million-pixel screen which covers the upper face and is controlled using the wearer’s eyes, hands and voice.
Vision Pro is labeled as “mixed reality” as it combines “virtual reality”, in which the wearer is fully immersed in the digital world, with “augmented reality” where digital images are overlaid onto the real world.
The device, which is the first new product since the Apple Watch was launched in 2015, blends a video feed from the outside world with a virtual world displayed on screens inside the headset.
It is set to rival Meta’s Quest Pro from last year and Quest 3 announced last week.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing,” said Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, as he launched the new device at the company’s annual software developer conference on Monday.
“Blending digital content with the real world can unlock experiences like nothing we’ve ever seen.”
It will be available online and in Apple stores in the US from early next year and will come to more countries “later next year”.
The company also gave updates on its operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.
