The Apple Vision Pro Might Not Be Right for Public Exhibitions
If your institution or business is considering an Apple Vision Pro for a live brand activation, ticketed virtual exhibit, or any other virtual public experience, then you may want to reconsider. (sorry 😢)
Don't get me wrong, Apple's hardware is elegant, the eye tracking and gestures feel natural, and the UI systems are absolutely perfect. But it's just for you.
Institutions and businesses looking to utilize an Apple Vision Pro for public exhibitions or hoping to share the device with multiple team members will face challenges. This device is not built to be shared. Like your virtual house elf, it won't easily take orders from anyone else.
The onboarding takes about 10 minutes, and then the device is customized for you. Your eyes, hands, and face are mapped, and the lens positions and eye-tracking sensors are mechanically dialed in, which makes the Apple Vision Pro feel invisible while you are using it. However, this personalization makes it challenging to share. You can register a guest (see link below), but since the device is registered to your Apple ID, be sure you trust them not to steal your identity (or give you pink eye).
The good news is that there is a workaround for your internal team. You can create a new Apple ID for your team to share. Then, let someone with the best eyesight and symmetrical eye position set it up. You can reset the eye and hand tracking by quadruple-clicking the top button and following the onscreen instructions, but you’ll have to do it each time a new person puts on the Apple Vision Pro. Apple also requires you to add a six-digit passcode, so set it to something obvious like my birthday; everyone should know that. (You can remove the passcode in settings).
If you're looking for a virtual reality device to create immersive storytelling experiences or virtual exhibits for public displays, then you might want to consider other options.
While the Apple Vision Pro is excellent for personal use, it may not be the best choice for shared VR experiences. If you want to create a public experience for your institution or brand, ask yourself: What’s the strategy?
- If you're considering the Apple Vision Pro to align your brand with an elegant, state-of-the-art device, get ready to be challenged with onboarding. Or, instead, you could invest in developing an enterprise app that may be able to sidestep some of these issues. If you proceed, you still may need extra staff to help onboard visitors one-on-one, lots of extra batteries, a holster for the battery, and plenty of hope that no one drops it face down on the heavy glass that houses lots of tiny sensors and cameras.
- If you want to create virtual exhibits or immersive storytelling experiences shared between many people, consider other VR devices such as the Meta Quest Pro or the VIVE XR Elite.
- If you're looking to create a portable virtual reality experience or something your audience can use at home, that's a whole other conversation. Hit me up; I'm happy to point you in the right direction.
Adding a guest user:
https://support.apple.com/fr-ca/guide/apple-vision-pro/dev57f3c667e/visionos#:~:text=With%20Guest%20User%2C%20other%20people,the%20Guest%20User%20session%20ends
Redo eye tracking:
https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-vision-pro/redo-eye-and-hand-setup-tanf67b02683/visionos