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How I See the Apple Vision Pro

and pumpkins

(A visual artist, director and producer, committed to AR since 2015, Stephen Black is also the spatial cinema artist of the Open Augmented Reality Cloud.)

10 Most Profitable of the Largest Companies in the World, 2023

1. Saudi Aramco (Energy, Saudi Arabia): With $159.1B in profits, it dominates as the world’s most profitable energy company, capitalizing on vast oil reserves.

2. Apple (Technology, U.S.): Profiting $99.8B, Apple leads in tech innovation and consumer electronics, with a strong global brand presence.

3. Microsoft (Technology, U.S.): With $72.7B in profits, it excels in software, cloud services, and AI, maintaining a significant impact in tech industry.

4. Alphabet (Technology, U.S.): Earning $60B in profit, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, thrives in digital advertising, cloud computing, and AI technologies.

Source: Lane Report

One year after its launch on January 19, 2024, the Apple Vision Pro will have sold at least 100,000 units. I base this on my own research in a small city in Ohio, where I was told that usually about three AVPs a week are sold.

Let’s say two AVPs are sold a week. Apple has 531 stores worldwide.

Each store: two per week = 1062  units; x 52 = 55,224 units. Add in universities, companies that need more than one for their developers, governments etc. Online sales perhaps the same amount? It seems safe to say that at least  100,000 units were sold.

BREAKING NEWS: Just spoke with an anonymous source who told me 200,000 AVPS were sold.

Forget the numbers: the most important aspect of the AVP: creating intimate human experiences.

During my second testing experience, a father and his daughter tried the AVP together. It was obvious they enjoyed it. The father especially became involved Submerged, the short film produced specifically for the Vision Pro. The dad had worked on a sub. Speaking out loud, he calculated the pounds per square inch of the water thrusting out of the life-threatening burst pipe and how the movie used a huge amount of poetic license. He chuckled at a WW2 submarine having steam. The father and daughter left happy, a shared moment they will never forget. What is the dollar value of that?

How many more happy AVP experiences were made in Apple showrooms? Regardless of location, the number of people who have had flawless, mindblowing AVP experiences cannot be counted.

Apple is said to be the most valuable company in the world. They did not get to this point by prioritizing short term sales or listening to critics. Incredible success does not happen overnight; Apple exemplifies this. Perhaps they committed to building only 200,000 units, to then start gearing up for the AVP’s successor. Most important goal: genuine heartfelt virality, in IRL. Mission accomplished.

Plus, we must remember that the AVP was launched at a conference for developers.

So, when the followup to the AVP is released, there will be content. And there will be buyers, a very large and profitable number of buyers who have had AVP experiences or have heard about them. (Later I will write about the AVP content I am working on.)

Pumpkin AR Tech

Augmenting Reality Meetup, Microsoft London, 2019. I gave a presentation and Bubiko posed with pumpkins. With the assistance of Novaby, and with the use of Facebook Spark, this AR version of Bubiko joined me on a small speaking tour of Europe

Shot on a Hasselblad medium format digital camera. The camera is being used in an effort to create “future proof images”. I am now working on two long term projects, one about Japan, one about the lower part of the state of Michigan. VR headsets and devices like Apple Vision Pro will eventually be able to process 4, 8 and even 12K. Software will soon be able to simulate true volumetric from still photos. (Do I shoot the same scene from two angles? Ummm… not always. I will.)

Spatial video mode, iPhone 16. When viewed on the Vision Pro, it had a pleasant 3D effect. There was depth, but it wasn’t possible to see anything but an enhanced frontal view. The photo above does not give any sense of depth; to be expected whe showing 3D/volumetric images on a “normal” screen.

I watched this once, and was blown away by Hugh’s expertise and energy. For me to fully understand the subtleties between 3D, Volumetric and Spatial Video, I will need to watch it a few more times.If you are serious about spatial cinema: watch and take notes.

sparkesoftheday

No escaping my network TV background. Except now TV is Netfix.

hmmm. the engraving above; the image below…

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