Spatial Video shot on iPhone for Apple Vision Pro previewed for a select few
Apple has shown off its Apple Vision Pro video features in more detail, with a few venues invited to watch 3D video shot on iPhone on the upcoming headset.
Watching a Spatial Video recording on Vision Pro (Source: Apple)
As the promised Spatial Video recording for iPhone 15 Pro finally arrived in iOS 17, so Apple has been allowing a select group of people to try it out. Under similar controlled circumstances to its previous Vision Pro demonstrations, users were able to shoot some video and then watch that back plus prerecorded examples.
All were similarly impressed, and Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal and her Tech Things blog suggests that more people will shoot 3D video with their iPhone than with the headset itself.
Sushi as you've never seen it before
"At the demo, I recorded a sushi chef holding a piece of sushi," writes Stern. "When I watched it back in the Vision Pro, the sushi and the chopsticks really looked 3-D."
"They were clearly in the foreground, hovering closer to me than the rest of the imagery," she continued. "Of course the lighting was perfect when recording -- we'll have to see how it does in imperfect conditions."
Stern says that one of Apple's examples of a recording of a family "was so lifelike and cozy that it almost creeped me out."
As impressed as she was, she adds "guess who isn't wearing a clunky face computer to her two-year-old's birthday party? THIS MOM!"
More sushi, less resolution
CNET also got the ability to shoot video of a chef preparing sushi. "And now it's a VR experience I'm watching in beautiful 3D on Apple's Vision Pro headset," writes Scott Stein.
However, even while calling his own video and Apple's other examples "undeniably vivid," CNET's Stein said it was "a tiny bit disappointing that the videos can't be recorded in 4K resolution."
"Apple's Vision Pro headset has astounding quality and resolution, which became clear once again as I looked at iPhone photos in the headset and zoomed in on them, or viewed panoramic photos in a wraparound mode that made it feel like I was in a vivid immersive recreation of a location, similar to a 360-degree photo," he continues. "The spatial videos look really nice, but I felt the desire to see them in more fluid 60fps, 4K or both. Maybe someday."
"There's no recording limit on the videos, so you could theoretically make a spatial video 3D feature-length film," says Stein.
But at present, the videos can only be trimmed in the Vision Pro headset or on the iPhone. They can't be edited in Final Cut Pro, though Apple promises that this will change during 2024.
Killer app
TechRadar is more impressed, with reviewer Lance Ulanoff saying that "I now realize that spatial video could be the Vision Pro's killer app."
As well as needing iOS 17.2, "Apple makes it possible to shoot stereoscopic or spatial video, but only when you hold the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in landscape mode."
"To simplify matters, Apple is only capturing two 1080p/30fps video streams in HEVC (high-efficiency video coding) format," continues Ulanoff. "Owing to the dual stream, the file size is a bit larger, creating a 130MB file for about one minute of video."
"[Spatial] video may make the most compelling case yet for, if not owning a Vision Pro," continues the publication, "then at least wishing you did."
Apple Vision Pro is due to be released early in 2024, though Apple has yet to announce a more specific date.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
I imagine that would be too expensive to compute at this point.
Isn't that they are recorded with two 2K resolution and merged as 4K worth of data for 3D? So, it would make sense they don't do 8K at this time.
The so-called tech writers getting a peek, don’t seem to comprehend the computing power (SOC) needed and the size of the video files needed to pull this off? If the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro can shoot this type of video isn’t that a big step forward? Also, if it works as well as it seems to work, what is the problem with shooting it with the Apple Vision Pro? It’s not like you’re gonna keep the Apple Vision Pro on your head 24/7 if you’re shooting a special event for a minute or two what is the problem? Camcorder, dad or mom was just a fact of life, using this technique to film people you care about particularly older people, that is a killer feature that will sell units, no matter what the cost, and it also will lead to a howl from competitors and certain nosy government officials like the EU about spatial video standards. Most of Apples, competitors are at least 4, 5 years behind with shipping CPU/SOC’s if you believe the current geekbench scores. https://browser.geekbench.com/mobile-benchmarks (doesn’t include the new M3).
Shame we have to wait until Q4 2024 here in the UK : might be worth a US holiday to get to see one in action before then 😎
I can’t help but wonder if the Vision (non-Pro) might come (Q4 2024?) sans video recording if one can use an iPhone for that side, seems likely to me.
I would not be surprised that Apple will have them ready for demo at all 527 Apple stores across the world after release day in the United States, so I think you’re gonna be able to schedule a demo to see how it works in person.
The Vision Pro, like the Newton, is a bit too early for the technology it needs. However, it's not over a decade too early, not so early that it won't be useful and not designed badly.
It is a foundational product for something that a lot of people will want to use every day (for short-term experiences), 5 years from now.
Initial shipments will be low, likely below 1m units at $3500 but a lighter model at $2000 will go up to over 3m units. When they get to $1500, they will be shipping 10m units/year ($15b). As it gets lighter and more compact, they will eventually be owned by tens of millions of people. It's not likely to ever reach iPhone level shipments, more like iPad or Mac level.
A personal cinema in your pocket is going to be a very compelling platform and it will be useful for work. Taking a tiny screen iPad or laptop on vacation when you are accustomed to a large screen isn't great. This allows you to take a pocket device and get a desktop experience.
It allows you to appear in a room in another country while working remotely. The ability to project a photoreal person in 3D into the same room will blow people's minds when they experience it.
The whole AR/VR industry will take some time to develop into something a lot of people want to invest in but it's not a product category destined for failure, it's just early. People will be more interested in it when they try the shipping product in stores.