Logitech's new stylus for Oculus is what we want for Apple Vision Pro

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Apple Vision Pro

Apple has arguably the best VR headset in the world with the Apple Vision Pro, but it's fallen behind Logitech on the one accessory it should have invented.

Close-up of a hand holding a green textured pen with a blurred background.
Ligitech's MX Ink Stylus for Meta Quest



It's one of those ideas where you wonder why Apple didn't think of it -- and then you find out that it did. Apple has even applied for a couple of patents for an Apple Pencil for the Apple Vision Pro, but now Logitech has brought out the MX Ink Mixed Reality Stylus for Meta Quest.

MX Ink is a broadly Apple Pencil-like stylus that can be used with Meta's headset. Chiefly it's meant for drawing in mid-air, but it's also a control device that lets the user select and manipulate devices.



Physically, it's broader than the Apple Pencil, with a diameter of 0.72 inches compared to Apple Pencil Pro's 0.35 inches. The Logitech model is also heavier than Apple's, at 1.02 oz compared to the Apple Pencil Pro's 0.73 oz.

Plus the Logitech model is fractionally, but noticeably, shorter. Where the Apple Pencil Pro is 6.53 inches tall, Logitech's version is 6.46 inches.



All of this could make it difficult for the actor or presenter holding it up in the air for extended periods. But equally it could help the MX Ink feel less like a stylus, and more like a paint brush when an artist is using it.

Certainly, Apple has had hopes for painting, with one patent application practically describing a Bob Ross-like scenario.

The MX Ink costs $129.99 from Logitech, which is approximately the same price as the Apple Pencil Pro, and the Apple Pencil (2nd generation).

Naturally, neither the cost of Logitech's MX Ink or the Apple Pencil can realistically be compared. For without their headsets, each of them are just costly ornaments.

But paired to the correct headset, a stylus has the promise of freeing up users to do more than swipe or type. It promises annotations, as we're used to with the Apple Pencil on iPads, and it could herald more interactivity with virtual items, as Apple's patent applications suggest.

Usually it's Apple who brings something new to an idea, such as bringing a stylus to VR, but this time it has been trounced by Logitech. The question now is whether Logitech can bring the MX Ink to the Apple Vision Pro.

Another good questionj is if Apple's rumored testing of a stylus with the headset will lead to a product release.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    KierkegaardenKierkegaarden Posts: 242member
    Who is the “we” that wants this?  The reason they put this out is because hand recognition sucks on other headsets.  Vision Pro nails hand/finger input, just like the iPhone did in 2007.  This is a key differentiator.
    roundaboutnownetroxwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 12
    VictorMortimerVictorMortimer Posts: 239
    Does anybody actually want a pencil for their crappy expensive headset?

    Seems kind of silly, given how few people actually want a crappy expensive headset in the first place.
    neoncat
  • Reply 3 of 12
    neoncatneoncat Posts: 163member
    Who is the “we” that wants this?  The reason they put this out is because hand recognition sucks on other headsets.  Vision Pro nails hand/finger input, just like the iPhone did in 2007.  This is a key differentiator.
    Because we are creatures of habit. For example, the on-screen keyboard of an iPad is quite good, yet Apple considers its various keyboard cases to be must-have accessories, and most people buy them. Not only that, but the entirety of the iPad interface is designed around even the fattest of fingers being able to navigate it, yet Apple's premiere keyboard accessory includes a touchpad, and the OS fully supports a paired mouse (stupid circle-blob cursor notwithstanding).

    Yes, the AVP is built around a hands-and-fingers-only interface paradigm and it does so very well. Clever and functional. Potential accessories, like this Logitech stylus, don't replace the baselines, they augment it so people can lean on muscle and conceptual memory to accomplish even more.


    edited June 18 fastasleepbeowulfschmidtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 12
    iOS_Guy80iOS_Guy80 Posts: 880member
    VictorMortimer said:
    Does anybody actually want a pencil for their crappy expensive headset?

    Seems kind of silly, given how few people actually want a crappy expensive headset in the first place.
    Define few people.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 12
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,450member
    Kierkegaarden said:
    Who is the “we” that wants this?  The reason they put this out is because hand recognition sucks on other headsets.  Vision Pro nails hand/finger input, just like the iPhone did in 2007.  This is a key differentiator.
    As usual, there's a serious lack of imagination when it comes to these types of devices. Anyone who has used VR sculpting/painting/design apps (as I have for like 7 years now on PSVR) will want a *precision* controller with buttons/etc for more complicated actions than what can be done with fingers and hand  alone. You might as well be asking "Who wants a Pencil for their iPad?" LOTS of people, for the reasons above. Watch the damn video, it literally spells this out for you. 

    VictorMortimer said:
    Does anybody actually want a pencil for their crappy expensive headset?

    Seems kind of silly, given how few people actually want a crappy expensive headset in the first place.
    Oh, it's a crappy headset now. Compared to what? Are all headsets crappy because you don't see a use for them, and by extension any controllers created for them? GTFO.
    muthuk_vanalingambeowulfschmidtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 12
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,478member
    A better question is why do we need a stylus? You know that AVP can look at your hands and a stylus you're holding can be treated as a stylus and do EVERYTHING shown in the commercial? Why do we need a stylus specifically for a headset?  

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 12
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,308member
    Well, I don't need this device, in fact I can see no use for it at all, so why are Apple and Logitech even wasting their time thinking about it? /s
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 12
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,450member
    netrox said:
    A better question is why do we need a stylus? You know that AVP can look at your hands and a stylus you're holding can be treated as a stylus and do EVERYTHING shown in the commercial? Why do we need a stylus specifically for a headset?  

    LOL not "EVERYTHING". It has a pressure sensitive tip, three buttons including one that's pressure sensitive, and far more accuracy than your finger detection is going to give you. Ridiculous.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 12
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,478member
    fastasleep said:
    netrox said:
    A better question is why do we need a stylus? You know that AVP can look at your hands and a stylus you're holding can be treated as a stylus and do EVERYTHING shown in the commercial? Why do we need a stylus specifically for a headset?  

    LOL not "EVERYTHING". It has a pressure sensitive tip, three buttons including one that's pressure sensitive, and far more accuracy than your finger detection is going to give you. Ridiculous.
    We don't need a stylus to do those things in the "air." Gestures are much better for that kind of productivity and a headset should be able to recognize objects in hands and emulate those objects. For example, if you hold up a paintbrush, it should recognize it as a paintbrush and emulate it. It would actually feel more real and more accurate as the tip of the paintbrush can change its size or shape which a stylus cannot. A stylus's tip is fixed.  

    It's comical that the commercial begins with actual objects but ends with a "stylus" that supposedly do all that when a headset can just recognize an object and emulate it. 
      

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 12
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,053member
    netrox said:
    A better question is why do we need a stylus? You know that AVP can look at your hands and a stylus you're holding can be treated as a stylus and do EVERYTHING shown in the commercial? Why do we need a stylus specifically for a headset?  

    Some people never want to live in the real world!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 12
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,450member
    netrox said:
    fastasleep said:
    netrox said:
    A better question is why do we need a stylus? You know that AVP can look at your hands and a stylus you're holding can be treated as a stylus and do EVERYTHING shown in the commercial? Why do we need a stylus specifically for a headset?  

    LOL not "EVERYTHING". It has a pressure sensitive tip, three buttons including one that's pressure sensitive, and far more accuracy than your finger detection is going to give you. Ridiculous.
    We don't need a stylus to do those things in the "air." Gestures are much better for that kind of productivity and a headset should be able to recognize objects in hands and emulate those objects. For example, if you hold up a paintbrush, it should recognize it as a paintbrush and emulate it. It would actually feel more real and more accurate as the tip of the paintbrush can change its size or shape which a stylus cannot. A stylus's tip is fixed.  

    It's comical that the commercial begins with actual objects but ends with a "stylus" that supposedly do all that when a headset can just recognize an object and emulate it. 
    You weren't watching the video very closely. They were also using it to trace 3D objects and flat surfaces. Pressure sensitive controls *in the air* control things like pressure which you cannot do with gestures in the same way easily. Do you know what an airbrush is, and how it differs from a paintbrush? I suspect you're not an artist, or you wouldn't have this much trouble imagining the obvious use cases for this device.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 12
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,450member
    JinTech said:
    netrox said:
    A better question is why do we need a stylus? You know that AVP can look at your hands and a stylus you're holding can be treated as a stylus and do EVERYTHING shown in the commercial? Why do we need a stylus specifically for a headset?  

    Some people never want to live in the real world!
    As they said with newspapers, radio, TV, computers, smartphones... 🙄
    watto_cobra
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