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Game-Time report/On January 9th, Beijing time, Apple officially confirmed the release details of the XR device Apple Vision Pro that was previously unveiled during WWDC.
Judging from the information Gamelook has learned so far, Apple Vision Pro is obviously targeting the high-end enterprise market. With a starting price of 25,000 yuan and a small number of games, it is destined that it will be difficult to bring comparison to the game market in a short period of time. Big influence. Interestingly, just one day before Apple announced the Apple Vision Pro, the Chinese company Xreal also announced its new product Xreal Air 2 Ultra at the CES 2024 exhibition, providing developers and consumers with a more user-friendly choice.
Priced from 25,000 yuan, what’s so special about Apple Vision Pro?
The official announcement shows that the device will be released in the US market on February 2, when more than 250 Apple Arcade games and some “new space games” will appear on the new device at the same time. These new “space games” include “Game” Room”, “What the Golf? ” and “Super Fruit Ninja”. Pre-orders for the new hardware will open on January 19, but consumers can only pre-order at the US Apple Store or through the US online store.
Apple promises “new gaming experiences” on the mixed reality device, with “big hits like NBA 2K24 Arcade Edition and Sonic Dream Team available wherever they want.” Possibly the biggest screen to play on, with incredible audio and support for popular gamepads. New spatial games will harness the power of Apple Vision Pro to transform the space around players, delivering a unique and engaging gaming experience .”
Accompanying the launch of the new devices is a new App Store, which will offer “1 million iOS and iPad OS compatible apps, as well as new experiences that leverage the unique capabilities of Apple Vision Pro.” The new device’s main modes of operation are controlled by the user’s eyes, hands and voice, and can be automatically used with the new input system.
In the official promotion, Apple mainly focuses on the productivity tools of Apple Vision Pro, and mentions productivity applications such as Fantastical, Freeform, JigSpace, Microsoft Office applications and Slack. In addition, the device can also serve as an immersive video platform, with “more than 150 3D games” available in the Apple TV app and more immersive FaceTime video calls.
As announced by Apple at WWDC, the starting price of Apple Vision Pro is US$3,499 (equivalent to about 25,000 yuan), and the storage space starts at 256GB.
For Chinese consumers, in addition to the price threshold, another shortcoming that cannot be ignored is the content ecosystem of Apple Vision Pro. Currently, Apple Arcade is not available in the Chinese market, which means that even if this XR device is subsequently opened for sale globally, Chinese users will still not be able to experience more than 250 games with not many digits. Coupled with the fact that Apple has repeatedly lowered its sales forecast for Apple Vision Pro, the low number of users will make it difficult to convince developers to support it.
Xreal offers another option: a super-large screen that you can take anywhere
Unlike Apple’s positioning in the high-end market, Xreal (formerly Nreal) provides developers and consumers with an affordable, advanced solution that can open the door to unlimited mixed reality experiences. The company officially announced the AR glasses Xreal Air 2 Ultra at the CES show in Las Vegas. The price is $700 and is expected to start shipping in March.
Xreal CEO Xu Chi said in a statement, “Xreal Air 2 Ultra is designed to bring developers into an immersive spatial computing world full of advanced technology, style and comfort. We believe that all in the XR R&D ecosystem Participants will all have access to wearable 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) glasses.”
Xreal Air 2 Ultra uses a titanium ring frame, which perfectly combines history and functionality, making it unique among AR glasses. It is equipped with dual 3D environment sensors with computer vision capabilities for precise position tracking in 3D space. These sensors provide hand tracking, 3D mesh creation, semantic scene understanding and future AI capabilities to provide developers with A canvas for exploring new spatial computing experiences.
Compared with Apple and Meta, Xreal focuses more on AR experiences rather than VR. Its biggest attraction is that it can present an entertainment experience equivalent to a 120-inch digital large screen in front of your eyes.
Xreal Air 2 Pro introduction screenshot
Judging from the configuration information given by Xreal, Xreal Air 2 Ultra has a single-eye full HD high-definition viewing effect, with a field of view (FOV) of 52° and 42 pixels per degree (PPD). This parameter exceeds the Apple Vision Pro. In addition, a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a peak brightness of 500 nits ensure clear and vibrant visuals for users. The virtual 2D screen simulates a 154-inch display 13 feet away. The device also integrates movie-grade audio and Directional sound technology for privacy and minimal distractions.
Xreal Air 2 Pro introduction screenshot
To enhance user comfort during extended use, the Xreal Air 2 Ultra glasses are also certified by TÜV Rheinland for color accuracy, eye comfort, low blue light and flicker-free use, exceeding ISO standards for image quality and viewing comfort.
In addition, Xreal also introduced the Mirage Shard Tracking Kit, which enables interaction through physical buttons in the virtual interface to stimulate developers’ creativity. Pre-orders for the Xreal Air 2 Ultra include the latest NRSDK 2.2 built on Unity, which provides improved hand tracking, gesture recognition, and depth meshes with semantic tags. Developers who have previously purchased Nreal Light glasses can receive a $100 discount when pre-ordering the Xreal Air 2 Ultra.
From the perspective of actual sales, IDC reported that during 2023Q3, Xreal occupied 51% of the global AR field market share, making Xreal the leader in revenue and shipments in the AR field. Although the market size is still small, It is growing rapidly. IDC data shows that Xreal will contribute 58% year-on-year growth in the consumer AR market in 2023. To date, Xreal’s Air series of AR glasses have shipped 350,000 units, making it the best-selling product of Amazon’s AR glasses.
In addition to productivity and screen projection, the popularity of XR gaming helmets is still far away
As previously analyzed by Gamelook, both the high price of Apple Vision Pro and Apple’s conservative sales forecast mean that it is difficult for developers to quickly form an ecosystem around this new XR device and want to be used as an XR gaming helmet among consumers. Popularization in China still has a long way to go.
After all, for new users, even if they can afford to spend more than 25,000 yuan, if they cannot get enough and good enough new experiences on the device, obviously not many people will be willing to pay. For developers, the number of 150,000 devices is difficult to convince them to provide support for Apple Vision Pro.
In contrast, Xreal chose a more lightweight solution. Judging from the use cases given by Xreal, the main function of Xreal Air 2 Ultra is to serve as a portable and stylish high-definition large screen that can connect to hosts, PCs, mobile phones and Various devices such as drones allow users to experience immersive and high-quality visual effects anytime and anywhere.
Of course, no matter which solution is used, the number of games that can be experienced currently is not abundant. Perhaps only when Apple launches hardware that is user-friendly enough can it maximize its influence and quickly promote the popularity of XR helmets.
