Speaker 1: Every week we are hit with fresh reports and rumors and creative artist renderings of apple's possible upcoming vr, ar headset. And man, this looks like Apple is gonna have a challenging time selling the idea that you need this expensive thing on your face. I mean, even if you love VR and you love Apple, we need to be honest with ourselves here. This is risky new territory for Apple because it needs to give people a reason to want a new kind of gadget or feel like they need this thing. Bloomberg is reporting [00:00:30] that Apple may also be unsure of what people will want. So Apple may give us dozens of reasons to buy it by throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks with consumers. Bloomberg reports that Apple is packing this headset with the ability to perform almost any app you can imagine in the hope that by giving you everything possible, you'll find something you like about it.
Speaker 1: And I do mean almost any app. It's said that you can browse the web in VR and read books in VR or use a collaborative whiteboard [00:01:00] to doodle ideas with someone else at work or watch a video screen as you're surrounded in a fantasy landscape. Oh, I get to stream the movie Dune while it looks like I'm sitting in the desert. Please give me more dune with my dune. I am sure there will be some cringe moments as Apple figures out it's footing. It's gonna be really easy to make fun of it, but I do not want to be that person who says it's gonna be doomed. I wanna see how Apple can impress us. And as we get more details about this secretive product, there is one more thing I want you to keep [00:01:30] in the back of your mind with this headset. It's not just about seeing a long list of what tricks it can perform, but rather how will Apple use some of these tricks to flip the conversation around VR and AR and essentially change how we think about computing.
Speaker 1: I have been thinking about what would excite me about this product and get people to want it. And I think there are five areas where Apple can really shine and wow us in mixed reality. I'm Bridget Carey, and this is one more thing or five more things. [00:02:00] First off, let us talk wellness. Apple has been making more strides into health and there is potential to target our mental health in a new way. The Bloomberg report indicates Apple is working on a wellness app that would focus on meditation. It's described as having immersive graphics and calming sounds and voiceovers, but I don't wanna put on a headset that sits me in front of some fake cartoony beach waves. If Apple really transports us into a void that feels like you're really escaping well then maybe it could lead to [00:02:30] really feeling like you're healing and able to tune out the world around you.
Speaker 1: There needs to be some sort of sensory experience, maybe like an ASMR type effect where you put on headphones and it gives you the tinkles <laugh>. I mean, it would be kinda sad if Apple sells it because it gives you the tingles. I mean, either way it needs to be light as a feather for this to work as an escape tool. But don't just think mental wellness [00:03:00] as folding your legs and getting all Zen VR is now used in therapy, specifically exposure therapy. It can help people learn to overcome situations that make them nervous by roleplaying in a fake environment. This could be a tool that's really embraced by the mental health community. Secondly, that brings us to thinking about fitness. It's reported that Apple may be cooking up an app that works with Fitness Plus it's the Apple workout video subscription service. But if you watch this show, you know, I don't really think highly of getting sweaty [00:03:30] while wearing a VR headset.
Speaker 1: It just seems so weird and uncomfortable and an easy way to get dizzy. But Apple can do something other tech companies cannot. Apple makes the fitness programming and Apple makes the headset. It can make programming that is designed to match your headset experience so well that you may not feel discomfort. Imagine special workout accessories that the headset is able to visually recognize and map out for you. So when you stand on your Apple workout mat or pick up that Apple kettlebell, [00:04:00] it matches the content in your headset so well that it's seamless. Or when you jump on a stationary bike or on a rowing machine, it can be mapped out. So it feels like you're now in a racing game or actually rowing in the water matched to your pace. When you got the tech and you got the media, that means you can mess with the brain and you can have a smoother experience that makes you want to put on the headset to do something special.
Speaker 1: I experienced this kind of magic a few times with a place called The Void. They programmed VR to exactly match a stage where you were free to [00:04:30] walk around wearing the headset and the walls you touched and the blasters you held matched so well with the game that you really forgot yourself and it felt very comfortable. So that takes us to the third area. Gaming. You cannot have a VR headset without gaming. And of course, apple is reported to be working with Apple arcade developers to make special content for the headset. But I would really be excited to see developers think of gaming in VR and AR differently. This is not gonna be Sony's PlayStation VR [00:05:00] where you're blast in zombies and avoiding furniture. This Apple headset is said to let you do mixed reality blending AR in vr if Apple plays it right and gets creative game developers on board.
Speaker 1: We could be looking at new ways to interact with the game when you could still see the living room in front of you. And what if your favorite iPhone game had a special thing you could do with the headset? These do not have to be separate ideas. Of course, we have to also talk about sports the fourth way that Apple could shake things up and do some fun experiments [00:05:30] live sports. NV R is already a thing. Meta has a partnership with the nba, so folks with the Quest headset can watch a handful of games in 180 degree view. And you could call that immersive because it puts you right on the court. This has also been done with NASCAR races and tennis, but Apple has another unique twist. It controls the broadcast for all of Major League soccer because you can only watch MLS games through Apple tv.
Speaker 1: Apple has the exclusive streaming rights. It's Apple's cameras on the ground. So what could Apple [00:06:00] do here to go beyond just sitting on the sidelines for a few games? Apple also has a deal with Major League Baseball, having the exclusive rights to stream two Friday night baseball games each week. Baseball Night in America could also be headset night in America. What could a VR headset give us with sports that's better than what we get on normal broadcast? The answer is that it needs to be more than just a viewpoint of a fan from the seat. Number five is avatars. I save that one for last because as much as I am [00:06:30] hopeful, this one makes me nervous. Some reports say that the other people you FaceTime with inside the headset will look like realistic versions of themselves, not dorky cartoon legless versions like Meta does with Horizon Worlds and Workrooms having real presence with someone else not in the room with you.
Speaker 1: That is a wild concept that could change the game if it's done well. It's an area. Tim Cook also has talked about is something he's excited about when it comes to augmented reality, being able to feel like you're really looking at someone who isn't there. Could this [00:07:00] level up FaceTime? Can all the cameras in this headset actually help map a version of my face talking? So we are not just usernames and cartoons, but we're actual humans calling each other. That's the kind of thing that could get people to really put this on their head. And I really hope it's not anything like Verizon workrooms in the end. There needs to be a reason to put forth the effort to wear it and not have it collect dust in the corner of your room because pick it up the phone. It's just easier. Sometimes Apple [00:07:30] needs a little time to find which areas people really like best. Eight years ago this week, apple launched the Apple Watch and Apple had a playbook where it pitched the Apple Watch as something that could do so many things.
Speaker 2: The list of features is a mile long.
Speaker 1: On the keynote stage, we heard that maybe you'll use it as a TV remote or you'll control your iPhone camera, or you can call all your friends like Dick Tracy. Or maybe you'll spend thousands of dollars on a luxury model cuz you're so fancy. But now we know [00:08:00] what people just really use it for. Message alerts, fitness, and my most used feature, asking Siri to help me find my phone. I lose it all the time. We have to give Apple a chance here to show us what's possible. Or maybe I will just be back here in three years telling you how I love using the headset to show me where in my home I left my iPhone. Let me know which of the five things you personally could see yourself getting excited about. Or maybe there is something on this list that you think I got wrong. Tell me in the comments and if the chat gets good, I may include [00:08:30] your comment in a future episode. Thanks and I'll catch you next week.
