When Apple unveiled its mixed-reality headset, Apple Vision Pro, last June, people wondered what the killer app for the pricey device might be. Some analysts believe the company provided a preview of that killer app during its iPhone 15 introduction.
The advanced cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro will be capable of shooting "spatial video" for playback on Vision Pro headsets. This will enable people to record immersive, high-resolution videos that will make Vision Pro wearers feel like they were there when the video was shot.
At the fall product launch event Tuesday, Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said consumers will be able to relive memories such as a family beach vacation "in a magical way on Apple Vision Pro."
"Spatial video makes you feel like you're right back to that moment in time," Joswiak said. "You can also share these spatial videos with anyone with an Apple Vision Pro so they can feel like they were there too."
Spatial Video Function Coming Later This Year
The spatial video feature on the iPhone 15 Pro handsets will be available later this year. The new high-end smartphones go on sale Sept. 22.
The iPhone 15 Pro uses the ultrawide and main cameras together to create a three-dimensional video, Joswiak said.
The demo was mostly overlooked amid the company's news about the iPhone 15 series handsets and Apple Watch Series 9 smartwatches. But some analysts took notice.
'Huge Step Up' In Video Capture
"This is the first killer feature on Vision Pro and it will change how people recollect memories," Gene Munster, managing partner with Deepwater Asset Management, said in a blog post. "I believe that spatial video is so good that it will drive sales of the pricey $3,500 Vision Pro."
Sharing spatial videos will be "a huge step up" from sharing traditional smartphone videos, Munster said.
"The step up from current video to spatial video is as big as the step from still photos to video a hundred years ago," Munster said.
Vision Pro Shipping In Early 2024
At this week's event, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said Vision Pro is "on track to ship early next year."
Apple introduced the computer goggles at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5. The headset combines virtual reality and augmented reality and will enable entertainment, communications and productivity applications.
Vision Pro can play virtual-reality content and simulate augmented reality using video pass-through to show the real world. Also, an external display shows the user's eyes.
Spatial video capture will increase the value of the Vision Pro platform, TD Cowen analyst Krish Sankar in a note to clients.
"This is important for creating ecosystem value and enhances the immediate utility of the device when it launches in early 2024," Sankar said.
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