– Apple’s Personas for Vision Pro headsets are a work in progress, with original beta avatars being described as “nightmarish” but subsequent updates making them more realistic.
– The new spatial Personas feature on visionOS 1.1 allows for collaboration in apps beyond FaceTime and Zoom, with a focus on creating a sense of presence for users in virtual meetings.
– Spatial audio enhances the immersive experience of collaborating with up to five users at a time on projects, watching movies, or playing games together.
Apple’s Personas feature, designed for their Vision Pro headsets, has gone through improvements since its initial beta release. Originally described as “nightmarish”, the avatars have been updated to look more realistic and pleasing. Apple is still working on enhancing the 3D captures for a more lifelike experience.
The spatial Personas feature was introduced for Vision Pro headsets running visionOS 1.1 or later. This feature adds a sense of collaboration to the headset, expanding beyond just chat platforms like FaceTime and Zoom. By combining FaceTime with SharePlay, users can select the spatial persona option, which uses the headset’s sensors to place the Persona in the room with them, creating a more immersive experience.
The addition of spatial audio further enhances the experience by placing the Personas at a specific point in space relative to the Vision Pro user. This feature allows for a more realistic and dynamic interaction between users, making it feel like they are collaborating on projects or watching movies together across a conference table, even if they are at home.
While the effect of the spatial Personas feature is innovative and impressive, some users may find it to be slightly creepy or uncanny. However, as early adopters of this technology, Vision Pro users will have to navigate through these initial discomforts. Beyond work collaborations, the feature can also be used for watching movies and playing games together, supporting up to five users at once.