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What it can do - What it costs

After over ten years of waiting, Apple fans can finally look forward to a new, huge "One more thing..."!

Because: Apple presented its computer glasses at the keynote of the WWDC, this year's in-house developer conference. And this very thick Apple thing was only introduced at the very end - and is called Apple Vision Pro.

And that's what Apple's new mega glasses can do: They show digital objects on display in the natural environment. So the device, vaguely reminiscent of modern diving goggles, will allow virtual overlays into the real world (augmented reality, AR). At the same time, you can also completely immerse yourself in virtual worlds (Virtual Reality, VR).

The mixture of AR and VR is called "Mixed Reality" (XR). With Apple glasses, you should be able to switch between AR and VR with a rotary knob. "Vision Pro is a new breed of computer that augments reality by seamlessly blending the real and the digital," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. In other words, you can display a massive screen on the glasses – or even several. Apple promises: You can integrate the virtual into your environment with mirrors so that it looks genuine.

Apple sees a possible use for the Vision Pro at work because you can display many large virtual displays in your field of vision. Another application should be entertainment with videos in large format - even on the go. All of this is controlled by voice and hand gestures, but you need a cable that leads to the external battery to use it.

As with devices from the competition, the environment is captured by cameras on the housing and displayed on displays in front of the eyes. In addition to the cameras and displays, two speakers are in the glasses. Not only seeing in 3D but also 3D sound should be possible. In any case, Apple is proud of the mega glasses. And the price is just as proud: 3500 dollars, the costs in euros will follow soon. Apple Vision Pro is slated for release in early 2024.

The glasses represent Apple's entry into a new product segment - the Apple Group last dared to do so with the Apple Watch in 2014.

The MacBook Air is now also available in a 15-inch version.

The other Apple innovations

First, the new MacBook Air will be presented - for the first time with a screen size of 15 inches (38.1 centimeters).

The main innovation, in addition to better hardware, is the size and the reduced thickness: The MacBook Air is said to be only 11.5 mm thin - and would therefore be the lightest 15-inch notebook.

It should be available next week—cost point: 1299 dollars.

After that, it's on to the following announcement: an upgrade from Mac Studio.

This should make the Apple desktop computer a lot faster. It's about new processors: the M2 Max chip - and its brother, the M2 Ultra.

Then it's on to the presentation of iOS 17: the new version of Apple's iPhone operating system.

iOS 17 brings “exciting new features: More expressive communication. Simplified Sharing. Smarter inputs and new experiences”. This is mainly about smaller functions and updates that should come in the fall. For example, you can determine which photo is displayed when you call someone. But instead of just on your own iPhone, you can also use it on that of the person being named! In addition, the news app and the spelling correction should be improved.

There are also innovations for iPadOS 17, the operating system for the iPad. So you can have widgets displayed on the lock screen in the future. And: The Health app can then also be loaded onto the iPad.

Need a big TV in the living room? No problem: the Vision Pro can project a massive screen onto the displays.

And the Mac also gets a new operating system: macOS Sonoma.

There are widget upgrades here too. And: Then there is the new “Game Mode.” It is designed to optimize performance for games on macOS. There are also minor improvements for the Facetime camera and for sharing passwords.

Then it goes over to the Apple Watch with the new operating system, watchOS 10. Here, too, it's more about minor improvements.

Apple CEO Tim Cook (62) introduced the keynote.

That's it for the keynote. And above all, the Apple Vision Pro is a significant innovation - for the first time in ten years.

An extended period - especially when you consider that the major innovations have made Apple from a small computer pioneer of the 70s to one of the most valuable corporations in the world: Macintosh Computer (1984), iMac (1999), iPod (2001), iPhone (2007 ), iPad (2010) and most recently the Apple Watch (2014).