Apple has reportedly partnered with Sony Group to assist third-party hand controllers on its Vision Pro headset. The two firms started discussions earlier this yr and have since come to an settlement so as to add Vision Pro assist for Sony’s PlayStation VR hand controllers, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote in his Power On e-newsletter over the weekend.
Although PlayStation 5 and Xbox controllers are presently supported by Vision Pro, they lack the six levels of freedom required for exact VR gaming experiences.
If the report holds true, this might mark a big shift towards Apple embracing gaming, a slight shift from its preliminary concentrate on making a product geared primarily towards immersive content material viewing and productiveness.
Although Apple is just not presently anticipated to launch its personal controller, Gurman’s report revealed the corporate spent years creating a so-called “wand” for the headset — an Apple Pencil-like instrument designed for exact management. This maybe indicators Apple acknowledged early on the potential limitations of relying solely available and eye gestures. But the corporate deserted the wand idea, fearing it will confuse builders and enhance prices, he wrote.
The report comes at a time when Apple has bought fewer than half one million Vision Pro headsets, with many purchasers reportedly returning the machine or utilizing it lower than anticipated, in line with Gurman. Meanwhile, Apple is claimed to be contemplating a lower-budget model of the $3,500 headset that will offload computing energy to the iPhone and have much less superior capabilities as a part of its effort to broaden the product’s attraction.
While the Vision Pro has received reward amongst critics, it has struggled to realize widespread shopper traction. In an October interview with The Wall Street Journal, CEO Tim Cook acknowledged the challenges: “At $3,500, it is not a mass-market product. Right now, it is an early-adopter product.”
Beyond the difficulty of controllers, content material growth stays a problem as builders could hesitate to pour assets and cash into creating video games for an unproven gaming platform. And whereas there are some Vision Pro video games obtainable on the App Store, few have made a significant impression. In distinction, Meta’s Quest headsets lean on unique gaming to drive demand.
