Key Takeaways
- Apple Vision Pro & Meta Quest 3 are pushing boundaries with interactive entertainment experiences.
- VR and AR entertainment needs to be about more than gaming.
- Additional immersive story projects from Apple & Meta may encourage broader VR/AR headset adoption.
There may not be a more volatile sector in the consumer tech world than AR and VR technology right now. The popularity of virtual and augmented reality is on the upswing with the launch of the Apple Vision Pro and the Meta Quest 3 last year, and the tech might finally be finding a foothold. But we’ve thought that VR was gaining popularity before, only to see it fade into the background for a few years.
The Apple Vision Pro is trying to make sure it sticks around by appealing as a tool to help people get work done. Outside of Apple, the Meta Quest 3 has started to embrace fitness apps and boxing programs in order to show that it has more to offer than just games. But, the real path for both these devices could be the interactive stories starting to pop up on both.
Meta Quest 3 vs Meta Quest 2: Is it worth the upgrade?
Currently own the Quest 2 and wondering if the newer Quest 3 is worth all the hype? We’ve reviewed both and have broken down all their differences.
Meta Quest 3
Meta Quest 3 has improved visuals and comfort as well as the promise of colour passthrough and mixed reality experiences too.
Faceless Lady is the first of what should be many
Pop in your headphones, and get ready to be immersed in gothic horror
Meta Quest Blog
The Faceless Lady is a first-of-its-kind experience on Meta Quest 3. It’s unique for a number of different reasons, the most prominent one being that it’s led by famed horror producer and director Eli Roth. It was also released in six weekly segments, much like you’d see on Amazon Prime or Peacock, though the entire series is now out and watchable for anyone with a Meta Quest 3.
This is not a playable experience, as it’s not a game. It’s a horror movie broken up into 6 pieces that places the Meta Quest 3 user right in the middle of the action. It feels quite a bit like you’re in the middle of a play, and you’re standing right on stage.
It feels quite a bit like you’re in the middle of a play, and you’re standing right on stage.
However, the actors in the series don’t acknowledge your existence. The action happens around you but the only real way that you can interact with something is by shifting your point of view. Otherwise, the user is essentially a non-corporeal entity that cannot affect the story or what happens. So, you can either focus on the dialogue and action on the screen or look around and marvel at the scenery and background.
It’s essentially a program that takes advantage of everything the Meta Quest 3 has to offer without the user having to concern themselves with clearing a physical area arounf them so they can fight off monsters.
Apple Vision Pro vs. Meta Quest 3: What’s the difference?
Apple’s Vision Pro is a natural competitor for the highly touted Meta Quest 3, even if both are wildly different. Here is everything you need to know.
The Faceless Lady can be watched lying in bed or sitting on the couch. The experience is unique enough that Meta would be foolish to refrain from creating more content like it. It’s something that could offer a boost to the sales of the device, since the series is also totally free of charge to users.
Sadly, at this point, anything else like this on the platform is quite short or is more like the YouTube VR offerings, which are nice — but not nice enough to spend $500 on the headset. The Faceless Lady and similar offerings paired with a continued steady flow of games could make the investment worthwhile, though.
Which headphones work best with Apple Vision Pro?
Apple’s Vision Pro can connect to non-Apple Bluetooth headphones, but there are some compromises. Here’s what to know.
Apple Vision Pro goes even further
A combination of immersive movies and gaming offers more
Apple / Marvel Studios
Earlier this month, reports surfaced of Apple and Marvel planning to team up to make an “interactive story” based on the Disney Plus series, What if … ? While what the offering specifically entails is being kept under wraps for now, the format sounds like it will be a combination of The Faceless Lady and a Marvel-themed game.
According to a social media release with the announcement, users will “learn the mystic arts” from Doctor Strange while “fans will step into breathtaking environments that place them in new and iconic MCU locations.”
“Fans will step into breathtaking environments that place them in new and iconic MCU locations.”
It’s not clear if this new project will have the illustrated look of the Disney Plus series or be live-action with a What if … ? theme. Either way, this announcement is the first time I’ve felt like I was possibly missing out on not having a $3,500 VR/AR headset. It is indeed the first offering that doesn’t exist in some form or another on another Apple platform.
One month with Apple Vision Pro: I get it now. I’m obsessed
Despite my initial skepticism of Spatial Computing, and the hurdles to get eye lenses, Apple Vision Pro is wildly impressive.
Entertainment VR needs to appeal to people other than gamers
People want new entertainment but not all want to play a part in it
Apple has the right idea with the Vision Pro — it needs to be an appealing tool for more than just playing games. However, VR devices as the status quo in the workforce still seems years away. For right now, in order to keep businesses investing in VR and AR — and therefore making it even better — there needs to be a bridge.
For right now, in order to keep businesses investing in VR and AR — and therefore making it even better — there needs to be a bridge.
The future of the technology may lie with these immersive (and sometimes interactive) movies and series. It’s the kind of thing that can bring new entertainment offerings to people who have never picked up a video game controller.
It’s these kinds of offerings that will keep the momentum going.
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Years of work and early access to Apple Vision Pro helped Sam Gherman’s AR app to be ready for the headset on day one.
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