Spatial Computing: The Invisible Interface of the Future
Why Apple’s Vision Pro Is Only A Baby Step
Apple’s Vision Pro announcement has energized some of the metaverse disillusionment in the XR community.
While Zuck’s ‘Meta’ is struggling to find ways to make virtual reality more accessible to the general public, Apple is pitching toward a more nuanced digital augmentation of reality.
Both visions are missing the mark.
One vision is overpromising fully immersed virtual worlds, in which our digital personas will engage and communicate in a realm that is entirely distinct from our physical existence.
Another vision is targeting a spatial experience where we engage with desktop apps in your physical space and watch immersive movies.
According to Apple, This latter vision is the beginning of a new era of spatial computing.
To be clear, I think Apple is on the right track toward this concept of a spatial dimension, but technically… they are underselling what true spatial computing is.
What Is Spatial Computing?
The term “spatial computing” is often attributed to a research paper by Simon Greenwold in 2003, where he defines it as such:
