TECH NEWS – Four news in one about Apple’s expensive AR headset.

The Apple Vision Pro comes with a separate battery pack that powers the device via a cable, reducing its weight. So Apple will also offer a plug-in accessory for the product, and no, it won’t be part of the package, you’ll have to buy it separately. “When Apple knows it needs a certain accessory but doesn’t want to make it in-house, the company has a tried and true method: call on Belkin. The supplier has been making Apple accessories for decades, and in 2018 it was acquired by a subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group. Foxconn, of course, is Apple’s primary manufacturing partner. So it’s no surprise that Belkin is making a key accessory for Apple’s latest device, the Vision Pro. The supplier is creating a clip for the headset’s external battery – helpful for users who want to take the Vision Pro on the go, but don’t have a pocket or bag to put the battery in. Belkin, I’m told, will begin selling the clip alongside the Vision Pro when the headset debuts next month. Apple Stores will carry the item – and so far, it appears to be one of the few authorized accessories that will be available on launch day. But you can bet others will follow suit in the near future,” wrote Mark Gurman for Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter. How much will they charge?

On Twitter, M1Astra revealed that Apple may have removed a feature from the Apple Vision Pro, Open Sky Environment, which replaces our ceiling. They’ve replaced the video on their website and on YouTube that shows the product, leaving that part out. They also removed the references on the website. It used to say “Choose from a selection of beautiful landscapes or magically replace your ceiling with a clear, open sky” and now it says “Choose from a selection of beautiful landscapes or turn your room into a personal movie theater with the Cinema Environment. Suspicious.

Back to Gurman, he wrote that because the headset will be available for pre-order starting January 19, Apple Store employees have been trained and customers should spend about 25 minutes in the store watching a demo to get a quick tutorial on how to use the device. For example, they will need to make sure the device is the right size before trying it on, and they will also need to deal with the extra lenses for people who wear glasses. Initially, there will be a lot of these demos, so there will be trial units in Apple Stores, but before the demonstration, an Apple employee will scan the user’s face to get the size of the light seal, headband and pads, and for those who wear glasses, the eyes will be checked. The store then assembles a copy of the headset to fit the user. Then comes a demonstration of the user interface, from holding the headset to eye tracking and gestures. They show several things from visionOS (Photos app, spatial images, videos) in the 25 minutes, plus how the device can be a replacement for Mac and iPad.

Finally, Gurman posted on Twitter that the M2 chip in the Apple Vision Pro will be a more powerful version, so it will have 10 GPUs and 8 CPU cores (the same in the 13″ and 15” MacBook Air). Those with an Apple Card will be able to purchase the headset on installment plans both online and in stores, starting February 2.

Source: WCCFTech, WCCFTech, WCCFTech, WCCFTech