Daring Fireball: Vision Pro, Spatial Video, and Panoramic Photos

Gruber with his usual detail on experiencing Spatial Video taken with an iPhone 15 and viewed on a Vision Pro.

First, it seems obvious when I read this but I didn’t realize the camera configuration on the iPhone 15 had been modified to allow taking video from two cameras at once to give depth of field, enabling spatial video.

You also need to hold the phone horizontally, to put the two capturing lenses on the same plane. The iPhone uses the main (1×) and ultra wide (0.5×) lenses for capture when shooting spatial video, and in fact, Apple changed the arrangement of the three lenses on the iPhone 15 Pro in part to support this feature.

Gruber isn't prone to hyperbole. If anything he is usually very critical and will nitpick any detail that he finds out of place. All of that makes his effusive comments on spatial video more impactful.

Nothing you've ever viewed on a screen, however, can prepare you for the experience of watching these spatial videos, especially the ones you will have shot yourself, of your own family and friends. They truly are more like memories than videos.

Wow, and then.

Prepare to be moved, emotionally, when you experience this.

I can’t wait to experience this myself.

In preparation for getting the Vision Pro, which I am going to get as soon as available, I have been taking many more panoramas. When we were hiking in Switzerland I took several a day. So his similar positive comments on the panorama experience is enticing.

Panoramic photos viewed using Vision Pro are breathtaking.

I like this conclusion.

As a basic rule, going forward, I plan to capture spatial videos of people, especially my family and dearest friends, and panoramic photos of places I visit. It’s like teleportation.

I’m bullish on the Vision Pro. I think this is an interesting category of device, but VR and gaming has never been distinctly my thing. Augmented reality and being able to do traditional productivity things is very interesting to me. Only time will tell, but I fully expect this to be an incredible device to use for a variety of things.

I came away more confident than ever that Vision Pro is going to be a great device for reading and writing -- and thus, well, work.

I haven't had hands on experience like Gruber, but I agree with his conclusion. What amazing new technology.