As Apple's Vision Pro approaches on the 2nd (local time), interest in XR devices is growing again. However, when reading articles explaining these products, many people may be confused because not only XR but also other terms such as VR, MR, and AR appear. This question was sent by hojXXXX.
"hello. I am a die-hard Apple user who is very interested in Apple Vision Pro. However, while reading related articles, I came across various terms such as VR, MR, AR, and XR, but I was curious about the exact concepts and differences. Also, Apple calls Vision Pro a spatial computer. How is a spatial computer different from other VR devices?” (some content edited)
100% virtual reality = VR, mixture of virtual and reality = AR·MR
VR (Virtual Reality) means virtual reality. This refers to the experience of wearing a headset-type device and being completely immersed in a 3D virtual world while completely blocking the view of the surroundings.
AR and MR stand for augmented reality and mixed reality, respectively. It mixes elements such as virtual objects or information into the real environment. If VR consists of a 100% virtual world, AR and MR are a mixture of reality and virtual world.
The easiest example of AR is ‘Pokemon Go’. When you look at the real landscape through your smartphone, virtual Pokémon that are not in reality appear as if they were in reality. Head-up displays (HUD) in cars that utilize transparent displays are also often classified as a type of AR.
If you look at the definition of MR as a mixture of the virtual world and the real world, it seems to be the same concept as AR, and in reality, it is often used interchangeably without a strict distinction. However, it is generally referred to as AR when implemented through devices such as smartphones and tablets, and as MR when implemented through headset-type devices such as glasses or VR.
For reference, there are two ways to implement the MR function. Like the car HUD described above, there is a method that transmits the real scenery through a transparent display, and there is a method that reconstructs the image of reality through a camera and displays it.
HoloLens uses the former method, while Meta's Quest and Apple Vision Pro use the latter method. Some people define MR only as a method of using a transparent display like HoloLens, but as can be seen from Meta's definition of Quest Pro and Quest 3 as MR headsets, it is difficult to see this as a completely agreed definition.
Lastly, extended reality (XR, eXtended Reality) is the general name for all the technologies described above. Similar expressions include immersive experience or immersive.
Existing XR devices are also a type of spatial computer
So what is the term Apple uses to describe the Vision Pro, a spatial computer? In fact, “space computer” is not a word created by Apple. This is a concept that has been often mentioned among experts in the XR field.
Simply defined, a spatial computer is a computer that can interact with physical space in the real world. While existing computers could only interact with the computer world or the Internet, spatial computers extend the object of interaction to reality. Therefore, it is often classified as the next generation computer following personal computers (PCs) and mobile computers (smartphones).
However, Apple's insistence on the term 'spatial computer' is largely for marketing purposes to differentiate itself. When looking at the definition of a spatial computer, not only Apple Vision Pro but also existing MR headsets, as well as smartphones and tablets equipped with AR functions, can be considered a type of spatial computer.
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