Where the future is going: sniffing out all of Apple’s clues

Bold Prediction:

After decades of working inside the Apple ecosystem, our team has developed a good eye for spotting even the most subtle shifts within its OS. Apple’s penchant for secrecy requires it. But our team has also found it useful when creating product roadmaps or when considering how to roll out new features.

Over the past few years, I’ve observed a number of signs pointing to the launch of Vision Pro. Whether it’s the handoffs, SwiftUI, or recent additions, like Swift Concurrency and the whole AR rollout with RealityKit, the breadcrumbs were all lining up if you looked closely enough. It certainly pushed our iOS crew to start gearing up.

The latest eyebrow-raiser? That subtle pinch gesture making its way onto the Apple Watch. Sure, it’s neat and all, but I have to wonder if it’s Apple’s way of testing the waters for a new Vision interface—a watch-like UX that resembles how you’d navigate with Vision Pro’s gaze and pinch. Add the whole “Pro” moniker with Vision Pro, and you’ve got a tell.

On a separate note, I can’t get over all the Vision Pro reviews suggesting there aren’t any killer apps. This couldn’t be further from the truth. About Objects is currently developing several apps for the enterprise, including command and control, incident management, digital therapeutics, and driving simulators. Just take a peek at FireOps in Apple’s latest Vision Pro news release. FireOps is an incident management platform designed for first responders. And it’s exactly the kind of app Vision Pro crushes. Combining existing apps for communications, messaging, etc., along with spatial 3D models, users can now confront emerging threats in near real-time. And let’s face it: this is a customer who has no problem forking out $4K for a Vision Pro.

Enter the Apple Vision Air: a consumer-focused device made for those of us who don’t command forces or cure cancer for a living. A sleek, consumer-friendly device that’s more about blending in than standing out. Think smaller, trendier, and, of course, dripping with that signature Apple style.

In other words, more than a gaming headset that’s out to compete with Meta.