Apple unveils sleek, $3,500 ‘Vision Pro’ goggles

Category: Technology/Innovations

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. preview / ˈpriˌvyu / (n.) – an advance showing of something before it is made available to the public
    Example:

    The company gave a preview of its new products to selected individuals before the release next year.


  2. try (one’s) hands at / traɪ hænds æt / (idiom) – to try to do something for the first time
    Example:

    I’ve never done any form of art, but I want to try my hands at painting.


  3. date back / deɪt bæk / (phrasal v.) – to begin to exist at a certain time in the past
    Example:

    Ikebana is the art of arranging flowers that dates back to the 6th century.


  4. patent / ˈpæt nt / (n.) – an official right that makes an inventor of a product the only one who can make or sell it for a certain period
    Example:

    He’s an inventor and has a lot of patents under his name.


  5. niche / niʃ / (adj.) – interesting to or aimed at a small number of people
    Example:

    The company sells niche products that only certain people will buy.


Article

Read the text below.

Apple unveiled a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter’s ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public’s imagination.


After years of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook hailed the arrival of the sleek goggles, dubbed “Vision Pro,” at the company’s annual developers conference held on a park-like campus in Cupertino, California, that Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs helped design.


Although Apple executives provided an extensive preview of the headset’s capabilities during the final half hour of June 5’s event, consumers will have to wait before they can get their hands on the device and prepare to pay a hefty price to boot.


Vision Pro will sell for $3,500 once it’s released in stores early next year.


The headset could become another milestone in Apple’s lore of releasing game-changing technology, even though the company hasn’t always been the first to try its hand at making a particular device.


Apple’s lineage of breakthroughs dates back to a bow-tied Jobs peddling the first Mac in 1984 —a tradition that continued with the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, the Apple Watch in 2014 and its AirPods in 2016.


The company emphasized that it drew upon its past decades of product design during the years it spent working on the Vision Pro, which Apple said involved more than 5,000 different patents.


The goggles will be equipped with 12 cameras, six microphones and a variety of sensors that will allow users to control it and various apps with just their eyes and hands.


Apple also developed a technology to create a three-dimensional digital version of each user to display during video conferencing.


If the new device turns out to be a niche product, it would leave Apple in the same bind as other major tech companies and startups that have tried selling headsets or glasses equipped with technology that either thrusts people into artificial worlds or projects digital images with scenery and things that are actually in front of them, a format known as “augmented reality.”


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Vision Pro is a device that will allow users to control it and various apps with just their eyes and hands. Who do you think will be interested to buy this product? Will you be interested to buy one? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think Vision Pro will be a niche product or will it be as commonly used as smartphones in the future? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • Apple never stops innovating and drew upon its past decades of product design during the years it spent working on the Vision Pro. If you were a decision-maker at Apple, would you rather that the company innovate new products or redesign and improve its old products? Why? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, will it be a good thing to include augmented reality in our everyday lives? Why or why not? Discuss.