It is just the second version called the 'ultra' which is just an improvement on the original M2 chip. It has beefed up memory and GPU power but no enhanced CPU capablities that implies any kind of Akida inside as far as I can tell.
An Apple app called Octane X uses a decentralised system called Render which is a cryptocurrency which shares GPU power on the blockchain for a fee to boost GPU power to any kind of processing needed such as videos, images and eventually AI processing.
The Vision Pro is damned expensive. $5000 AUD and will be released in 2024. I am not an Apple fan boy, but the XR (mix of VR and AR) technology seems interesting. Over time it may replace laptops and T.Vs, but this will be much further down the track. I am disappointed in its price seeing in theory it should save money by not using LCD seeing it doesn't use screens. Meta's equilvalent is only $500 or so.
Methinks you are confusing different Apple products announced yesterday:
The M2 Ultra will not be featured in the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset (which will come with the original M2 chip), but instead will be premiering in the new Mac Studio and Mac Pro.
What seems intriguing to me from a neuromorphic point of view, however, is Vision Pro’s second chip alongside the M2, the brand-new R1! The lofty price tag and the limited (external) battery power of the VR/AR headset may not speak for Akida being utilised (yet?). But given the lengthy product cycle timelines - who knows what secret sauce future versions will contain, and a rumoured more affordable model is also on the cards, even though there was no mention of it yesterday. But why call the upcoming model “Pro” if there is no “Non-Pro” in the pipeline? Apple sees what they call “spatial computing” (they obviously avoided the term “metaverse”) as revolutionary.
The fact that Apple is partnering with Disney for Vision Pro also reminded me of that recent Brainchip podcast with Geoffrey Moore who coincidentally (?
) used “Disney” as an example of a world class company…
Don’t wake me from my daydream just yet!
The R1 chip is taking all the sensors embedded into the headset to create precise head and hand tracking, along with real-time 3D mapping and eye-tracking.
techcrunch.com
To reduce motion sickness in VR, Apple developed the new R1 chip
Haje Jan Kamps@Haje / 9:03 PM GMT+2•June 5, 2023
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Image Credits: Apple
At WWDC today, Apple showed off its
Vision Pro VR/AR headset. The device is powered by the company’s own M2 chip, but in order to do the real-time processing from the company’s wall of sensors, Apple had to develop a brand-new processor, too — which it dubs the R1.
The R1 chip is taking all the sensors embedded into the headset to create precise head and hand tracking, along with real-time 3D mapping and eye-tracking.
The specialized chip was designed specifically for the challenging task of real-time sensor processing, taking the input from 12 cameras, five sensors (including a lidar sensor!) and six microphones. The company claims it can process the sensor data within 12 milliseconds — eight times faster than the blink of an eye — and says this will dramatically reduce the motion sickness plaguing many other AR/VR systems.
Apple says that using all this vision and sensor data means it doesn’t need to use controllers and instead uses hand gesture tracking and eye tracking to control the experience.
With the combination of an M2 chip to pack a ton of computing power and an R1 chip to deal with inputs, Apple describes its device as the most advanced device ever and claims it filed 5,000 patents to make it all happen.
Apple was short on details regarding the R1 processor, but we’ll keep an eye out for more technical specs.
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Here is also a more in-depth article on the Vision Pro specifications, in case you are interested:
Apple officially revealed the full Vision Pro specs when opening preorders today. Read our specs breakdown and comparison to Quest 3 here.
www.uploadvr.com
