This week, Apple released a beta of iOS 17.2, which supports spatial video for the iPhone 15 Pro for the first time. Some journalists have already been able to test the technology using Apple Vision Pro, the mixed reality headset the company will launch next year.
Spatial video is actually shot in 3D, specifically for Apple Vision Pro. The resulting videos can also be played on a regular device. Then it is indistinguishable from “normal” video.
However, in Vision Pro, spatial videos are special. Technology blogger John Gruber Describe How was he allowed to attend a demonstration with a journalist from the Wall Street Journal? First they got an iPhone with which they could shoot videos of a model, in this case a chef making sushi. Not only did they photograph the chef, they also photographed each other.
“Convincingly realistic”
The videos were then uploaded for a few Vision Pros to try out. According to Gruber, shots taken with the iPhone were indistinguishable from shots taken with the Vision Pro itself. He describes the videos as “very normal and scary at the same time.” Other journalists who were allowed to test the technology are also talking about it “Convincingly realistic” images..
“Nothing you’ve seen on screen can prepare you for the experience of watching these videos, especially ones you’ve made for yourself, for your family and friends. They’re really more memories than videos… That’s my friend Joanna, right in front of me – as if I could touch her – but that was 30 minutes ago, in another room,” Gruber writes.
Only on iPhone 15 Pro
Who has access? Beta developerYou can enable the function in the camera settings. Once spatial video is turned on, you can always choose to record 3D videos or images while shooting.
You cannot adjust the resolution and frame rate of videos. They are always stabilized at 1080p and 30fps. You are also asked to shoot horizontally, with the two lenses next to each other. Files recorded this way are twice the size of regular 1080p video, because you’re using two lenses. However, they are still smaller than regular 4K videos.
Although it will be a while before the Vision Pro hits the market (and even longer before the glasses become widespread), Gruber says there’s no good reason not to use this feature yet. According to the technology expert, the videos look more like “memories” than video clips.
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