Apple has announced that beta spatial support for Persona will be coming to Apple Vision Pro later today. This feature expands on Vision Pro's existing Persona feature, but with an even more human interface.
Spatial Personas allow Vision Pro users to “step out of the familiar FaceTime tile and feel more present, as if they are gathered in one physical space.”
The spatial persona feature was first demonstrated at WWDC 2023, but was not available until now. Apple explains that this feature gives Vision Pro users a new way to communicate with each other. This feature allows you to move around, interact, collaborate and make eye contact with other Vision Pro users to enjoy a collaborative virtual experience.
In last year's WWDC video, Apple explained to developers:
In a SharePlay session, spatial characters allow you to feel present with others like never before Technology didn't allow it before. You can look your friends in the eyes, express yourself naturally through movements and body language, and most importantly, enjoy activities together using your app.
These common actions are a key part of what makes this exciting new computing platform, and people will expect your application to fully support the features I'm going to talk about today. FaceTime collaboration builds on the existing SharePlay framework, which is already a great way for groups of people to enjoy content together while apart.
Apple tells me that spatial Personas will debut later today for all Apple Vision Pro users running VisionOS 1.1 or later. Users will see a “Spatial Personality” option during FaceTime calls. This feature supports up to five participants simultaneously.
Video courtesy of Apple
Inverse's Raymond Wong had a chance to try out spatial characters in Vision Pro this week thanks to Apple. His review is worth reading. Here's an excerpt from his experience:
After taking a FaceTime call from Apple's PR team, I was greeted by two Persona faces inside their respective square “tiled” 2D FaceTime windows. However, a quick tap in Control Center pulled them out of the tiles and into my living room. These two people weren't actually standing in my living room, and they couldn't see my messy apartment either, but their heads, arms, and their upper torsos were floating in my room as if they were standing in front of me. left and right. They could move in their physical space, getting closer or further away from me or each other, and so could I. If you try to go through another Persona, they will turn into a circle-shaped contact card (and they or anyone else will see you doing this). You can be that person and annoy everyone, but it goes without saying that you should respect each other's personal space, even if it's virtual.
Read more on Inverse.
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