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Apple is more than just the iPhone manufacturer. This $2 trillion company's decisions impact many facets of technology, financials, and everyday life. When the company is rumored to be getting into something new, the entire world pays attention. And since 1997, AppleInsider has been covering this fascinating electronics maker from every possible angle. From details of the next-generation iPhone and MacBook to key indicators expected to drive the company’s stock price, AppleInsider Daily has you completely covered on a daily basis.
Welcome to the AppleInsider Daily podcast for Tuesday, February 6th, 20-24. I'm Charles Martin, and we begin today with ... morons!
Following our report yesterday about some doofus who posted a video on YouTube of himself playing with his Apple Vision Pro while also driving a car — risking his own and other people’s safety — the US Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buddhi-judge posted a video showing a driver using an Apple Vision Pro with quite intricate hand movements — while driving a Tesla Cybertruck, because of course.
It’s important to note that the Cybertruck does not have any self-driving features, unlike the nitwit we reported on, and that he’s so completely distracted that he doesn’t notice he is being filmed. Needless to say, Apple’s documentation for the headset makes it clear that you should not be using it while operating any kind of moving vehicle, from a bicycle to heavy machinery.
Well, you’d THINK it would be needless to say …
In another report from the world of YouTube Neanderthals, you will undoubtedly be surprised to learn that if you deliberately set out to scratch the front glass on the Apple Vision Pro with a box cutter or other sharp object, it will in fact scratch. The once-credible JerryRigEverything inferred that the front piece of the Vision Pro was plastic — which it isn’t — and then proceeded to attempt to ruin it with items of various hardness.
The rest of the video is further exercises in worthlessness, complaining that repairing it is expensive — if you treat it like he does — and that there is plastic on the side facing the user, that could conceivably be scuffed up if you’re trying to do that. Thank heavens we have these intrepid reporters to let us know that water is wet!
But if you’re interested in an actual, real-world problem with the Apple Vision Pro, we’ve got one for you: currently, if you forget your Vision Pro six-digit passcode, you will need to visit an Apple Store or ship the headset back to Apple (with proof of purchase) in order to get it reset.
Apple will be addressing this issue in visionOS 1.1, but we’re not sure when that version will be released to the public. There is an option to not set a passcode for the Vision Pro, but this also disables the biometrics, and makes the device extremely theft-prone and is not recommended. The update, when available, will allow users to erase all data from the Apple Vision Pro if they’ve forgotten their unlock code, similar to the Apple Watch if you forget the passcode on it.
In software news, a couple of quick notes. Webex, Cisco’s popular meeting app, is now available for the Apple Vision Pro with both Persona and Spatial Audio support. The company rolled out a presentation on the app at its Cisco Live Amsterdam conference.
Executive Vice President Jerry Patel mentioned in his remarks both the usefulness of the headset for hybrid work as well as how much more people feel like they physically in a meeting rather than just watching one on a screen. Webex joins Microsoft Teams and Zoom among the Vision Pro native teleconferencing apps.
And in an update to a previous story, Google subsidiary YouTube has walked back it’s previous comments about not bothering to build a native app for the Apple Vision Pro, now saying that it’s quote on the roadmap unquote.
Originally the video platform said not only would it not build a dedicated app for the Vision Pro, it wouldn’t even allow it’s iPad app to work with it, meaning users would have to visit the site via Safari in order to watch videos on YouTube. Now it says, quote, we’re excited to see Vision Pro launch and will be supporting it, unquote.
Until they get around to having their actions match their new attitude, as we reported developer Christian Selig has created a $5 native app called Juno that brings YouTube to a native visionOS app. You can of course find it in the Apple Vision Pro App Store.
In other Apple News, Apple has won a lawsuit that medical technology firm AliveCor filed against the Apple Watch maker, claiming that changes Apple made to the ECG algorithm on the wearable made their own algorithm worse, and was anticompetitive. While a patent lawsuit is still ongoing, the judge in the case has ruled that the changes were not anticompetitive.
In Apple TV+ news, we have previously reported a few new shows that will debuting soon, such as the fashion miniseries “The New Look,” sports documentary “The Dynasty: New England Patriots,” kid’s special “Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin,” and the forthcoming Sci-fi series “Constellation.” Apple has announced the other new shows coming this year as well as some renewals of existing shows, so here’s a brief list.
Coming soon is a docuseries about Lionel Messi, debuting on February 21st, and a comedy called “The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin” debuting March first. There’s a movie based on James Swanson’s 2007 nonfiction book “Manhunt” about the search for Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth coming March 15th, and a high-society drama called “Palm Royal” arriving March 20th. April fifth sees the detective series “Sugar” and the documentary Girls State, about 500 teen girls from Missouri who participate in a week-long program to build a government, run for office, and create a Supreme Court.
We’ll tell you about more new shows in tomorrow’s report, but we should mention that Fraggle Rock, Loot, The Big Door Prize, Acapulco, Trying, and The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy are all coming back for new seasons, starting with Levy’s show on March 8 and the others arriving across March, April, and May.
Finally for today, part of that “the future of computing” hype we’ve been hearing about the Apple Vision Pro is happening … starting now. Sharp Healthcare, which runs a hospital system in San Diego, is now exploring how the Apple Vision Pro could be an indispensable tool beyond static data, but also for overlaying scans and other health information over a patient being examined.
The organization has established the Spatial Computing Center of Excellence to investigate the usefulness of Apple Vision Pro in managing real-time medical information for doctors, nurses, and specialists.
Sharp has deployed 30 Apple Vision Pro headsets to healthcare workers. One particularly interesting possible use case: an anesthesiologist could arrange critical real-time health information around the patient’s head, allowing them to keep informed how the patient is doing in real-time without having to look away to monitors that may not be conveniently placed.
Apple executive Mike Rockwell believes that eventually doctors could even wear the headsets while performing surgery.
You can hear more news and analysis from AppleInsider on the WEEKLY AppleInsider podcast that’s out every Friday, as well as our HomeKitInsider podcast that's out every Monday -- links to both shows are in the notes for this one.
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I've been Charles Martin, and THIS has been the AppleInsider Daily podcast for Tuesday, February 6th, 20-24. Thank you for listening.