Apple Vision Pro owners now have more decent controller options

We have recently covered that the hype surrounding the Vision Pro has cooled down and demand for the headset is far lower than when it launched. The Apple Vision Pro did not pan out to be a hot seller as it was originally anticipated by the company which is why shipment orders have been cut down. Potentially, the lower-than-expected demand is due to the hefty price tag of the Vision Pro, as it is one of the most expensive mixed reality headsets on the market right now.

Apple's Vision Pro headset took the AR market by storm with its stunning looks and advanced technology underneath. While the headset had a solid start, the traction has reduced over time, potentially due to its hefty price tag and minimal real-world use cases. Prominent industry analyst claims that the demand for Vision Pro demos has greatly reduced, highlighting poor demand for the headset after initial hype.

The Vision Pro saw daylight last year at the WWDC event, but it took its sweet time to hit the shelves as the company was creating the necessary hype and preparing developers to create proper use cases for the headset. While the reviews shared positive feedback, the possibilities for the device are endless as developers work to expand the Vision Pro's applications in the real world. We are now hearing that an orthopedic surgeon in Brazil used the Apple Vision Pro to successfully perform surgery on a patient's shoulder.

Apple currently leverages TSMC’s 3nm process for several of its chipsets, and the company may stick to this manufacturing process for a few iPhone generations. According to the latest report, the iPhone 17 will not be the first lineup to sport an A-series SoC fabricated on the ultra-advanced 2nm node. This will mean that the A19 Pro that is expected in 2025 will retain the 3nm lithography, but it will not be the same technology, as you will soon find out.

Late last year, over 100 employees of Avalanche Studios, the makers of Just Cause, announced an intent to unionize. The workers have officially ironed out a collective bargaining agreement with the Swedish labor unions Unionen and Engineers of Sweden. The agreement goes into effect during the second quarter of 2025.

Google Photos gives you some photo storage and editing tools for free, but getting the most out of it requires paying for a subscription. That’s now changing, as some editing features are opening up to everyone.

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Electronic Arts just raised the price of its EA Play subscription service. The standard EA Play tier increased from $5 per month to $6 per month, while the annual fee rose to $40 from $30. These updated prices also impact premium EA Play Pro subscriptions, which allows access to the publisher’s games as soon as they launch. This tier now costs $17 per month, an increase from $15, and $120 each year, an increase from $100.

Two months after I started using the Apple Vision Pro, it hasn't transformed the way I live. It hasn't replaced my TV, and it doesn't make me want to give up my powerful desktop or slim laptops. It's just another tool in my gadget arsenal — one I can don to catch up on X-Men '97 in bed, or to help me dive deep into research while I'm away from my office. The Vision Pro becomes normal so quickly, it's almost easy to forget how groundbreaking it actually is. Its screens are still absolutely stunning, and the combination of eye tracking and Apple's gesture controls makes for the most intuitive AR/VR interface I've seen yet.

Apple is reportedly exploring a built-in camera to natively support FaceTime in a future Apple TV release, an idea that might remind Xbox fans of the abandoned Kinect. Apple has already added FaceTime support with tvOS 17, which requires a compatible iPhone or iPad to stream a video call to an Apple TV, but this upgrade would make things much more seamless.

Apple has come under scrutiny in the European Union for its strict App Store rules that restrict external payment options, sideloading of apps and more. The iPhone maker and other tech giants like Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and more, however, have had to bring in several changes to their policies since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into effect for the companies in March. Now, Apple will allow game emulator apps on the App Store.

Gaming peripheral manufacturer 8BitDo has announced that all of its iOS-compatible products are now supported by the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset.