After Apple introduced the Vision Pro, it was written on social media and even on some news sites that it was an AR / VR glasses. Of course, considering that we are new to this technology, it is quite natural that we confuse which glasses are called AR and which are called VR.
And it doesn’t just end with AR and VR. It also has an MRI and even an XR. So, let’s keep up with the developing technology to eliminate screens and pour everything into the real world and learn what these terms mean, which many of us are just beginning to hear.
Augmented Reality is the technology that allows us to see digital items in the real world.
In the image above, you see the AR mode of the Pokemon Go game. Drowzee, who is not actually there (and of course not possible to be there), looks as if he is waiting right in front of us thanks to the AR mode. Moreover, AR technology continues to appear in many areas of our lives.
In the past months, IKEA has introduced an augmented reality feature so users can get an idea of what a product will look like in their home before purchasing it. In fact, these two examples summarize AR technology very clearly: the superimposition of digital elements on top of the physical world.
This was one of the reasons why Apple’s Vision Pro caused confusion. Although the application menus that appear in the middle of the hall we see in the promotions are actually an AR technology, Vision Pro is not limited to that. For this reason, it would be wrong to say that it is exactly an AR glasses.
VR has always confused us…
We can include many glasses we encounter today (for example, Meta Quest) in this class. It is quite simple to distinguish VR technology from others. If your eyes only see objects from the digital world, we can say that you have a VR experience.
Because this technology, in a way, replaces our eyes and takes us on a journey in the digital world. However, during this journey, we have almost no contact with the physical world. For this reason, unlike AR, VR glasses take you away from the real world.
There’s also a “Karma” to this job.
We have come to the category where Apple Vision Pro is included. Mixed Reality, or Mixed Reality (MR), in its original term, is a complete fusion of the real and digital worlds. Can see and interact with digital items in the real world. It is easily distinguishable from both VR and AR because it is interactive.
Apple’s Vision Pro also appeared as a mixed reality glasses. Therefore, it is not difficult to predict that we will go back and forth on the fine line between real life and the digital world. Of course, Apple could also launch it as a VR headset, but this time it could be a bit of a disappointment for users who have been waiting for years.
There is also a general term that covers all of this: XR.
Extended reality is the set that covers all the perceptual technologies we have mentioned above. All technologies that combine the digital and physical worlds are also one of the elements of this cluster. Although XR stands for Extended Reality, according to some, the “X” we see at the beginning of the abbreviation represents the unknown.
Extended Reality, or XR for short, is still a new term for all of us. However, we can refer to it as XR for all the technologies we will see in this direction in the future. Because we will see all the technologies that emerge by combining the real world and the digital world under this cluster. Including those that have not yet been invented or released.
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