the next frontier for Apple Vision Pro … is it a game? I just played a bunch of PC games via Steam Link on Apple’s “space computer” headset, and it works so well that it might be our first sign of Vision Pro’s future as Apple’s most open, gaming-friendly platform. And all it costs is a paltry $3,500 and the price of a capable gaming PC.
Valve launched on Tuesday early beta Steam Link app version for Vision Pro. You must download it through Vision Pro’s TestFlight software. Obviously, this is a very early version. After connecting it to my computer, I was brought to Steam’s Big Picture mode. This makes it easier to navigate with the controller. However, there was a noticeable lag moving between these menus. The user interface was constantly flickering when moving between my various games.
© Raw Fury; Screenshot by Gizmodo
© CD Projekt Red; Screenshot by Gizmodo
Now I spend several hours at home playing on my computer, relaxing in the comfort of my sofa. The Vision Pro is heavy and gets heavier as you try to keep your neck straight. It’s nominally better for passive content – streaming movies, semi-interactive showsand a a sparse selection of live sporting events.
For PC mirroring of non-VR games, Vision Pro is superior. The latest M5 chip version of the headset has increased the refresh rate to 120Hz. You can speed up both the frame rate and resolution in these games, and they’ll be stunning and clear through the headset’s micro OLED lenses.
Finally, easy PC mirroring in Vision Pro
It’s still streaming, and it comes with the most obvious hint of a delay. You’ll need a relatively fast home Wi-Fi network to make sure you don’t suffer from packet loss or blurry images. I could still play my games from my computer from the other side of my apartment. This caused some connection issues and input lag, but the titles were still completely readable.
But it gets weirder than that. In its current iteration, Steam Link is also the easiest way to mirror from a Windows PC to Vision Pro. It even supports eye tracking and pinch gestures to click with the mouse cursor. I was able to navigate between multiple connected displays and view web pages and other applications with surprising clarity through the Vision Pro’s twin 3660 x 3200 screens.
Steam Link still has some quirks. If I quit the game while holding down the option button on the controller, it will also exit Steam Big Picture Mode and return me to the desktop. This is how I learned the Steam Link mirroring shortcut on PC. I could expand my PC screen as much as I wanted and even click around using eye tracking and gesture controls. It wasn’t as easy as Vision Pro’s Mac mirroring. This mode allows you to create a false ultra-wide screen with a mirrored Mac. When mirroring your PC, you can’t make the window almost as big.
Vision Pro can also be amazing for PCVR
There have been other means of PC game streaming through programs like ALVR. This app also provides access to virtual reality games via SteamVR and PCVR titles. There is also one ClearXRa new app that allows foveated streaming. To break this, Apple worked with Nvidia to add support for it CloudXR SDK. This allows the headset to use Apple’s precise eye tracking to reduce image quality outside the users’ field of view. By doing so, it reduces bandwidth and makes streaming content much easier.
As good as it sounds, ClearXR doesn’t currently support SteamVR, so sorry you won’t be able to play Half-Life Alyx without a ton of extra work. ALVR requires users to download a supported VR runtime on their PC. Many of these third-party efforts are still nascent. Even the Valve software is still in beta.
While Meta has completely abandoned VR gaming on its Meta Quest headset, Apple is only just now realizing that games are intrinsic to the virtual reality experience. What is more interesting is that all this happens at once. But at a pricey $3,500, it could soon become one of the best headsets for streaming gaming content right in front of your eyes.
