Every single new Apple iPhone 16, from the basic to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, can shoot spatial photos and videos, and now I think this is the first real sign we have that Apple is developing a mixed-reality headset that will appeal to all consumers.
I admit, I was confounded by Apple’s embrace of spatial photos and videos, going so far as to reposition cameras on all the handsets it introduced at its Glowtime Event, including the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
In case you didn’t notice, the diagonal configuration is gone, replaced with two vertically aligned cameras. Apple did this because when you hold the phone in landscape mode, the cameras are perfectly positioned to grab stereo imagery, which captures two slightly off-angled photos of the same thing. Your two eyes combine those images in a VR headset to create the illusion of 3D.
With this new area set up and the Spatial option in the Camera app in iOS 18, you can capture stereo photos and videos with all iPhone 16 phones…and do what?
When I first heard this, I was confused. Why would Apple make such a significant change to all its devices for what is, at best, an edge case? Apple Vision Pro is an incredible mixed reality device that lets you go full virtual reality immersion or blend realistic-looking AR content with your real world. It can track your gestures, eyes, and face. The headset also costs $3,499.
Apple has not shared sales numbers, but even anecdotal evidence makes it clear this is not an iPhone-level seller – it’s not even a Mac or iPad-level one. Most consumers do not own a Vision Pro, but now Apple has redesigned the camera array on its most affordable iPhone to support it. There can be only one reason.
Vision Pro for the rest of us
Apple is readying a much more affordable Vision Pro, let’s call it Vision Lite, and it could show up much sooner than most analysts predicted.
I did not invent the concept of a cheaper Vision Pro (often called “Vision Pro 2”). Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has been talking about it for a while, but he predicts it won’t arrive until 2026.
Gurman might be right but then why is Apple delivering spatial photography to the masses now? Do we really need more than a year to prepare? You can indeed port spatial imagery captured on the iPhone to a Meta Quest headset, but when does Apple do something for the competition? It’s not helping you build a library of immersive content to support Mark Zuckerbnerg’s competing products.
No, I’m convinced that this is the first real sign we have that Apple is hurrying up on getting a cheaper Vision Pro headset out the door. And it cannot come soon enough. Even though Apple has been updating Vision Pro since its launch over a year ago, and VisionOS 2 brings some really cool new features, like transforming flat photos into spatial imagery, Apple has done nothing on the price front, and consumers are unmoved.
If Apple is committed to mixed reality – it is, trust me – it must deliver Vision Pro Lite or 2 well before 2026 and the iPhone 17. I think the iPhone 16 and its new camera array signal that Apple agrees with me, and that means next spring (think June and WWDC 2025) could be a watershed moment for the Vision Pro strategy and broad consumer access to Apple’s vision for mixed reality.
So go ahead, buy an iPhone 16, and start taking lots of spatial photos and videos right away. Before you know it, you will have an incredible new product – one that you can afford – with which to view it.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
