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 may be our first hint of a future for the Vision Pro as Apple’s most open and gaming-friendly platform. And all it costs is a measly $3,500 plus the price of a capable gaming PC.
On Tuesday, Valve released a early beta version for its Steam Link app for Vision Pro. You have to download it through the Vision Pro TestFlight app. It is clear that this is a very early version. After connecting it to my PC, I was taken to Steam’s Big Picture mode. This makes it easier to navigate with a controller. However, there was a noticeable delay in scrolling through these menus. The UI flickered constantly as I moved between my different games.
© Raw Fury; Screenshot from Gizmodo
© CD Projekt Rojo; Screenshot from Gizmodo
I’ve already spent a few hours playing on my PC at home, relaxing in the comfort of my couch. The Vision Pro is heavy and gets heavier the more you try to keep your neck straight. It is nominally better for passive content, such as streaming movies, semi-interactive showsand a limited selection of live sporting events.
For mirroring non-VR games from a PC, the Vision Pro excels. The latest version of the headset’s M5 chip increased the refresh rate up to 120Hz. You can increase both the frame rate and resolution in these games, and they will look stunning and clear through the headset’s micro OLED lenses.
Finally, Easy PC Mirroring in Vision Pro
This is still streaming and comes with minimal hint of latency. You’ll need a relatively fast home Wi-Fi network to ensure you don’t suffer packet loss or blurry images. I could still play my games from the other side of my apartment from my PC. This caused some connection and input latency issues, but the titles were still fully playable.
But it gets even stranger than that. In its current version, the Steam Link app is also the easiest way to mirror a Windows PC to Vision Pro. It even supports eye tracking and pinch gestures for clicking with the mouse cursor. I could move between multiple connected displays and view web pages and other apps with stunning clarity across the Vision Pro’s twin 3660 x 3200 displays.
The Steam Link app still has some quirks. If I exited a game by holding down the select button on the controller, it also exited Steam Big Picture mode and took me back to the desktop. That’s how I found out about the Steam Link shortcut to PC mirroring. I could zoom in on my PC screen as much as I wanted and even click using eye tracking and gesture controls. It wasn’t as easy as Vision Pro’s Mac mirroring. That mode lets you create a pseudo ultrawide display with a mirrored Mac. You can’t get the window that big when mirroring a PC.
The Vision Pro could also be great for PCVR
There have been other means of streaming PC games through apps like ALVR. That app also allows access to virtual reality games through SteamVR and PCVR titles. There are also DeleteXRa new application that allows foveated streaming. To break it down, Apple worked with Nvidia to add support for its cloudXR SDK. This allows the headset to use Apple’s precise eye tracking to reduce image quality outside the users’ viewing area. By doing so, you reduce bandwidth, making content much easier to stream.
As cool as it sounds, ClearXR is currently not supported on SteamVR, so I’m sorry I can’t play it. Half-life Alyx without a lot of extra work. ALVR requires users to download a compatible virtual reality runtime on a PC. Many of these third-party efforts are still nascent. Even Valve’s software is still in beta.
While Meta has all but abandoned VR gaming on the Meta Quest headset, Apple is only now realizing that gaming is intrinsic to the VR experience. What’s most exciting is that all of this is happening at the same time. But for a pricey $3,500, it could soon become one of the best headsets for streaming gaming content right in front of your eyes.
