Flurry of Vision Pro headset returns due to blurry image
Apple’s much hyped product—the Vision Pro is seeing returns and that too in considerable numbers, according to multiple users, who are complaining online. The buyers are complaining that the pricey $3500 headset is blurry in some cases. The mixed reality headset by Apple came to the market on February 2. It was received with awe and enthusiasm by Apple fans and tech nerds. Apple has given a 14-day deadline for buyers to return the headsets.
Now many are complaining it is not useful for day-to-day use. One user noted on X, “Two hours after unboxing my Apple Vision Pro and using it, I decided to box it back up again and return it. It’s quite cool, but there’s nothing in it for me that I’ll use frequently enough to warrant my keeping it.” Many tech reviewers also pointed out that use of eye gaze instead of controllers didn’t do well for various applications. Users on X said the headsets are too heavy and cannot be worn for longtime. Apple Vision Pro, users say, it doesn’t have much to offer
Zuckerberg was surprised how bad Vision Pro headset is
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, who bet on virtual headsets early, has reviewed Apple’s Vision Pro headset. In an Instagram post, he said, “Before this, I expected Quest would be a better value for users and also seven-times less expensive. And after (using) I don’t think Quest has better value, it is a better product, period.” Quest is Meta’s product. Zuckerberg said while different products are designed for different purposes, Quest is better for the vast majority of things.
He listed out the use cases it is designed for including socialising, working and gaming. Quest is a lot more comfortable, it has no wires, it has a wider field of view, its hand tracking is better, he asserted. Apple’s Vision Pro has motion blur and its hand tracking is not so good. Unlike Quest’s controllers, which could be used for gaming and typing and other tasks, Apple relying only on eye tracker is not useful, he said. He says the Quest 3 weighs 120 grams less, making it more comfortable to wear for longer
Honor introduces smartphone features to survive drops
China’s Honor has launched a new smartphone with wrap-around cushioning, deep seal protection and reinforcement protection, which can withstand drops. Smartphone innovations have been flat for some time and companies are trying to revive it with bigger and bigger cameras and artificial intelligence. However, one area where new phones are proving useful is durability.
Users are increasingly looking for more durable phones. Honor claims its cushioning material with micron-sized pores can absorb up to 1.2 times the impact of a drop. It has a 6.78 inch screen with 91.2% screen-to-body ratio. Its resolution 1220 x 2652 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio. It sports a Qualcomm SM6450 Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset. As with many smartphones, it has three cameras with a primary camera having 108 pixels and others with 5 MP and 2 MP. It comes in two variants- 256GB-8GB RAM, and 256GB-12GB RAM. The device is powered by Android 13, Magic OS 7.2
Microsoft says cyber criminals using AI for committing frauds
Microsoft has released a research report on cyber criminals using AI for fraud and other illegal activity. The company has collaborated with OpenAI to publish a research on emerging threats including prompt-injections, attempted misuse of large language models. It has flagg-ed five-state affiliated cyber groups from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, who are using AI for attacks.
Threat actors are looking at AI, including LLMs, to enhance their productivity and take advantage of accessible platforms that could advance their objectives and attack techniques, the company said in a blog post. Cybercrime groups, nation-state threat actors, and other adversaries are exploring and testing different AI technologies as they emerge, in an attempt to understand potential value to their operations and the security controls they may need to circumvent. Microsoft said bad actors use AI for help with coding, improving software scripts and malware development, assistance with learning native languages