Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest given CT scan to see what’s inside
The Meta headset’s best-in-class value is as impressive a feat as Apple’s elegant vision statement, an industrial CT scanner company said after finding a non-destructive way to look into the devices’ insides.
Image by lumafield
The Meta headset’s best-in-class value is as impressive a feat as Apple’s elegant vision statement, an industrial CT scanner company said after finding a non-destructive way to look into the devices’ insides.
The first thing that users of AR/VR headsets see is the exterior design. It’s only after trying them out that they can decide whether these gadgets are really worth their money and time.
But what if there was a possibility to see the "insides" of these gadgets?
Lumafield is a company that works with industrial CT scanners and carries out AI inspections that help engineers solve their design problems.
In its most recent experiment, the company used its latest innovations – an X-ray scanner called Neptune and an analysis software called Voyager – to compare three headsets: the Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest Pro, and Meta Quest 3.
According to Lumafield, the idea behind this comparison is not to present a critique but to show "the way the divergent design philosophies and market strategies of Apple and Meta reveal themselves through hardware engineering."
Design, battery life, and audio system are only a few essential features that make AR/VR headsets desirable.
A few examples from the experiment show how scanning the headsets reveals the inside specifications of these gadgets.
Their design insights demonstrated that the products aim for different markets.
While the Apple Vision Pro looks out for "early adopters" who are ready to pay a high price for "a new kind of computer," Meta focuses on being more affordable and providing a headset that would improve its users' lives by introducing VR for everyone.
This can be seen by looking at the price range of the different headsets, with the Apple Vision Pro selling for $3,500 while Meta’s models are around $500.
The scan also showed how thermal management works in all three headsets. The Apple Vision Pro’s cooling system is designed to work quietly and direct heat away from the user, while Meta’s Quest Pro is integrated with passive and active cooling, with the Quest 3 having just one fan.
Another important feature required in a headset is high-quality audio. The CT scan revealed little information about how the Meta Quest 3 audio system works, with a glimpse of it directed straight into the user's ear.
It showed that the Vision Pro headset has two "AudioPods" with a dual-driver setup that adjusts the sound according to the user's head and ear.
The CT scans reveal what can be done development-wise to devices and help users understand what's inside the headset better and whether they’re worth the cost.
“Meta’s two headsets demonstrate a striking economy of means. They deliver as much as possible using as little as possible. In many ways, the frugal construction and best-in-class value of the devices is as impressive a feat as Apple’s elegant vision statement,” Lumafield said.
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